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Pate Foar
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, June 12, 1954
Freedom of Speech
Nazi Rabblerouser Turns Own
Meeting At UC Into Fiasco
"Captain” Ralph Forbes, George
Rockwell’s "western division com
mander,” accepted the open plat
form and free speech privileges ex
tended to him by the University of
California last Friday and preced
ed, by sheer stupidity, blundering
and bigotry to turn his own meet
ing into a fisaco.
There was neither disorder nor
booing in the crowd of more than
7,000 students who jammed Harmon
Gymnasium on the Berkeley camp
us. It was a curious throng, out
wardly friendly but inwardly hos
tile. Again and again, roars of
Nazi Party the right to speak on
campus. It was decided that free
dom of speech should lx? upheld—
even for a Nazi crackpot—but that
all prc[>arations should lx? taken
against violence or demonstrations.
It was a dramatic example of a
notorious anti-Negro and anti-Semitic
bigot literally digging his own grave
after accepting the traditional aca
demic freedom of the university.
Under the circumstances he em
erged a failure. Had he been de
nied the right to speak he would
have taken on the image of martyr
dom
Well in advance of the meeting
university authorities had consid
ered whether to grant an American
laughter came in response to what
Forbes had intended as his most
serious points. He was literally
laughed out—so much so that at the
end of 14 minutes of his speech
with fully 30 minutes more time
available, he thew in the sponge
with disgust and contented himself
with inviting written questions.
Wtevi word reached Jewish com
munity relations agencies that a
From Jewish Community
BULLETIN, San Francisco
few outraged Jewish students were
thinking of a demonstration, a
meeting of Jewish campus leaders
was hastily called. They met in
HiileJ House at the call of Rabbi
Joseph Combiner and were ad
dressed by spokesmen of the Anti-
Defamation League and the San
Francisco and Oakland Jewish
Community Relations Councils. A
plan was devised for calling on all
Jewish students to avoid demon
strating in any way, it being agreed
that trouble of any kind would give
the neo-Nazis the publicity they
crave.
The huge gymnasium was well
guarded by police in uniforms and
in plainclothes.
Dr. Van Dusen Kennedy of the
Industrial Relations Department
ojxrned the meeting as moderator.
He declared that this gathering
would be "a test of our belief in
the open platform.”
He was followed by Edwin Wil
son of SLATE the sponsoring or
ganization, who stated that “ideas
repugnant to us need the protec
tion of free speech” and that it is
for listeners to decide the validity
of the speaker’s statements. "We
feel,” he said, "that Nazi doctrines
are inimical to civil rights.”
Jo Freeman, head of SLATE, in
troduced the speaker but Forbes,
taking the rostrum with scant ap
plause, had barely begun when the
microphone failed. A moment of
silence was cut short by a shout
from tiie audience: "God speaks
His disapproval.” Round after
round of applause followed.
When loud speaker facilties were
restored a few minutes later, Forbes
began by saying that all he could
B'nai B'rith Girls President
Meets With Dr. Jonas Salk
I>r. Jonas Salk, polio vaccine developer, points out construction progress
<« laboratories at the new Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San
Diego, Calif., to Judith Smith, International President of the B’nai B’rith
Girls of the B’nai B’rth Youth Organzation. Judith toured the Institute
site during the Conference of National Organizations, sponsored by the
National Foundation-March 0/ Dimes, in I aw Angeles and San Diego
recently. She was the only teenage participant in the meet. Judith
lives In Salt Lake City, Utah. BBYO, with nearly 45,000 dura-paying
members In several nations, is the largest Jewish youth organization in
the world.
Sunbeam BREAD
IT’S BATTER WHIPPED!
do was to “get you to think.” Then
he plunged into a fumbling explana
tion of the Nazi theory of race
.superiority. With woeful ignorance,
he engaged in a discussion of gene
tics, insisting that the brain of the
Caucasian is larger than that of
other races and that Caucasian
brains receive a greater blood sup
ply than others.
"Prove it,” someone shouted and
there was more applause.
“There is no evidence that we
are not cross-fertile with chim
panzees,” he said at one point.
“Have you tried it,” someone
yelled, amid another outburst of
clapping.
Soon he quoted from a Los
Angeles newspaper, giving the date
as May 23. "Don’t you know this
is May 22?” a student screamed
and the crowd broke into new
laughter.
Alter 14 minutes of such banter-
IN BRIEF
NEW YORK (JTA)—Seven Jewish
scholars and religious leaders were
awarded honorary degrees by the
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Insti
tute of Religion and 24 graduates of
the institution were ordained m cere-
, .monies at Temple Emanuel here.
The recipients of the honorary
degrees, which were conferred by
Dr. Nelson Glueck, HUC-JIR presi
dent, were: Abraham I. Katsh, pro
fessor of Hebrew and Near Eastern
Studies at New York University and
chairman of its Department of He
brew Culture and Education; Sol
omon Zeitlin, professor of Ital>hinic
Law and Lore at Dropsie College,
Philadelphia; Rabbi Hirsch E. L.
Freund of the Veterans Administra
tion, Brooklyn, N V.; Rabbi Hayim
Goren Perelmuter of Temple Isaiah-
Israel, Chicago; Rabbi Emanuel
Schenk of Beth Sholom-I’copies Tem
ple, Brooklyn; Rabbi Earl S. Stone
of Temple Emanuel, Denver, Colo.;
and Rabbi Joseph I. Weiss of West
End Temple, Neponsit, N. Y.
Among the 24 rabbis who received
ordination were one Japanese grad
uate, Hiroshi Okamoto, a resident
of Tokyo, and two Israelis, Tovis
Ben-Chorin and Samuel Kahati, of
Jerusalem.
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ing, Fortes disgustedly threw in
the sponge. “I guess I can’t con
vince anyone in the time allotted
to me. Let’s have .some questions.”
Dr Kennedy read the first from
a stack of written questions that
had been brought to him by ushers:
“Would Goldwater be acceptable to
your party?"
"No.”
“Why?"
"He is financed by a labor
racketeer—and besides he sent his
daughter to work in an Israel kib
butz.” The gym rang with- hand
dapping.
In answer to another question, ho
turned again to genetics but gave
up in the middle of a sentence and
asked for the next query.
"What have you against Jews?”
someone asked.
"Nothing whatever,” he shouted
back "I could even proselytize for
Jews.”
"They wouldn’t have you,” a
student called out and again came
loud applause.
“We are against Communism
and some Jews play a significant
part in Communism," Forbes per
sisted.
“Prove it” came a shout from
the seats. More handdapping.
Forbes decided that it was time
to moderate his tone. "All Jews
are not Communists and all Com
munists are not Jews," he went on.
He tried to explain that his party
is against dictatorship and he made
it apparent that he and his follow
ers are strongly anti-Negro He was
still elaborating on this theme when
there came a shout: "tet’s go.’’
The exodus began. Hundreds of
students left their seals and started
for the doors. But Fortes went on.
INITIATING B'NAI B'RITH WOMEN'S "Visit for Rights" campaign
to hasten Senate passage of the Civil Rights bill is BBW Inter
national President Mrs. Leonard M. Sims of Detroit in the office of
Senator Philip A. Hart of Michigan. Visits to Senators follow
BBW's successful "Wire for Rights Day" last week when chapter*
from coast to coast sent telegrams urging senate rejection of
amendments to weaken the bill and emphasizing the need for
cloture to end the filibuster.
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