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THE SOUTHERN ISRAEMTE
Pago Throe
Friday, June 30, 1972
J. Edgar Hoover And The Jews
By George Friedman
JTA STAFF WRITER
“Communist reports on the
state of Jews in the Soviet
Unien make little reference to
Judaism as practiced . . . Among
tactics employed by the Com
munist Party of the Soviet
Union has been the liquidation
• f the traditional Jewish school
system, including the primary
school (Hedder), the secondary
schools (the Talmud Torah), and
the rabbinical school (the
Yeshiva). Thus, when the pres
ent generation of Soviet Jews
passes on, there will be no
more rabbis .... Hence, in
abolishing the rabbinical
schools, the Soviets are grad
ually seeking the extinction of
Judaism without a pogrom.”
These observations, parenthen-
ses and all, were published —
in 1958 — by John Edgar
Hoover, director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, in
“Masters of Deceit” (Holt,
Rinehart & Winston; quoted by
permission). Hoover, who died
last month at 77 after 48 years
as the nation’s “No. 1 G-Man,"
devoted 16 pages to “The Com
munist Attack on Judaism.”
Calling Hitlerism “reminiscent
of” Marxian anti-Semitism, he
called allegations of Jewish-
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communist fraternity a “malic
ious myth,” observing: “The
people who gave the world the
concept of our monotheistic
God and the Ten Command
ments cannot remain Jews and
follow the atheism of Karl
Marx and the deceit of the
communist movement . . . Some
of the most effective opposition
to communism in the United
States has come from Jewish
organizations.”
Asserting that Soviet toler
ance of Jewish culture was
“never anything more than a
temporary political tactic,”
Hoover cited “the sad fate of
the Jewish school system in the
Ukraine” and “the . . . crippling
. . . prohibition of the use of
Hebrew, the traditional lang
uage of Judaism.” He noted that
“A similar program of suppres
sion of Jewish institutions shif
ted to the satellites after World
War II.” The FBI chief added
that “for two years prior to the
Nazi invasion of Russia, when
Moscow was aligned with Ber
lin, there is no record of any
Soviet protest against the Nazi
slaughter of Jews,” and even
subsequently, “there was a
shocking failure on the part of
the Soviets to reveal Nazi atroc
ities against the Jews.” Further
more, “In the Soviet Union,
Zionism is ruthlessly sup
pressed.”
Before, during and after
World War II, the FBI acted
to smash alien spy rings in the
US and in Central and South
America, despite criticism by
“foreign propagandists, mis
guided pseudo-promoters of
civil liberties, silly sentimen
talists, front men for subversive
organizations, their stooges and
some innocent persons,” as
Hoover characterized oppon
ents in a 1942 speech. “When
the war came,” he recalled,
“thousands of dangerous enemy
aliens were promptly arrested
before they could move into ac
tion.” Warning that “We must
not relax in our vigilance.”
Hoover cited history: “Less
than 20 years ago, Adolf Hitler
went to prison following his
conviction for violent and treas
onable demonstrations against
his government. In less than six
months, meddlers and pander-
ers of justice sought to have
him paroled . . . Unfortunately,
Hitler was paroled after serving
less than nine months of his
long prison sentence. The world
knows the consequences.”
A devout Presbyterian, Hoov
er also spoke out on spiritual
needs. Exactly 20 years ago
this month he warned: “In far
too many homes, reverence of
God does not exist ... If this
country ever hopes to root out
crime it must begin at the
cradle (and) instill in the youth,
through religion, a moral sense.”
His favorite biblical quote was
from the moralistic Hebrew
prophet Micah (6:8): “He has
showed you, o man, what is
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good; and what does the Lord
require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to
walk humbly with your
God . . . ?” In 1941, Damon
Runyon wrote: “It is our guess
that his job is a religion with
Hoover, rather than a career.”
Hoover, whose leading civilian
supporter was the non-observ
ant Jewish columnist Walter
Winchell, declared in 1944: “The
time has come to demand proof
when biased accusations are
leveled at groups of people be
cause they are Catholic, Jew,
Gentile, White or Negro.” In
early 1946, JTA columnist Boris
Smolar reported: “The FBI will
drop the word ‘Jew’ or ‘Jewish’
from ‘wanted’ notices concern
ing criminals and fugitives.
Assurance to this effect was
given by the FBI headquarters
to the Anti-Defamation
League.” Milton Ellerin, an FBI
agent during 1934-46 and now
with the American Jewish Com
mittee, contended to this column
that Hoovens record on Jews
was “unassailable” and that he
was the first to go after the
Ku Klux Klan. “There were
always a goodly number of
Jews in the agency,” Ellerin
contended, adding that in fact,
in those days of Jewish “domi
nance” in basketball, all five
members of the FBI team were
Jewish.
One man who dissented, how
ever, was ex-agent Jack Levine,
who in 1963 alleged “anti-Negro
and anti-Semitic attitudes in the
FBI,” calling its ratio of Negro
and Jewish employees—pur
portedly .2 percent and .1 per
cent—the lowest among govern
ment agencies. The bureau, call
ing Levine a “disgruntled” ex
employee who had been dis
missed for “substandard” per
formance, rejected his charges.
Another Jewish ex-agent, Leon
ard R. Viner, called the charges
“outrageous” and noted that
Hoover had received “many
honors” from Jewish organiza
tions. In fact, later that year
the Washington Hebrew Con
gregation gave the FBI chief its
Brotherhood Award and a Bible
for “unswerving devotion to
the betterment of brotherhood
in all races, creeds and colors”
and for “constant opposition by
precept, word and deed to ail
forms of bigotry, prejudice, in
tolerance and hatred.”
Another furor arose last year
when the ADL’s Philadelphia
office gave the FBJ, on request,
the names of local Jewish De
fense League leaders. ADL
chairman Seymour Graubard
defended the move as consis
tent with a traditional policy of
cooperation with the govern
ment in regard to ‘groups or
individuals which threaten the
democratic society.”
Copyright 1972, JTA
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