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■ Editor A Publisher
: Vid* Goldgar: Ma«*fa« Editor; Mike Fsass: AdvrtWi*Dt*~tor
■ , Ag^tota Nm !!«*.; *-*« J«l*
Jack
It
„ as much wyoado,Mr. President, but we try to
recognize that Mideast problems are complex' and founded on a
bedrock of years and yean of misunderstanding and war. This
makoa patience and subtie negotiations a necessity and your obvious
impatience and sometimes seemingly off-hand, obtuse an
al major policies at press conferences is perhaps not
way to go about it.
~ ihaki is armed with the vaunted Brookings
parties hi the Mideast are ready for peace
„ns at Brookings were not ss perceptive as
about the psychological factors involved. The
' “ong ago not to go to the bargaining
made. They have been taken to the
id about compromises with the
it in perspective when he said,
> use bin
PLO. Prime Minister Begin put
during a resent ATest As Press, “We face here an organisation which
is bent on the destruction of our people and of our country. How can
we agree, at any time, under any circumstances to negotiate. What?
Our aetf-destruction with these so-called PLO? It’s just impossible,
it’s illogical and inconceivable.”
spotlight off the Mideast and quietly work with^e Arabs and
Israelis solely on the problems that bar the path to Gerieva. Forget
tbb PLO for now and don't ask either side to give anything up,
pubBcly or privately. Let them work it out in Geneva.
This would certainly cut down on what has been, in our opinion,
excessive media, coverage. Even though we dearly love to report
, news, we would be willing to cool it for awhile.
Mr. President, I hate to use Mr. Moynihan’s much maligned
phrase, but perhaps what is needed most in Mideast negotiations
from vou right now is just a little “benign neglect.”
jack offgaaer
AV1 Si*
i Sr The latest Newsweek magaiiae discloses that President Carter has
“become so concerned about a possible backlash within the American
Jewfeft community” over htti Mideast policy that be baa ordered a
St weekly news roundup of “all U.S. Jewish publications.” The sum-
- mary will be embossed with a blue Magen David logo, according to
wJdT»ffl betddfcered directly to Carter and his senior
■ This la heady newi for us. Even though we have addressed the
president in these paged ;qoite often during the past months, we
eouH never be sure that lie was listening.
That’s why we teke this opportunity to say “Hello, Mr. President
and ask you to give us a moment in which we might offer some ad
vice about Midaast policy.
Our first advice la to give it a little rest. We think one of the major
problems - and this was confirmed by a recent visitor from the
Washington acaoe — is that you expected to do too much too soon in
lie Midsast. We know you are a man with a mission and that ogee
in a job you like to sse it through, but perhape your expec-
br the Mideast exceeded your grasp of the possibility for any
mr - t* ' agg -
When news came that David
charged with being the "Son of 8am'
cringed, didn't you?
"Oh, no, he’s Jewish!” was the
reflexive reaction of many Jews,
accompanied bp that old fami
liar feeling of shame and guilt
As it turns out, the apprehen
sion was unfounded. Although
the name ir'Jewish, it seems
David Berko wit* was an adopted
child whose original name was
Falco. His early upbringing was
Jewish but he converted to the
some years ago, and later, according
came a fanatic and religious
Berkowitx was not a Jew during
ploits as “Son of Sam,” after all.
And yet, the feeling of guilt lingers on, doesn’t
it? .
I remember right after John F. Kennedy’s
assassination I heard the comment, "Weil, we can
at least be thankful that Oswald is not Jawish.”
And then, as If perversity and bad luck were dog
ging our people — Jack Ruby, a chubby, non
practicing Jew, came out of a dark comer and dis
posed of Oswald.
"Wouldn’t you know it,” was the immediate
reaction, "now we do have a Jew in the picture
after all.”
Why is it, do you think, that such events register
2?
aspossi-
his
sitive form of <
that Ja
„ learned the best
an Invisible Jew:
of trouble and
roots of this probably go back to the earliest
tions that the Jewe killed Christ ~
we always knew in o<
not responsible,
hr absolution — “
a Roman might!
that it was he, P
ibte, and not us.
tiiink the time has <
lf-impoaed cloaks <
be judged as individual
{thatl
admit right now we are not all aa moral as Moses
but let’s make it clear that we are not responsible
just because a Jew commits a crime.
I think it is high time we shed this particular
paranoia and become secure enough in our
Jewishness to allow an occasions] bad guy to be
revealed as s Jew without going into a tixxy of
shame.
We may be the “chosen people” but that doesn’t
mean we are responsible for an aberration like
David Berkowitz.
that
dream that
andeon-
who was
determine to
fo no denying thaUhere an bad Jews. HI
VIEWNUNT
Anti-Semitism and soybeans
by Stuart Lewengrub
We sometimes tend to think
that anti-Semites and racists
lack creativity and imagination.
True they often reyert to
canards that have been heard for
yearn some for centuries. But
they invent new ones, too. Some
of them art suited to the times.
Others come out of nowhere, or
to be more precise, come out of.
the scrambled brains of
paranoid people.
We are familiar with some of
the standard anti-Semitic
canards. To wit: "Communism is
Jewish.” “Capitalism is Jewish.”
Which one you use depends on
whether you are an extremist pt
the left or of the right “Jews are
not really Jews. They are
Khazars, the descendants of a
middle ages Russian tribe.” “The
Holocaust is a hoax.” The latest
book proclaiming this myth
asserts among other things that
the deaths at Auschwitz were of
“natural causes,” and that the
Nazis admitted mass exter
minations ss a way of “plea
bargaining.” Denial of the
Holocaust is nothing new in the
anti-Jewiah repertoire.
Some of the more recent bits
ot anti-Semitism would'be down
right funny if the potential for
destruction among those advan
cing them wasn’t so real. Here
true that among all the memos,
letters, directives, and
publications there hasn’t been
one tip on the soybean market.
Another caller oh the program
believed it was un-American to
belong to Jewish organizations,
Stuart Lawengru
and that we ought to join only
secular organisations. He im
plied that we reinforce our “clan
nishness” when we join B’nai
B’rith or the Jewish War
Veterans. The pity of this call
was that it was from someone
who stated he was Jewish. When
will some of our folks learn that
— ,.the one kind of Jew who receives
are^some of rather recent vin- tiie lewt resect from non-Jews SirWb. lK go to elubp that«-
and Jews is the one who denies - - — - —
low pay
Jewish girlfriend. How do they
explain Rod Carew’s .980 batting
average? He has a Jewish wife.
— A young man of Jewish
birth who had recently accepted
Jesus appeared on a talk show
with a slew of statistics, all
without foundations. Hie most
remarkable of them waa that
“eight out of ten reform rabbis
don’t believe in God." When
questioned ss to the source of
tiie statistic he did a significant
amount of incoherent babbling.
What is troubling is not merely
the idiocy of someone spouting
these misguided “facts” on the
air but rather the number of
people who called in praising his
“seeing the light,” and welcom
ing him to the fold.
Anti-Semitism and racism are
not joking matters. Hieir effects
are all too real. Prejudice is the
antithesis of logic. The fact
remains that there are still too
many among us who harbor the
fears, the ignorant beliefs, the
hatreds of those different from
themselves. Not all of these are
from the poor, uneducated
strata of society. Some are
professionals, business people,
community leaders who wander
through life secretly blaming the
Jews and/or the Blacks for their
personal problems and for the
atly on a radio talk show
I was informed by a listener that
in addition to controlling the
media and banks, Jews also con
trol the soybean market and
other commodities. However,
the caller informed us, there is
no proof of this because "Jews
never put anything in writing.
They whisper to one another.” If
only this fellow could sit at my
dew for a week and go through
the voluminous mail we receive
he would surely change his mind
about Jews not putting anything
in writing. Of course, that might
■W wesif— i him, ~
1
his heritage? Besides, is there a
law that says we can’t belong to
Jewish and secular
Organizations?
One local anti-Semitic
publication has printed some
revealing items in recent
months. Among them are these:
— Jimmy Carter is not really
President of the United States.
Stu Eiaenstat is. Congratula
tions, Stu, we finally have a
Jewish President.
— Even sports is not ignored.
This hsir-brained publication at
tributes s New York Yankee out-
clude Jews and Blacks. They
transmit, their prejudices to
their children in subtle and overt
ways. They see difference ss
their enemy and sameness si an
ideal. What they don’t under
stand they explain aa a con
spiracy. There is much work to
do.
Perhaps Tm getting a little
paranoid myself. Last nigbt I
began to wonder why nobody
ever tells me when the soybean
market is going to rise.
(Stuart Lewengrub is Direc
tor, Southeastern Region, Anti-