Newspaper Page Text
Europe cool toward
U.S. advice on Libya
by Joseph Polakoff
TSI's Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON —Europe’s
important trade relations with oil-
rich Libya were noted unofficially
here as a principal factor in the
rejection by major countries of
Washington’s suggested economic
sanctions against the country led
by dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
The suggestion followed wide
spread belief that the chief perpetrator
of the terrorist raids at airports in
Vienna and Rome was the Palestinian
Arab Abu Nidal, who is understood
to have a haven in Libya. The State
Department said “the link between
Libya and international terrorism
is clear” and has been “shown over
a number of years.” It includes
“training of terrorists” spokesman
Charles Redman said. U.S. trade
with Libya, he said, is “miniscule”
and “virtually non-existent” since
1979.
West Germany said economic
sanctions were“an unsuitable instru
ment” to use against Libya as
punishment for its alleged support
of Palestinian terrorists. Similar
cool reactions came from France
and Britain. Italy vented general
criticism of the Libyan news agency’s
expressed support for the airport
attacks, but the government’s official
Muammar Qaddafi
position appears to be that Italy
will not sever its Libyan trade.
Italy is the West European country
with the most extensive economic
ties in Libya, according to the
International Monetary Fund. Its
figures show Italy’s exports totalled
$2,527 billion in 1984and its imports
$1,826 billion. West Germany’s
exports in 1984 totalled $1,996
billion and imports $885 million.
France’s exports were $753 million,
and imports $233 million. Spain,
which said it had not decided on
the U.S. suggestion, had exports of
$969 million and imports of $293
million.
—Martin Luther King—
A friend arid-ally
by Sherry Frank
Southeast Area director
American Jewish Committee
On Monday, Jan. 20 we will celebrate
the historic first national Martin
Luther King Jr. Birthday Holiday.
We are fortunate to be a participant
in what hopefully will bean American
tradition of genuine significance.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a
remarkable human being. His impact
on our society left an indelible
mark for future generations. When
he spoke, he gave people hope;
when he acted, he gave people
strength to continue the struggle;
and when he reached out, he acknow
ledged the diversity of the people
of the world.
In the period since he spoke
about his dream for America, his
vision of freedom has inspired others
in our society to speak out forthrightly
for their freedom, America’s women,
ethnics, handicapped and the elderly.
Martin Luther King Jr. left a
moral legacy. He was true to his
own people, and spoke eloquently
about the need for non-violent
change in this country. But he was
true to the broader community of
the human family. He spoke out
against all injustice.
About community, he said:
“Through our scientific genius,
we have made of our nation—and
even the world—a neighborhood,
but we have failed to employ our
moral and spiritual genius to make
it a brotherhood.”
About social justice, he said:
“We must affirm that every human
life is a reflex of divinity, and every
act of injustice mars and defaces
Martin Luther King Jr.
the image of God in man.”
In support of non-violence, he
said:
“Violence as a way of achieving
racial justice is both impractical
and immoral. It is impractical because
it ends up creating many more
social problems than it solves. It is
immoral because it seeks to annihilate
the opponent rather than convert
him. It destroys community and
makes brotherhood impossible.”
In Martin Luther King Jr.,
American Jews always had a friend
and ally who understood Jewish
agony even as we tried to understand
the agony of his people.
Again, let us pause to remember
his own words, remembering that
he said these things prior to 1968.
Of anti-Semitism, he said:
“We cannot substitute one tyranny
See King, page 17.
The Souther n
Israelite
The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jewry
'Since 1925'
Vol. LXII
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, January 10, 1986
No. 2 u
The cutting edge
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by Edwin Black
Guilty verdicts rendered by a
Seattle jury against 10 members of
the neo-Nazi sect known as The
Order will send all but one of its
known leaders to jail for long sen
tences. Government and civil rights
groups are boasting that they have
“broken the back” of The Order.
But informed opinion is that Order
sympathizers will simply re-group
and dive further underground.
The Order was founded in the
fall of 1983 by former members of
two white supremist groups, the
Washington D.C.-based National
Alliance and the midwestern Aryan
Nations. Their goal: to “eliminate
Jewish influence” in American society.
Quickly, Order members, led by
former tax protester Robert Mathews,
series of bank robberies,
armored truck hijackings and
counterfeiting operations to finance
themselves.
Results against Jews were fast in
coming: in late April 1984, Congre
gation Ahavath Israel in Boise,
Idaho, was bombed; two months
later, abrasive Jewish radio talk
show host Alan Berg was mercilessly
gunned down in Denver. Their hit
list also included Henry Kissinger,
ISorman Lear and Jacob Javits. It
was all part of what The Order
called their written Declaration of
War against the Zionist Occupation
Government in America.
The Order became the most
dangerous white racist group in
recent memory. David Lehrer of
the Anti-Defamation League’s
Western states office explains: “Unlike
so many of these far right extremist
groups, The Order jumped the gap
between simply engaging in extremist
rhetoric and carrying out actions.”
More than four million dollars
in booty and a half million in
counterfeit currency was amassed
by Order leaders. About half of it
was distributed among cooperating
chapters of the Ku Klux Klan and
other hate groups. At its peak. The
Order operated in the Pacific
Northwest, which it hoped to terrorize
into an autonomous Aryan territory,
as well as the Southeast, Idaho and
Philadelphia.
“Membership in and of itself
was not illegal,” explained assistant
U.S. Attorney David Eugene Wilson
just hours after his successful
prosecution of the case. “We (the
federal government) were never
concerned with their views. Freedom
of speech is guaranteed no matter
how reprehensible. We got involved
A mother’s anguish
The federal court jury’s conviction in Seattle of 10 neo-Nazis—
nine men and a woman —was based on their cross-country series of
crimes and not on their belief in bringing about a racist revolution
that included planned assassinations of prominent Jews and
overthrow of the U.S. Government.
“We judged each defendant as individuals,” jury forewoman
Mary Ball said. “We were instructed to base our decision on the
evidence. Their beliefs and all that had nothing to do with it.”
United Press International quoted one of the defense lawyers,
Neil Halperin, as saying his mother became “half hysterical” when she
learned her Jewish son was defending one of the 10 on trial. Halperin,
34, said he has “great regard” for Hebrew mysticism, UP1 said.
Halpern represented Ardi McBrearty, who was the only defendent
to testify on his own behalf. The lawyer said he would appeal the
verdict because McBrearty’s case was “terminally prejudiced” by
being “tried with people accused of murder.”
“I’ve never believed Mr. McBrearty is a neo-Nazi, a racist, or
hated Jews or any of that stuff,” Halperin was quoted as saying.
“Had Mr. McBrearty in fact been a racist, an anti-Semite or neo-Nazi,
I consider it unlikely that I would have defended him 1 also consider
it highly unlikely he would have asked me to.”
“My mother called me up half-hysterical,” Halperin said. “She
asked why I was defending people who were going to kill us all. I
told her I wasn’t defending all these people, and that my client had
no interest in killing me or anyone else. . . .’’—Joseph Polakoff
only when they turned to violence.”
Indeed, once The Order showed
its violent credo, the federal govern
ment swooped down with massive
manhunts and fiery shootouts. In
December 1984, Order founder
Robert Mathews died in a con
flagration of police bullets and
illumination flares as law enforcement
authorities sought to effect a search
warrant. Other leaders were captured
in quick succession. Wielding federal
racketeering and conspiracy laws,
the Justice Department sought not
only to send Order members to
prison for long terms, but also to
seize any assets acquired with
proceeds of the criminal conspiracy.
Prosecution sources in Seattle
confirm that investigations are
continuing into the allied hate groups
which received Order financial
assistance. Millions of dollars remain
unaccounted for, and 20 gallons of
nitroglycerin have not yet been
recovered.
The ability to seize assets as well
as a perfect prosecution record has
prompted at least one Justice
Department source to declare, “We
have broken the back of groups
like The Order.” Prosecutor Wilson
adds, “This will serve as a clear
message to these kinds of groups.
We will not tolerate violent acts of
this type.” In an interview, Wilson
made clear that Jews more than
blacks were the ones most targeted
by The Order.
Wilson also singled out the Anti-
Defamation League for its help.
“They gave us the background
information needed to pursue the
cases,” explained Wilson.
Despite the Justice Department’s
jubilance, the initial praising reaction
by Jewish leaders was buffered by
cautious reassurance. “Right-wing
extremism wasn’t born with The
Order and it won’t die with The
Order," asserts Irwin Suall, of Anti-
Defamation League's New York
office. “Some members had duplicate
memberships in other organizations
(such as). . . the Aryan Nations
and the National Alliance. . .
Now that The Order is destroyed,
remaining members w ill simply drift
into these other organizations.”
Whileallconcurthat true believing
neo-Nazis will hardly go away,
they also agree that a resurgence of
Order-style violence is now unlikely,
thanks to law enforcement’s un
mistakable response. “The FBI made
it clear from the outset that they
weren’t going to tolerate these
characters,” declares Lehrer. “One
after another they became informants,
and that more than anything else
helped build up the government’s
case.”
Lehrer specified that Order mem
bers’ informing on their comrades
was the single most effective deterrent
to imitators. “This destroys the
lynch-pin of these groups: loyalty,”
says Lehrer. “This case demonstrates
that such people cannot trust their
closest true believers.”