Jews Urged to Help Remove Root Causes of Black Anger

NEW YORK (JTA) — American;
Jews were urged, in a report by
83 inter-group relations specialists
of all faiths, to take a balanced
view of anti-Semitism among Ne-
groes and other elements of Amer-
ican society and to try to eliminate
its root causes—racial, economic
and civic injustices—rather than
to withdraw from efforts to im-
prove society.
The report, published this week,
emerged from a conference of the
Negro, white, Catholic, Protestant
and Jewish specialists held last
September under the sponsorship
of the National Jewish Community
Relations Advisory Council, the co.
ordinating body for Jewish com-
munity relations in the United
States.
Jordan C. Band, chairman of the
NCRAC, stressed that all who sub-
scribed to the report did so as in-
dividuals rather than as represen-
tatives of their respective organ-
!rations. Of the 83 signatories. 28
expressed reservations or excep-
tions to the reports findings and
recommendations.
Anti-Semitism and other forms
Of prejudice were seen by the pro
fessionals as growing out of the
frustrations and discontent caused
by inequities in society, the report
said. "Conditions that breed ignor-
ance, want, frustration and aliena-
tion are potent generators of anti-
Semitism," they asserted, "among
Negroes, as among others."
But for the Jewish community
to be "deflected from Its support
and advocacy of equality for Ne-
groes because of anti-Semitism
. among some Negroes" would be
"a repudiation of the tenet of
equal justice that is one of the
foundation stones of the Jewish
tradition" and would exacerbate
rather than reduce antizSemit-
Ism.
The report said it was the con-
sensus of the signatories that de-
pite widespread latent anti-Semit-
ism, "Jewish group status and
security are unprecedentedly high
tn America." It warned, however,
that the "pervasive climate of ;
strife and tumult ... rising crime,
changing moral codes, rebelling
youth, decaying cities . . . spread-
ing frustration, disillusion and dis- '
content . . prepare the psychic
Wit in which latent anti-Semitism
may become overt and virulent."
The report did not rule out an
engulfing wave of antiSemitism"
resulting from "severe economic
recession, escalating urban tur-
moil, adverse international devel-
opments" or other circumstances
that might turn the nation to the
extreme right or extreme left.
The signatories thought that
right-wing extremism is at present
a "more imminent threat" than
left-wing radicalism but agreed
that a major upheaval resulting in
an outbreak of overt anti-Semitism
was "not dangerously likely in the
forseeable future."
The report warned that "social
protest must not be mistaken for
racial or religious prejudice; anta-
gonisms arising out of conflicts of
interests among Negroes and Jews
as individuals must not be con-
fused with anti-Semitism on the
one hand or breed anti-Negro atti-
tudes on the other." The report
also warned Jews to "expect
criticism of Jews or attacks upon
Jews as a group by those who op-
pose Jewish stands on controver-
sial social issues." However, it
said, "such criticisms must not be
mistaken for anti-Semitism" and
"antagonism toward Jews genuine-
,: based on substantive disagree-
ments must not be impugned."
Developments in the Middle
East were cited as possible sour-
ces of tension between Jews and
Christians in America. The re-
port noted Jewish "disappoint-
ment" at the failure of the or-
ganized Christian community to
issue "a greater spontaneous
outcry . . . against the Arab
threat to annihilate the Jews of
Israel." But it credited Chris-
, thins leadership. with systematic

opposition to anti-Semitism, for
"efforts to counteract the charge
of deicide," and for declarations
of Vatican Council II and of the
World Council of Churches and
other international Chris ti a n
bodies aimed at eliminating anti-
Jewish thinking.

"The important thing," the re-
port stated, "is to recognize the
nature of the crisis and, together
with allies, to protect the Amer-
ican pluralistic democratic pro-
cess . . . Hence the entire Jewish
community is and must be in-
volved . . . and the community
relations program is an integral
and necessary part of the advance-
ment of Jewish continuity, distinc-
tiveness and creativity."
Meanwhile, an official of the
American Jewish Committee
claimed on television Sunday that
there was no Jewish backlash or
significant withdrawal of Jews
from the struggle for civil rights
as a result of the clashes between
Jews and Negroes in last year's

With regard to the Negro-Jewish
confrontation, the report saw for
the present and near future "com-
petitiveness and clashing interests"
arising from Negro demands for
more places in fields where Jews
are heavily represented, such as
government jobs, school-teaching,
social work, academic life and the
arts, and out of the pressures for
Negro ownership of business in
predominantly black neighbor-
hoods.
New York City teachers' strikes.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, April 11, 1969 - 15

Nathan Perlmutter, associate di-
rector of the AJCommittee, said
that Jews reacted more to the
failure of both white and Negro
leaders to condemn anti-Semitic
expressions by some black mili-
tants than to the expression them-
selves.

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