THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

28 Friday, June 15, 1919

Book Says Prejudice Against Jews Still Lingers

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still considered an unfulfil-
led dream. Long after overt
discrimination is outlawed,
prejudices still linger on
against Jews, blacks and
other minorities.
Dr. John Slawson, who
has been a -prominent
spokesman on social issues
for more than five decades,
deals with the subject very
profoundly in his new book
"Unequal Americans," pub-
lished this week by Green-
wood Press, Inc. He
analyzes the field of inter-
group relations and equal
rights, and focuses on those
who are impeded in the pur-
suit of equal opportunity
because of their ethnic, reli-
gious or racial group iden-
tity. He also offers views on

By BORIS SMOLAR
(Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA)

(Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)

Growing import to ethnic-
ity has developed during the
past three decades as a re-
sult of passage of civil rights
legislation and landmark
court decisions which
helped to secure human
rights equality for all
Americans. But despite
government action, true
equality of opportunity is

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Slawson deals lengthily
with . the impact on
Christian-Jewish relations
in this country made by the
Vatican Council statement,
in 1965, exonerating the
Jewish people of the guilt of
crucifixion and condemning
anti-Semitism. This state-
ment was later followed not
only by the Catholic Church
in this country but also by
Protestant, Lutheran, Epis-
copalian, Methodist, South-
ern Baptist and Greek Or-
thodox church councils
openly repudiating the
deicide charge which had
plagued Jews for nearly
2,000 years. The councils
have also called for im-
proved relations between
Christians and Jews on
k
community levels.

By

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how best to cope with this
situation.
Dr. Slawson is well-
known as an outstanding
expert in human rights and
in intergroup relations. As
executive vice president of
the American Jewish
Committee — now execu-
tive vice president emeritus
and consultant — he spent a
good part of his life seeking
the elimination or reduction
of exclusionary practices
against Jews and other
minorities. His views domi-
nated many situations in
the fields of human rights
and of Christian-Jewish re-
lations.
He comes to the con-
clusion that we have a
long way to go -before ra-
cism and bigotry are
eradicated from our
society, but great pro-
gress has been made in
destroying overt dis-
crimination.
"Unequal America" is a
study wide in scope, deep in
analysis, and exhaustive in
historical background. In
dwelling on intergroup re-
lations and on the ethnic
barriers which are still in
existence, the author
naturally touches also upon
their impact on the present
position of the Jews in this
country.
Dr. ' Slawson establishes
that old stereotypes and
negative prejudgments still
persist, notwithstanding
the fact that Jews have —
through dilligence, re-
sourcefulness and painful
struggle — achieved a
prominent economic, cul-
tural and educational posi-
tion, and rank high among
professionals. Negativism
_against Jews is still strong,
he said, in the social club
and to a considerable extent
in the executive suite,"
selections and advancement
in major American business
and industrial corporations.

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The author reflects on
the black-Jewish tension
which developed in 1965
in a number of areas,
chiefly economic and
educational, with the re-
vival by black groups of
the canard that Jews
exploit the blacks as slum
landlords and extor-
tionist shopkeepers. As a
result of heightened
black-Jewish hostilities
Jewish intergroup agen-

DR. JOHN SLAWSON

cies in the 1970s began
seriously to differentiate
between black and white
anti-Semitism and ac-
cord the black manifesta-
tions greater attention.

One of the significant
points that Slawson brings
out in his book is the fact
that as a result of the grow-
ing importance given to
ethnicity in recent years,
intergroup relations began
to take on an international
and multinational char-
acter.

He cites the concerns of
the blacks in the U.S. with
the blacks of South Africa.
Also the concerns of Jews
in the U.S. with Israel and
with the plight of Soviet
Jewry. He adds that most
other ethnic ' groups in
pluralistic America exhibit

similar relationships and
concerns.
With regard to Israel,
he finds that the Jewish
state gave most Ameri-
can Jews the feeling of
reassertion of their dig-
nity as equal members of
the family of man. They
also found new ac-
ceptance in this country
following the creation of
the state of Israel. The fall
of Hitlerism, signifying a
total victory over the
forces of overt racism
and anti-Semitism, has
similarly brought new
acceptance of Jews in
this country, he points
out.
Slawson also deals with
the other areas of Jewish
concerns in intergroup rela-
tions, including "affirma-
tive action." His study is of
very high quality. His book,
a scholarly work with im-
portant observations writ-
ten in a popular style, will
attract attention not only
among average readers ih-
terested in human rights
problems, but will provoke
great interest also among
social scientists, legislators,
educators, judges, civil
rights workers and gov-
ernment officials concerned
with ethnic and civil rights
issues.

Trifa Suit Dismissal Sought

Attorneys for Valerian
That the passage of
Trifa, the Grass Lake, nearly 20 years from the
Mich., head of the Roma- time Trifa was
nian Orthodox Church in naturalized in 1957 to the
the U.S., have asked Fed- time the government
eral Judge Cornelia Ken- pressed charges in 1975 is
nedy in Detroit to dismiss the result of government
the government's citizen- neglect or incompetence
ship suit against their and has harmed Trifa's
ability to defend himself;
client.
It has been alleged that
The attorneys claim there
Trifa was a leader of the fas- was no fraud by Trifa be-
cist Iron Guard in Romania cause the government was
and incited a Bucharest not deCeived. They say the
pogrom in January 1941 government knew of the
which took the lives of hun- charges against Trifa so his
dreds of Jews. The govern- statements to government
ment contends that Trifa interviewers caused no de-
concealed his Iron Guard ception.
Government attorneys
membership when he
entered the U.S. and when have until later this month
he applied for citizenship.
to respond to the defense
Trifa's attorneys, George motion. The case itself is
Woods and William Swor, scheduled to begin July 30.
have asked Judge Kennedy
to dismiss the government's
case against Trifa on the
NEW YORK — The
grounds that the U.S. law
prohibiting entry to persons president of the National
who "advocated or assisted Conference of Christians
in . . . persecution . ." is and Jews has been cited by
overly broad and vague, and Columbia University "for
therefore unconstitutional; his humanitarian efforts."
Dr. David Hyatt was re-
cently presented with the
"Distinguished Alumnus
Award" of Columbia's
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Teachers College for his
Minister of Religious Af- "leadership as civic
fairs Aharon Abu-Hatzeira, educator."
The NCCJ president re-
told the Knesset that he
plans to submit a bill to ceived his PhD degree from
create a Mount of Olives Teachers College in 1959.
Authority in order to de-
velop and preserve the his-
toric hill.
His announcement came NEW YORK — Rabbi
; Berglas of Cong.
after Rabbi Yehuda Meir Meyer
Abramowitz, an Agudath - Shaarei Tefilah in Toronto,
Israel MK, charged that has been named dean of
terrorist groups were using OROT College for Women
the Mount of Olives cemet- in Israel. OROT opened last
ery by night while Arab fall in Tel Aviv as the
shepherds were using it by newest of 31 Yeshivot Bnei
day as a grazing ground. Akiva institutions in Israel.

College Honoree

Mount of Olives
Authority Asked

Yeshiva Dean