THE DETROIT JEWlSH NEWS
Friday, July 3, 1981 35
Intellectuals' Dishonesty Is Contributing to Anti-Semitism
By REV. FRANKLIN
LITTELL
National Institute
on the Holocaust
PHILADELPHIA
There has recently come to
my hand an advertising
-flier circulated by the Jour-
nal of Historical Review, a
well-financed journal of the
self-styled "revisionists."
The "revisionists". are a
small group of pseudo-
historians that denies the
Holocaust occurred. Their
writings, circulated by
German diehard Nazis (il-
legally) and by American
r— Nazis and their fellow-
ravelers, have made the
authors small fortunes.
They have a few wealthy
sponsors and a larger
number of purchasers seek-
ing anti-Jewish and anti-
Israel material somewhat
more sophisticated than the
usual anti-Semitic, anti-
Zionist rubbish.
As a professor, I am con-
stantly troubled by the fail-
ure of the academic com-
munity to deal forthrightly
with the scandal occasioned
by these frauds. Lack of pro-
fessional integrity in the
universities of the Weimar
Republic allowed members
of the Nazi Party to gain
academic posts and secure
tenured positions, weaken-
ing those institutions that
should have been bulwarks
of human liberty and dig-
nity, before the uniformed
bullyboys took over.
That was yesterday.
Today, the president of
one great American uni-
versity expresses pious
abhorrence of the activi-
ties of one of his profes-
sors — and then says he
can do nothing about his
tenured position. And the
president of another
great American univer-
sity permits the "re-
visionists," pseudo-
historians, the use 'of uni-
versity conference
facilities — excusing
himself with tne pious
phrase that the univer-
sity should be an "open
market" of ideas.
Why not then an "open
market" for euthanasia di-
rected at blacks and Jews?!
Many of the people he is
helping to gain a semblance
of academic respectability
would be glad to oblige that
"open market!" Or shall we
ask when his medical school
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The truth is that both
presidents are hiding their
moral cowardice behind a
fog of pious phrases and
posturings. The lessons of
the Holocaust are clearly
being neglected. Both of the
universities concerned have
courses on the Holocaust —
neatly rendered antiseptic
as curricular offerings
under "Jewish Studies" (!).
The advertising flier to
which I referred in fact mis-
quoted me. But a misquota-
tion by "revisionists," al-
though it is something pro-
fessional historians would
be embarrassed about, is a
mere pimple on a counte-
nance scarred and disfig-
ured by the awful plague of
a virulent anti-Semitism.
The "revisionists" have no
standing in the academic
community. Their status
and prosperity, such as it is,
comes from those who want
an anti-Semitic propaganda
that is more credible than
that of the gutter rats of the
KKK and Christian De-
fense League.
There is no excuse for
academic politicians who
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allow the universities to
be dishonored by per-
sons unworthy of their
teaching posts and unfit
for the halls of learning.
There is no excuse for
civil libertarians whose
19th Century legal fun-
damentalism blinds them
to the difference between
legitimate freedom of
speech and freedom of
press and overt
paramilitary threats to
the lives and liberties of
loyal citizens.
There is no excuse for
churchmen who are too in-
tellectually lazy to distin-
guish between terrorists
who seek to "de-stabilize" a
society by massacring un-
armed civilians and
freedom-fighters who at-
tack the military stron-
gholds of a despotic regime.
The trouble is that too
many academics and civil
libertarians and churchmen
in this age which is coming
unbuttoned so rapidly, are
long on freedom and short
on self-discipline. "Aca-
demic freedom" is a slogan
heard every day on campus.
Academic self-discipline is
conspicuous by its absence.
"Religious liberty" is a
popular slogan. "Church
discipline" is relegated to
the covers of old books, sad
reminders of a time when
religious communities
backed up their verbaliza-
tions with strong group
witness.
Today, in America, a
Protestant clergyman
can appear on the masth-
ead of the "Moonie" op-
eration — without being
confronted with the
question of his loyalty to
the ordination oath he
once took "to maintain
the form of sound words
and truth." Yesterday, in
Germany, a clergyman or
a professor could preach
about an "Aryan" Jesus
and the degeneracy of
"Jewish vermin" — with-
out being expelled, as he
deserved, from both
church and campus.
Arthur Butz of North-
western, chief American
propagandist of "re-
visionism," challenged me
me to public appearance to
debate the Holocaust. A few
months ago Robert Fauris-
son, the chief European
propagandist of "re-
visionism," challenging me
through Mutual Broadcast-
ing to debate him over an
hour-long TV national
broadcast. In both cases I re-
fused.
Forty years ago I resolved
that I would never appear
on a public platform with
Nazis or Communists, their
members or their fellow-
travelers, thereby giving
their ideologies and systems
a certain credibility. And
today I have no respect for
media who, with an eye only
on sensationalism and
ratings, give boosts to the
Vanessa Redgraves and Ar-
thur Butzes and Leni
Riefenstahls regardless of
the public health and the
public good.
The answer to the "re-
visionists" Will be giv: h by
.
eye witnesses. This coming
fall, for instance, there will
be an International Confer-
ence of Liberators in Wash-
ington. The Russians as
well as the British have
promised cooperation, for
those who opened Au-
schwitz and Bergen-Belsen
must be there, as well as
those who opened Dachau
and Buchenwald.
The documentation is
voluminous. The taped
interviews with eyewit-
nesses, both survivors
and liberators, are num-
bered in the thousands.
The story of the
Holocaust will be told as
long as men and women
remember the epoch-
making events in human
history.
But when will the lessons
of the Holocaust be under-
stood? When will univer-
sities and churches and pro-
fessional societies recover
the self-discipline worthy of
self-respecting
com-
munities committed to
Truth?
Mitterand Raises Doubts
Among Jews of France
By EDWIN EYTAN
PARIS (JTA) — Francois
Mitterrand's election to the
French presidency made
many French Jews feel at
the time as if the clock of
history had been turned
back 23 years to the hey-
days of Franco-Israeli
friendship and the Fourth
Republic.
De Gaulle and his crippl-
ing arms embargo, Pom-
pidou and his anti-Israeli
initiatives and Giscard
d'Estaing's pro-Arab policy
seemed a bad. dream from
which France had finally
awakened.
Even Israeli politicians,
usually careful and even
suspicious of foreign
statesmen, seemed— won
over by the generalized
satisfaction with the
Socialist victory. Prime
Minister Menahem Begin
and opposition Labor leader
Shimon Peres vied with
each other on who had bet-
ter or older ties with the
new French president. A
new era in Franco-Israeli
relations, and many hoped,
in Jerusalem's links with
Western Europe as a whole,
seemed to have started.
Now, two months later,
many of France's Jews
are worried and some-
times disillusioned with
the new administration.
Most express their mis-
givings privately but
others have come out into
the open. Even the most
pro-Mitterrand Jewish
organization, "Jewish
Revival," which had
actively campaigned
against the outgoing
president and his ad-
ministration has openly
protested against some of
the new government's
statements and deci-
sions.
•
The militant Jewish
organization took the new
administration to task for
its statements over
Jerusalem and the Palesti-
nians, its speedy condemna-
tion of Israel's bombing of
the Iraqi nuclear reactor
and its attitude during the
Security Council debate on
this issue.
One of the outgoing de-
puties, 38-year-old Jean
Pierre Bloch, is highly criti-
cal of the new government.
"The new administration
will be far worse than any-
thing we have known in the
past. Formerly, we could
work from within, there
were means we, the Jewisti,
Deputies, as part of the
former majority, could
influence the president's
decisions," he said. "Now,
there are practically no
Socialist Jewish Deputies.
One or two at the worst, and
all anti-Israeli. The new
Socialist majority will do as
it wants and what it wants
with no restrictions what-
soever."
Pierre Bloch, who be-
longs to the beaten Neo-
Gaullist party, is bitter
for obvious political rea-
sons but he also repre-
sents many attached
Jews who feel the same,
though they use more
moderate terms in ex-
pressing themselves.
Pierre Bloch, whose
father is president of the
French Bnai Brith, showed
the JTA a tract against him
distributed by pro-
Mitterrand Jews. "They
would rather see me, a Jew
lose. And win another
Socialist seat."
The new French adminis-
tration will have to clarify
its position within the next
few weeks unless it wants to
risk disillusioning most of
its Jewish electorate for
good. According to French
Jewish leaders, said "some-
thing must be done within
the coming months or
weeks, to make it clear
where Mitterrand and his
men really stand."
Bank Sponsors
Balloon Classic
Liberty State Bank and
Trust will be among the
major sponsors of the 1981
Avon Hills Lions Club Bal-
loon Classic.
The event will be held
today - Sunday at Michigan
Christian College located
on 23 Mile Road (Avon
Road) west of Rochester
Road in Avon Township.
Fireworks will be held
Saturday. A carnival will be
held at Winchester Mall.
Proceeds from the event
will help support the Leader
Dogs for the Blind School,
Penrickton Home for visu-
ally handicapped children,
Michigan Eye Bank, Lions
Silent Children's Fund,
eyeglasses and hearing aids
for needy residents in the
Avon Township area and
various other charitable
projects.
Admission is free.
The band also will be a
participant in the 1981
Fraser Lions Club annual
fund,;raising carnival.