14 Friday, July 27, 1984
nrepentant
Preacher
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS ,
told his rapt audience that "prejudice
is judging before one has a knowledge
of the facts." Opting to not practice
what he had just preached, Far-
rakhan twice that evening con-
demned the Jews for "being involved
in the (black American) slave trade,"
at a time when most Jews were them-
selves virtually living as serfs in
European ghettos.
During his speech Farrakhan
surrounded himself with a phalanx of
polite but intimidating business suit
and bow-tie wearing disciples, who
continually scanned the audience
like Secret Service men at a
Presidential press conference.
The forum for Farrakhan's
venom-spewing sermon was provided
by Rev. Jim Holley, whom Far-
rakhan described as being "a disciple
of Dr. (Martin Luther) King." Holley,
like Farrakhan, is a close friend and
supporter of Rev. Jesse Jackson. Hol-
ley's church, located almost directly
across Woodward Ave. from the
former Temple Beth El, was to pro-
vide a vehicle for Farrakhan to "get
the record straight."
Holley, proclaiming Farrakhan
as the "new conscience of America,"
established immediate rapport with
his audience when he said, "We
struggle for so long in the (battle for)
civil rights and as we continue to
struggle, every other ethnic group
rides our back. Then, when it's time
to get thta goodies, they jump over our
backs."
Stating, "I'm not ashamed to be a
friend of Minister Farrakhan," Hol-
ley introduced the controversial
spokesman of the Nation of Islam.
When Farrakhan, ten minutes
into his speech, intoned the phrase
"to the Jews who may be listening,"
the audience cheered. "During the
feast of the Passover," he said, "you
set a place at your table for Elijah.
You put a plate there and you pour a
glass of wine for Elijah. And you open
the door for Elijah. And the whole
world is looking for Elijah because
Elijah is the last sign before the Mes-
siah comes. Are you he?" Farrakhan
asked rhetorically, then continued, "I
say challenge my word and check my
looks and then read your book. And if
you kept the door open and close it on
me, you better be careful, because I
may be your last chance to get out of
the condition that you're in. I'm talk-
ing to Jews!"
Turning to face the two rows of
press representatives, Farrakhan
said, "Many white people have con-
demned me on the basis of you-all.
Some of you, gentlemen, ladies,
brothers and sisters, you are not re-
sponsible. You gather the news. You
take it back. Somebody over you de-
cides (what is printed). Those who
control this awesome power are
blinding the American people — and
in blinding the American people, you
are sentencing them to death."
Rev. Louis Farrakhan made no
apologies for past remarks
in his fiery Detroit speech
on Monday evening.
BY ALAN ABRAMS
Special to The Jewish News
Continued From Front Page
.
7. 7. 7... t.
c.
O.
c.
I.
"If you look on the back of an old
copy of Muhammad Speaks (former
organ of the Black Muslims), it says
there that we believe in one God
whose name is Allah. Stop right
there. If I believe in Moses and Moses
brought the Torah to Israel, how can I
call what Moses brought to Israel a
gutter or dirty religion?
"If you filled my veins with
sodium pentothal — truth serum —
and laid me down and woke me up, in
the back of my mind, my conscious
mind would not say that the religion
that brought the word of God to Israel
through Moses was gutter or dirty or
unclean. My self-conscious mind
could not say that.
"Well, what did you say, Far-
rakhan?" he asked himself. "I said,
and I quote now, that nation called
Israel has never had any peace in 40
years and will never have .any peace
because there can be no peace
structured on the injustice, lying,
thievery and deceit using God's holy
name to shield your dirty religion."
Again, mockingly, "and it
sounds to me like you're talking
about Judaism. Your religion is not
what you profess. Your religion is
what you practice. You have many
people who profess Islam. Many
people who profess Christianity. And
many people that profess Judaism.
But you only have a very few out of
those communities who are living up
. to the word that they took. Mere be-
lief counts for nothing . . . any man or
woman who does not practice what
God has revealed but superimposes a
dirty or unclean practice — they are
practicing a dirty religion."
Here Farrakhan gave examples
for Christians and Muslims. Then he
got to the Jews. "And . . . the Jews,
they claim to be the people of God and
will not lift up a light but hide the
4 -4dIr
••••••••.—
•• ■ •••• ■•■■ ...
light under a bushel basket, and de-
ceive the people and lead them away
from the path of God, is (sic) practic-
ing a dirty religion.
"That's what I said.
"Is what I'm saying correct? That
if you preach righteousness and prac-
tice evil you are practicing a dirty
religion.
"The case is closed. O.K.?"
Now Farrakhan turned to
"foreign affairs." Again, he
mimicked his critics "How dare Jesse
Jackson go over there and talk to the
PLO. He's out of his place. He em-
braced Arafat.
"What do you mean?" asked Far-
rakhan, addressing "the Jews."
"Didn't you-all give us the Bible? Did
you tell us to love our enemies? Why
don't you practice that?
"This is one reason I disapprove
of Jesse Jackson's apology to you. He
apologized for the Hymie remark.
What does he have to apologize for
now? You know you ain't gonna run
that game past me."
Then came the litany: "When
have the Jews apologized for being
involved in the slave trade? They
didn't make an apology for that, did
they? What's the matter, did I say
something uncomfortable?
"They didn't apologize for put-
ting my brothers and sisters to live in
homes or apartments and charging
them the highest rents.
"You don't apologize for setting
up liquor stores, when you don't
drink too much yourselves, feeding
my brothers and sisters alcohol.
"You don't apologize for sucking
the blood of our poor people that you
might live well.
•
"You don't apologize for seduc-
ing a 19-year-old girl and making her
take off her clothes. You don't
apologize for destroying a girl and
her future.
"You don't apologize for your
connection in South Africa.
"So very humbly I'm saying to
you, back off of my brother Jesse
Jackson."
Farrakhan's reference to the
white supremacist regime in South
Africa brought the audience to its
feet. Farrakhan's indictment of the
Jews for playing a role in the
downfall of - former Miss Anierica
Vanessa Williams has no basis.
Neither Penthouse magazine pub-
lisher Bob Guccione (who published
the nude photographs of Williams)
nor the photographer Tom Chiapel
are Jews.
Farrakhan's linkage of the Jews
to Miss William's image problem was
not that evening's only reference to
the event. Later he said, "It was a
black girl who for the first time in 57
years had to step down (as Miss
America). It was a black girl who
besmirched the pageant, as if all the
Miss Americas were little virgins."
However, Farrakhan wasn't