PURELY COMMENTARY
Arthur Joseph Goldberg: Dedicated Jewish Libertarian
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor Emeritus
A
dmiring communities,
in the judiciary, gov-
ernment and diplo-
macy, are rating the merited
honors to a man whose name
will remain inerasable in this
nation's history. Arthur
Goldberg will be unforgotten
for knowledge of the corn-
mitments in which he became
involved in everything for
which he was selected in his
life filled - with marked
achievements. There will be a
page for him in the Jewish
portions of the American
history in which he had great
roles.
In nearly all the obituaries
about him there was mention
of his having had a two-year
term as president of the
American Jewish Committee.
There are many more iden-
tifications for which to
remember him, with grati-
tude for notable services.
First, let us remember his
notable careers in the U.S.
government, in our chief
judiciary in the Supreme
Court, and as the U.S.
spokesman in the United
Nations.
There is an appreciated
summary of these roles in the
Encyclopedia Judaica. Re-
lating the basic facts, we read
in it:
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg
was U.S. labor lawyer,
secretary of labor,
Supreme Court justice and
ambassador to the United
Nations. Goldberg, who
was born in Chicago, was
the youngest of 11 children.
After graduating from Nor-
thwestern University Law
School (1929) at the head of
his class, Goldberg began
practicing law in Chicago.
He soon developed a na-
tional reputation in labor
law, a field then rapidly ex-
panding in the wake of the
intensive labor strife and
legislation of the depres-
sion years and Roosevelt's
New Deal. During World
War II, he was appointed
head of the labor division
of the U.S. Office of
Strategic Services (OSS),
for which he helped to
establish intricate clandes-
tine operations with anti-
Fascist trade union leaders
behind Nazi lines.
In 1948 Goldberg was ap-
pointed general counsel of
the Congress of Industrial
Organizations (CIO). In
this capacity he played a
crucial role in the prolong-
ed negotiations between
the CIO and its warring
rival the AFL (American
Federation of Labor) and
was instrumental in draf-
ting the merger agreement
between them in 1955, after
which he returned to pri-
vate practice. His book
AFL CIO; Labor United
was published the follow-
ing year.
An early supporter of the
presidential aspirations of
John F. Kennedy, Goldberg
was appointed to the
cabinet as secretary of
labor upon Kennedy's in-
auguration in 1961. Unlike
his immediate predecessor,
Goldberg took an activist
view of the office. He
vigorously strove to raise
the national minimum
wage and to increase
federal unemployment
-
benefits, while at the same
time seeking to arbitrate a
wide range of labor-
management conflicts in
order to implement Ken-
nedy's anti-inflationary
program by discouraging
excessive wage hikes.
His activities in this area
alienated many of his old
labor colleagues, causing
the magazine New Repub-
lic to summarize his two
years as labor secretary by
remarking, "His contribu-
tion to the Kennedy ad-
ministration has been
notable for his forthright
disregard of old ties with
organized labor in shaping
a new doctrine of the na-
tional interest in labor-
management disputes?'
In 1962 Goldberg was
chosen by President Ken-
nedy to replace the retiring
Felix Frankfurter as a
justice on the United States
Supreme Court. During his
term on the court, Gold-
berg consistently voted
with its liberal majority
and wrote several key deci-
sions protecting the rights
of naturalized American
citizens. The most signifi-
cant decision written by
him, however, was the
famous Escobedo Case of
1964, in which the court
ruled by a 5-4 majority that
every accused prisoner
had the constitutional
right to be advised by a
lawyer during police inter-
rogation, thereby working
a revolution in American
criminal law.
In 1965 Goldberg re-
signed from the court to
become United States
permanent representative
to the United Nations. The
high point of his U.N.
career came during the
Arab-Israel war of 1967,
when throughout the six
days of fighting he re-
peatedly and successfully
argued the American posi-
tion calling for a cease-fire
without previous Israel
withdrawal. He thereby
earned the enmity of the
Arab nations, who accused
him of influencing Ameri-
can foreign policy on be-
half of Jewish interests.
Goldberg was also said
to have had a major hand
in the drafting of the
November 1967 Security
Council resolution which
served as a basis for the
Jarring Mission to the Mid-
dle East. In 1968 he re-
signed from his position,
reportedly dissatisfied
with President Johnson's
"hawkish" policies in Viet-
nam and his own inability
to moderate them.
Such a remarkably ap-
plauded career necessitated
Continued on Page 46
The Disease Of Fault-Finding: The 'Mu Poison
F
ault-finding has be-
come an appropriate ti-
tle for a chapter in dis-
putable propaganda tech-
niques.
The prejudiced in the media
and the discriminating in
governments and even in
churches have contributed to
it.
This has become the means
of equating all South African
apartheid guilt to the Jewish
community. The Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate, Archbishop
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Vol. XCVI Na 23 February 2, 1990
2
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1990
Desmond Tutu, has provided
the tools for hatred with
venom that disgraces the
Nobel Prize granted him.
Shocked by the extremely
prejudiced views, the
distinguished leader in
Christian-Jewish relations
and a dedicated ecumenist,
Dr. Marc H. Tannenbaum,
was compelled to write his
most recent syndicated col-
umn under the title "Ar-
chbishop Tutu Is More Anti-
Jewish Than He Acknowl-
edges." Dr. Tannenbaum re-
called the services to the
South African-freedom move-
ment of Helen Suzman. His
column recalled:
I first met Desmond
Tutu, the Anglican ar-
chbishop of South Africa
and Nobel laureate, in his
church in October, 1985.
Helen Suzman, the feisty
anti-apartheid leader in
South Africa's parliament,
arranged for an American
Jewish Committee delega-
tion to meet with Tutu for
a frank discussion about
apartheid and black-
Jewish relations.
After the usual courte-
sies, the archbishop laun-
ched into a long lecture to
us about how apartheid is
the equivalent of the Nazi
Holocaust, and the Jews
are spectators to the black
tragedy.
Suzman — as did we all —
bristled with anger. She
was the first member of the
South African parliament
to campaign against the
evils of apartheid more
than a quarter-century be-
fore Tutu was on the scene.
She also organized the first
liberal party in South
Africa to combat apar-
theid.
"Listen, Desmond?' Suz-
man said, "I have devoted
my entire life and career to
battling against apartheid.
Terrible and tragic as is
apartheid, it is no way the
equivalent of the Nazi Hol-
ocaust which tried to de-
stroy physically the entire
Jewish people. I wish you
would stop exploiting that
great Jewish tragedy for
your purposes?'
Tutu seemed to be em-
barrassed and remained
silent for awhile.
But he obviously has not
remained silent since then.
He has consistently ex-
ploited Judaism and the
Jewish historic experience.
I am not sure whether he
really believes what he has
been saying about Jews
and Judaism, or whether
he is cynically distorting —
even raping — Jewish sanc-
ta for his own dramatic
purposes.
This is not enough to record
the poison of a bigot who un-
fortunately has a very long
record of hatred to his credit.
Dr. Tannenbaum proceeded in
his column to expose the
hatred of a man who was
chosen for a great world
honor:
Examining the record of
Archbishop Tutu's declara-
tions over recent years, I
have come to the conclu-
sion that his mind-set is
that of the medieval Chris-
Desmond Tutu
tian tradition, which be-
lieved that Jews are moral-
ly exhausted and that
Christianity has come to
supersede Judaism as a
"superior" form of religion.
Thus, we see it is classic
anti-Judaism which feeds
his consistent pattern of
anti-Jewish attitudes.
Continued on Page 46