NEWS I
BRUCE M.
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114
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1990
Sales and Service
RUTH BAUM BIGUS
Special to The Jewish News
L
eaders in Kansas
City's Jewish commun-
ity are generally pleas-
ed that the board of directors
of the Kansas City Country
Club has issued a member-
ship invitation to Henry
Bloch.
Mr. Bloch, who is co-
founder, chairman and chief
executive of H & R Bloch,
the nationwide tax prepara-
tion firm, has indicated he
will join the club, becoming
the first Jewish member of
the nearly 100-year-old ex-
clusive organization.
A member of Kansas
City's New Reform Temple,
Mr. Bloch withdrew his
membership application to
the prestigious club upon
learning it would not be ap-
proved.
Following Mr. Bloch's
move, championship golfer
Tom Watson resigned from
the club in protest. Mr. Wat-
son is not Jewish, but his
wife and two children are.
The incident involving Mr.
Bloch put pressure on the
club, both locally and na-
tionally, for its discrimina-
tory overtones.
Eight days after the story
broke in the media, the Kan-
sas City Country Club's
board extended an invitation
to Mr. Bloch.
"I'm pleased with the out-
come because we have a lot
of good friends over there,"
Mr. Bloch told the Chronicle.
He declined to comment fur-
ther on the matter.
"It's the right beginning,"
said Mr. Watson in a
prepared statement released
through his agent's office.
"I'm hopeful this will lead to
more significant change."
A spokesman for Mr. Wat-
son said the golfer's mem-
bership status had not
changed since the board's
action.
The invitation to Mr.
Bloch was welcome news for
the Anti- Defamation
League of B'nai B'rith,
which last week was quick to
condemn the KCCC for dis-
criminatory membership
policies.
"I think this is a much
wiser policy, but I would
hope this is not a single ex-
ception but the beginning of
a policy that would remove
Ruth Baum Bigus is manag-
ing editor of the Kansas City
Jewish Chronicle.
discrimination in club mem-
bership policies," said Abra-
ham Foxman, the national
director of the ADL.
"While many Americans
would like to believe that
discrimination in this nation
is a thing of the past, Henry
Bloch's recent experience
with the Kansas City Coun-
try Club is yet another
unpleasant reminder that
this unfortunate phenom-
enon is still with us," said
Mr. Foxman in a letter to
Mr. Watson.
"We just wanted to let you
know that for those of us in
the trenches, your principled
stance has been a source of
inspiration," Mr. Foxman
added.
Initially, Mr. Foxman had
sent a letter to the club's
president, L. Chandler
Smith, criticizing it for dis-
criminatory membership.
"In recent days your club
has attracted some media at-
The incident
involving Mr. Bloch
put pressure on
the club, both
locally and
nationally, for its
discriminatory
overtones. Eight
days after the
story broke in the
media, the Kansas
City Country Club's
board extended an
invitation.
tention you probably find
unwelcome," the letter said.
"We hope that in spite of
this attention, or perhaps
because of it, you will seri-
ously reflect upon and con-
sider changing the club poli-
cies which prompted one of
America's leading golfers,
Tom Watson, to be publicly
critical.
"A closer examination of
your club's practices may
reveal that they are not only
ill-advised, but also may be
illegal," ADL's national di-
rector said.
Mr. Foxman said efforts to
make changes in such dis-
criminatory policies in Kan-
sas City clubs would have to
be made at the local level.
"Some places where the
Jewish community doesn't
see it as a priority or doesn't
want to raise the battle cry,
it remains. Sometimes it
takes a Mr. Watson," he
said. 0