PURELY COMMENTARY

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Anti-Semitism
At Our Threshold

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Editor Emeritus

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o long as it is not offi-
cial, when anti-Jewish
prejudices are not rec-
ognized authoritatively in
our government's actions,
then anti-Semitism can
never become part of United
States administrative policy.
This has always been our
prideful boast every time
there was threat of discrim-
ination against us.
Therefore, it is not surpris-
ing that a deluded Israel
government official should
arouse resentment when he
hurls an insult at our presi-
dent or that a responsible
New York Times columnist,
Leslie H. Gelb, should have
written under the title
"Bush vs. the Jews — A
Declaration of Political
War," actually calling the
latest Bush action a
"political war on Israel."
Much of what is suggested
here could be viewed as dis-
putable and as encouraging
different views. Never-
theless, to avoid suffering
from farming the bitterness
that could flame into ven-
omous fire against citizens,
it is healthier to confront
unpleasant experiences and
to tackle them courageously.
The accepted American
principle of " to bigotry no
sanction . . .," handed down
to us by George Washington,
will surely always function
as predominant in our
Americanism.
Notable is the occurrence
which led a man, who was
several years thereafter to
become the occupant of the
White House, to have earned
an anti-Semitic designation.
When he was a leading
Union army general,
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)
issued a decree on December
17, 1862, asserting:

The Jews as a class
violating every regulation
of trade established by
the Treasury Department
and also department
orders, are hereby expell-
ed from the department
within twenty-four hours
from the receipt of this
order. Post commanders
will see that all of this
class of people be fur-
nished passes and re-
quired to leave, and any
one returning after such
notification will be ar-
rested and held in con-
finement until an oppor-
tunity occurs of sending

them out as prisoners,
unless furnished with
permit from head-
quarters. No passes will
be given these people to
visit headquarters for the
purpose of making per-
sonal application for
trade permits.This now an

inerasable chapter in
American history and it is
important to - note at the
outset that it was soon
revoked by President Lin-
coln. Gen. Grant himself
apologized during his can-
didacy for the presidency
when he wrote in a letter: "I
have no prejudice against
sect or race but want each
individual to Jpe judged by
his own merit."
While Gen. Grant's
original military order re-
mains a link with anti-
Semitism in American
historical records, he was
defended by a fellow Repub-
lican, Simon Wolf, who was
one of America's leading
Jewish spokesmen and a
historian of note. As a
matter of fact, the two
recorded accounts about
Gen. Grant and the Jews in
the Encyclopedia Judaica
and the Universal Jewish
Encyclopedia give credit to
Simon Wolf's role in the
Grant episode. The En-
cyclopedia Judaica article is
especially noteworthy in its
listing of the Jewish rela-
tionships with Gen. Grant.
Here are the encyclopedic
tracings of personalities in
this matter:

No single act or word,
let alone edict, of another
president or federal offi-
cial, in all of American
history, compares with
the Grant order for rank
generalization, harshness,
or physical consequences.
Yet Grant did not
previously, nor subse-
quently, reveal animus
toward Jews or Judaism.
He appointed a number of
Jews to important office
during his presidency,
offering the secretaryship
of the Treasury to Joseph
Seligman . . . appointed
the former head of the
American B'nai B'rith,
Benjamin Franklin Peix-
otto, to the unsalaried
position of consul at
Bucharest ... Simon Wolf
... believed that Grant "
did more on and in behalf
of American citizens of
Jewish faith, at home and
abroad, than all the Pres-
idents of the United States

prior thereto or since."
But Grant was a Repub-
lican, and so was Wolf,
and Grant appointed Wolf
recorder of deeds of the
District of Columbia in
1869.
The Grant affair
underlines the un-
conscious assimilation by
many Americans of tradi-
tional anti-Jewish stereo-
types, and the constant
search for scapegoats.

Perhaps the president and
other administrators have
something to learn from the
Grant chapter in American
history.
The judgment in this
recording is that American
commitment to humanism is
more powerful than monetary
prejudices which, as in the
case of President Grant, call-
ed for apologetic denials.

It is in the interest of ex-
plaining and also of striving
to avoid the necessity for
such apologetics that this
historic occurrence is recall-
ed. My confidence is that
"Bigotry is not permissible in
true Americanism," and that
it is treated here as "anti-
Semitism at our threshold
and not on our threshold." ❑

Respecting
Public Opinion

Taking seriously the
recollections on the Babi Yar
massacre of 1941, which ap-
peared in my column on
Aug. 30, a message from
President George Bush
commends serious treatment
of the battle against anti-
Semitism and the historic
facts relating to the horrors.
Writing in behalf of the
president, Kathleen S.
Jeavons, associate director
of the Office of Public
Liason, provides us with this
message:

On behalf of President
Bush, thank you for send-
ing a copy of your article
regarding his visit to the
Ukraine. As the President
mentioned in his remarks
there, visiting Babi Yar is
a very solemn and moving
experience, and it is
imperative that the
horrors be known to
avoid such atrocities in
the future.
The President appreci-
ates your efforts to speak
out against anti-Semitism
and prejudice. Thank you
for sharing your concerns
with this office.

❑