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SOUTHFIELD: AT RISK?
`Duke For President'
Riles GOP Activists
Second part in a series
NOAM M.M. NEUSNER
Staff Writer
D
avid Duke's presiden-
tial bid is giving local
political activists fits
— and not only because of
his Ku Klux Klan back-
ground.
Both Republican and
Democratic leaders are
upset that Mr. Duke was put
on the ballot for the Mich-
igan Republican primary, to
be held March 17. Mr.
Duke's candidacy is not sup-
ported by the state or the na-
tional Republican party.
Secretary of State Richard
Austin announced last Fri-
day that Mr. Duke would
appear on the primary ballot
under a provision that
allows for candidates recog-
nized by the national news
media.
Local Republican officials
have attacked Mr. Duke, a
former grand wizard of the
Ku Klux Klan, for his past
involvement in neo-Nazi and
other racist activities.
"To be a Republican can-
didate, you have to adopt the
George Schneider, Oak Park, III.
'ALES
OF FIVE CITIES
integration does not happen
naturally;
Page 23
DECEMBER 20, 1991 / 13 TEVET 5752
principles of Abraham Lin-
coln of tolerance and equal-
ity," said Jim Alexander,
chairman of the Oakland
County chapter of the GOP.
"To the best of my knowl-
edge, David Duke hasn't
done that."
"I hope he does very poor-
ly," Mr. Alexander said.
In a letter to Mr. Austin,
four local Jewish financiers,
Max M. Fisher, David
Hermelin, Ed Levy, Jr. and
Paul Borman wrote to ex-
press their extreme
displeasure with the secre-
tary's decision:
"Our election laws require
you to certify only those in-
dividuals recognized by the
national media as legitimate
candidates. We believe the
media only has recognized
Mr. Duke for what he is —
an extremist who appeals to
the most base fears in people
"To equate such notoriety
with a legitimate presiden-
tial candidacy undermines
our election law and gives
unwarranted credibility to
extremist hatemongers who
David Duke:
Not an insider.
always will be on the fringes
of our democratic society."
The prospect of Mr. Duke's
candidacy, following his
defeat in the Louisiana
gubernatorial race in
November, roused many
Jewish organizations. But
these non-profit, tax-exempt
organizations are prohibited
by federal law from playing
a role in partisan politics.
As a result, the Jewish
Community Council, the
Continued on Page 34
Politics Sway Views
Of U.N. Zionism Vote
AMY J. MEHLER
Staff Writer
O
n Nov. 13, 1975,
Kenneth Stern, a
specialist on anti-
Semitism and extremism,
sat in the United Nations
Assembly Hall and listened
as 72 nations voted to equate
Zionism with racism.
On Dec. 16, 1991, Mr.
Stern sat in that same
Assembly hall and listened
as 111 nations voted to
strike down Resolution
3379.
"Too many dictionaries
and legal textbooks around
the world define Zionism as
racism," said Mr. Stern,
program coordinator for the
American Jewish Com-
mittee in New York. "Too
many Jews — including col-
lege students in the United
States — have been told that
as Jews they are Zionists,
and as Zionists, racists."
Sixteen years ago, the
General Assembly voted 72-
35, with 32 abstentions, for a
resolution proclaiming
"Zionism is the
national liberation
movement of the
Jewish people."
Yitschak Ben Gad
"Zionism is a form of racism
and racial discrimination."
The Assembly rescinded
that resolution Monday by a
111-25 vote, with 13 absten-
tions.
The philosophy of Zionism
calls for reestablishing a
Jewish state in the biblical
land of Israel, and the return
of Jews from around the
world. But Arabs say it is
exclusionary and racist be-
cause Zionism calls for only
Jews to return to a land also
claimed by Palestinians.
"Zionism is the national
liberation movement of the
Jewish people," said Dr.
Yitschak Ben Gad, consul
general of Israel to the Mid-
west. "In the literature,
liturgy, and religious
ceremonies of Judaism, Zion
has always been the focus of
Jewish prayer and longing."
Ezekiel Leiken, executive
director of the Detroit
District, Zionist Organiza-
tion of America, said as long
as Resolution 3379 was on
the books, Israel could not
depend on the U.N. to be a
Continued on Page 34