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Celebrating 50 years of growth with the Detroit Jewish Community
HE JEWISH NEWS
24 CHESHVAN 5753/NOVEMBER 20, 1992
National Reaction
Bias: Still Significant
than the United States.
Mr. Foxman pointed out that
there has been a steady rise in ac-
ceptance over the last 28 years in
the notion that Jews have too
much power in the U.S. — from 11
percent in 1964 to 31 percent in
1992.
"It boggles the mind that in 1992
a significant segment of American
Abraham H. Foxman, the ADL na- society has bought into the classi-
tional director, said at a New York cal canards and stereotypes that
news conference Monday at which allege Jewish power," he contin-
the survey was made public. "The ued. "It is distressing that the
bad news is the
nature and con-
tent" of anti-
Semitism today.
Twenty-eight
years ago, Mr.
Foxinan noted,
anti-Semitism
was "primarily so-
cial," meaning
anti-Semites said
they did not want
to work, live near
or marry Jews. MSU students protested the Rev. Louis Farrakhan's speech in 1990.
Today, he said,
the nature of anti-Semitism has stereotypes so alive in the 1930s,
"changed significantly" and is now which led to horrific consequences,
more "political," meaning that con- did not die in the ashes of Europe,
temporary anti-Semites are more but have found a rebirth in
ceive is
Jewish
likely
to an
be excess
upset by of what
they power
per- America today. We find it to be sin-
ister and dangerous."
and more Jewish concern for Israel BIAS page 12
'A new ADL survey finds blacks are more likely to
hold strong anti-Semitic beliefs than are white Americans.
;TAFF REPORT
wenty percent of American adults
hold strongly anti-Semitic views,
while another 41 percent hold
some anti-Semitic views, accord-
ing to a major national survey
released this week by the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL).
The national poll of 1,101
American adults conducted in May
found what the ADL termed "a
hard core of haters who embrace
a wide range of stereotypes, in-
cluding 'Jews have too much pow-
er' and 'Jews are more loyal to
Israel than America.' "
When compared with the last
ADL survey of this kind, complet-
ed 28 years ago, the findings show
that the number of Americans who
are "most anti-Semitic" has de-
clined nine percentage points over
the last three decades — a time of
large-scale efforts to eradicate anti-
Semitic beliefs.
`The good news is the numbers
are better" than they were in 1964,
CLOSE-UP
"When you're young you feel like the
only gay Jew on earth.
I think we need to be a haven of sorts
C- for young Jews coming out. Maybe it's
.t ` time these closeted individuals learn
to live another way. Isn't fear as a
motivation the worst way to live your
life?" Robert Lebow believes gays
and lesbians need a name and a face,
just like people with AIDS. But not
everyone in Simcha feels so strongly.
Local Reaction
In Detroit:
No Excuses
What the ADL says about
black-Jewish dialogue in
Detroit.
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
ASSISTANT EDITOR
F
rank Sklarsky believes
wholeheartedly in dia-
logue. He believes in
compassion, in under-
standing, in building
bridges between blacks
and Jews.
But don't look for Mr. Sklarsky, of
West Bloomfield, to be Mr.
Whitewash at any black-Jewish get-
togethers. If Jews and blacks are to
accomplish anything, he says, blacks
must be answerable for anti-
Semitism in their community, and
Jews have to stop "making excuses"
for it.
Mr. Sklarsky, cochairman of a lo-
cal American Jewish Committee
black-Jewish dialogue group that re-
cently disbanded, was not surprised
by the new Anti-Defamation League
NO EXCUSES page 28
Inside
SPORTS
Melting Pot
Berkley's soccer team:
a good season and an
international flavor.
page 51
FICTION
Jewish Gays
And Lesbians
Birds Of
A Feather
Avner's dreams lay far beyond
Kfar Dena's turkeys.
page 63
Story on page 22
Contents on page 5