figure of 6 million deaths, these ads claim
that typhus was the principal cause of death
among camp inmates, and that gas chambers
were "life-saving" fumigation chambers used
to delouse clothing and prevent disease.
Many campus newspapers, including those
at Harvard, Brown, Yale, the University of
Texas at Austin, the University of California
at Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania,
and the off-campus conservative Dartmouth
Review, have refused to print the ad. Others
however, including those at Duke, the
University of Michigan, and the Ohio State
University - have felt constrained to publish
it in the interests of free speech. The Duke
history department issued a statement urg-
ing recognition of the difference between
interpreting history and denying it altogeth-
er.
In fact, the constitutional right of extrem-
ists to express offensive propaganda places
college newspapers under no obligation to
accept such ads. As one editor who rejected
the Smith ad, Steven M. Markowitz of the
University of California at Berkeley, told The
New York Times, his paper's editorial policy
prohibits "racist, sexist or violence-inciting
advertisements." Moreover, advertisements
which dispute historically documented facts
undermine the journalistic obligation to the
truth - one of the values free speech is sup-
posed to protect. Will ads be published which
deny the internment of Japanese Americans,
the enslavement of Blacks, or the Stalinist
gulag? For now, it is only the face of the
Jews' mass murder that is being placed in
the deceptive context of "open debate."
The ads continued into 1992. More recently,
Bradley Smith left the campus arena; howev-
er, the lesson to other hatemongers was clear
- the colleges and universities of the United
States could be breached. As a consequence,
there have been several copycat attempts at
getting Holocaust denial material circulated
on campus, such as that by a Greg Clemmer
of Boring, Oregon, who sent a letter denying
the Holocaust to the University of Rochester
(NY) paper, Campus Times, along with a col-
lection of pamphlets from the Institute for
Historical Review. The letter included the
offer of a reward of $50,000 to one who can
prove or arrange any of the following. There
followed a list, the first item of which is
"Prove there was one gas chamber in Nazi-
occupied territory for the purposes of geno-
cide during World War II."
Taking Holocaust-denial onto college cam-
puses is consistent with other efforts to
mainstream the hate movement. Having
failed to influence American society through
violence and intimidation, right-wing
extremists now advance their agendas by
distorting legitimate concerns into vehicles
for bigotry, and masking their anti-Semitism
through the code words "revisionism" and
"historical review."
Given the horrifying legacy of bigotry, there
is an additional irony in the Holocaust "revi-
sionism" being expressed by some radical fig-
ures on campus. Typically, these activists
have masked Holocaust-denial rhetoric as
part of a critique of Zionism, as one member
of the Islamic Movement of North America
demonstrated: "The triangle of power finds
the Americans at the top, but they're con-
trolled by the Zionists below. The Americans
do not control their own society. There is no
bigger terrorist nation in the world than the
United States of America. They
make Nazi Germany's terror look
like nothing." Perhaps even more
outrageous is the accusation offered
by the anti-Semitic Pan-African revo-
lutionary Kwame Ture (who has told
campus audiences that "the only
good Zionist is a dead Zionist") in a
1990 speech at the University of
Minnesota: "...the Zionists joined
with the Nazis in murdering Jews, so
they would flee to Palestine." In
March, 1992, at the University of
Colorado at Boulder, Ture said of
Israel, "We must struggle until we
destroy it."
anti-Semitic incidents nationally, several of
the traditionally most-active states experi-
enced increases in these episodes. New
Jersey was second in the nation (after New
York) with 155 vandalism incidents, an
increase of 53 (up more than 50%). It may be
noted that more than half of these New
Jersey incidents (88) took place at public
locations rather than against specifically
Jewish institutional or private property tar-
gets. In contrast, New York State - despite
the disturbing increase within New York
City, saw a substantial 38% decline in such
incidents (157, down 97 from 1991), but more
than two-thirds of these incidents were
directed at Jewish institutions and other
Jewish property
CAMPUS ANTI-SEMITISM
ANTI-ZIONISM: "POLITICAL
CORRECTNESS"
California experienced a small but hopeful
decline for the second straight year.
Maryland, too, showed its second straight
decrease in 1992. Other states with large
Jewish populations experiencing welcome
declines in vandalism incidents included
Massachusetts, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
Today, in addition to traditional
bigotry, Jewish students bear the brunt of
highly-organized anti-Zionist campaigns,
reflecting a discomforting reality: being pro-
Israel, it seems,is not politically correct.
Jewish students face a double challenge not
encountered by most other campus minori-
ties. First, as this Audit illustrates, they
experience traditional anti-Semitism. But
the combination of domestic anti-Semitism
and international anti-Zionism can result in
unrelenting tension for Jewish students, fac-
ulty members, and administrators.
At some campuses, absurd and offensive
distortions of the concepts of "diversity" and
"multi-culturalism" have left Jewish stu-
dents feeling vulnerable and isolated.
Jews have excelled in academe and are
fully accepted as students, faculty members,
and administrators. At the same time, the
misuse of "political correctness" by some
campus groups often delegitimizes Jewish
values and concerns.
'Anti-Zionist sentiment in the form of
extreme and uninformed hostility to Israel
and its supporters has caused consternation
for Jewish students on many campuses.
During the Persian Gulf War, anti-war senti-
ment was often mixed with anti-Zionists
rhetoric.
ANTI-SEMITISM OF EXTREMISTS
AND DEMAGOGUES ON COLT.EGE
CAMPUSES
Stridently anti-Semitic speakers including
Louis Farrakhan, Kwame Ture, and
Professional Leonard Jeffries, and rap music
figures "Professor" Griff and Sister Souljah,
have become popular with Black student
unions around the country.
Openly anti-Semitic representatives of the
Nation of Islam are also accorded warm cam-
pus receptions, including Conrad
Muhammad and Dr. Khalid Abdul
Muhammad, who has referred to Columbia
as "Columbia Jewniversity" in "Jew York
City."
The case of Prof. Leonard Jeffries, former
chairman of the Black Studies Department of
the City College of New York, presents
another kind of campus concern: anti-
Semitism and racism by a faculty member,
rather than from student groups. In addition
to his infamous off-campus speech in July
1991, which was laced with anti-Semitic con-
spiracy accusations, Jeffries has promoted in
his classes a bizarre theory of Blacks' racial
superiority based on their higher level of the
skin pigment melanin. Thus, Jeffries and his
supporters carry Afro-centrism to perverse
extreme.
These anti-Semitic developments illustrate
the disturbing fact that many Black student
leaders and representatives repeatedly and
enthusiastically support speakers who are
well-known for their Jew baiting. These stu-
dent leaders offer a respectable platform for
anti-Semitic prejudice and ignorance - while
generating tension among Jewish students
who feel that they are "under siege."
VANDALISM INCIDENTS
VANDALISM:
MOST ACTIVE STATES
Despite the moderate decline in the level of
On the other hand, Florida reported a sub-
stantial increase in vandalism episodes (67,
up by 36%). Other states showing sharp
increases (although their overall totals were
relatively small) included Virginia, Ohio,
Rhode Island, and Nebraska
The most active states were as follows (see
chart for complete figures):
• In 1992 New York led all states with 157
(down 97 from 1991) reported vandalism
incidents, followed by New Jersey with 155
(up 53) and California with 116 (down 8).
• Next were Florida with 69 (up 26);
Massachusetts with 52 (down 16);
Pennsylvania with 43 (down 6); Illinois
with 23 (down 4); Ohio with 22 (up 5);
Virginia with 22 (up 13); and two states
with 20 incidents each: Colorado (up 3); and
Connecticut (down 1).
• Other states reporting vandalism incidents
in double figures were: Texas, with 19
(down 5), Michigan, with 18 (down 2);
Maryland, with 15 (down 26); New Mexico,
with 13 (up 2); Minnesota, with 12 (up 4);
and Rhode Island, with 10 (up 8).
• Twenty other states reported between 1
and 8 incidents.
1992 VANDALISM:
GEOGRAPHIC
BREAKDOWN
Ten Northeastern states plus the District of
Columbia combined for a total of 463 inci-
dents - 54% of the national total. In 1991,
there were 549 incidents reported in that
region, 59% of the national total.
In the West, seven states reported a total of
162 incidents. This total, and the percentage
of the national total reflected by it - 19 per-
cent - is equivalent to that reflected for the
region in 1991, when a total of 162 incidents
was also reported, comprising 17 percent of
the vandalism total nationally.
In the South, nine states reported a total of
138 vandalism incidents, 16 percent of the
national total. This compares with a total of
131 incidents for this region in 1991, 14 per-
cent of the national total that year. It is note-
worthy that vandalism incidents declined in
most of the state of the South in 1992, but
substantial increases in Florida, Virginia and
Alabama more than made up for those lower
figures.
Eight Mid-Western states accounted for 93
incidents - 11 percent of the national total.
This compares with 86 incidents, 9 percent of
the national total in 1991.
SERIOUS CRIMES OF
VANDALISM
In 1992 there were 7 incidents of arson, 4 of
attempted arson, 1 bombing and 16 cemetery
desecrations - a combined total of 28 particu-
larly serious vandalism incidents, represent-
ing the lowest total report in this sub-catego-
ry since 1988, when an equal number
occurred.
The bombing incident was reported in
Pennsylvania, where a stick of dynamite
exploded at a Newtown synagogue in May.
There were no injuries. No arrests have been
made, but police are continuing to investi-
gate.
During 1992, the 16 cemetery desecrations
took place in the following states: three in
Georgia, two in Florida, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas and
one in Connecticut, Minnesota and Virginia.
HARASSMENTS,
THREATS AND ASSAULTS
In 1992, there were 874 incidents of harass.
ment, threat and assault directed at Jewish
individuals and their institutions, down from
950 in 1991. For the second consecutive time
in the history of the annual Audit, the total
c
in this category surpasses that of the vandal-
ism incidents. While all incident totals rose
steadily between 1986 and 1991, harass-
ment, threats, and assaults increased dra-
matically in the five years prior to 1992.
From 1987 to 1988 a 41% increase was
reported, followed by a 28% increase in 1989,
and then a 29% increase in 1990. The 1991
increase was 25%. Thus, in these 5 years
such incidents nearly tripled (193%). The 8%
decline in 1992 still represents the second-
highest total of such acts ever reported.
ADL has noted with deep concern the ero-
sion of longstanding barriers against the
expression of anti-Semitism in recent years.
In the world of politics, culture, and educa-
tion, Jew-baiting, anti-Semitic scapegoating,
and conspiracy accusations have become not
only more common, but more casually toler-
ated and rationalized.
The vastly increased level of harassment
and assault incidents documented in recent
Audits (notwithstanding this year's moderate
decline) may signal a new willingness by
those inclined toward anti-Semitism to
engage in direct, provocative confrontations
with Jews, reflecting that erosion of the
taboo against open bigotry.
Many observations have noted a decline in
civility in American life, a coarsening of both
public and private discourse, with a corre-
sponding rise in many individuals willing-
ness to employ and tolerate ethnic slurs,
stereotyped insults, and other forms of hate-
ful speech. It is difficult, if not impossible, to
measure this perceived phenomenon, but
nowhere is it reflected more clearly or dis-
turbingly than in the proliferation of bigotry
and violence in the lyrics of some of the best-
selling popular music of the day. In combina-
tion with the continuing growth in campus
bias incidents - another area especially relat-
ed to today's youth - this reality suggests the
likely need for even greater concern and
remedial action.
ARRESTS
During 1992, 86 individuals were arrested
in connection with incidents in 19 states.
This compares with 52 arrests in 1992 - an
increase of 65%. The 1992 arrest total repre-
sents a welcome upswing from the declining
trend of the prior three years; arrests had
gone from a high of 144 in 1989 to 110 in
1990, then to 1991's low mark of 52. Law
enforcement agencies have been making
intensive efforts and strides in refining their
procedures for defining and investigating
hate crimes, often with assistance from ADL.
1992 SKINHEAD
INCIDENTS
Neo-Nazi Skinhead gangs continued to per-
petrate anti-Semitic and other racist and
homophobic crimes in 1992. For the third
consecutive year, however, the number of
specifically anti-Semitic Skinhead-related
incidents dropped significantly - another
probable indicator of more effective law
enforcement action by the FBI, which has a
special task force on the subject, and by
many local police departments.
In the past year, 19 Skinhead incidents
were reported to ADL. Since 1989 - the high-
water mark for Skinhead incidents (116) -
crimes in this category have plummeted by
84% in the U.S. This dramatic decline stands
in stark contrast to the dismaying prolifera-
tion of such crimes in Europe, particularly
Germany, over the past year.