0 OPINION 0 Tuesday, November 24, 1981 The Michigan Daily A 'Jew-boy'thinks about anti-Semitism It doesn't really startle me anymore. It used to-back when I was growing up in the predominately Jewish and very sheltered community of Highland Park, Illinois. But not anymore. Not now that I've been out in the larger world for awhile.. So the malevolent rasp of the anonymous telephone caller didn't shock me as it was sup- posed to. Howard Witt Anti-Semitism is alive and well and flourishing in the United States. This is no great revelation, I know. Every Jew senses it, sees it, experiences it. It's just that you don't think about it all that much; it's something you learn to live with, like arthritis. Sometimes it flares up with crippling pain, but most of the time it lingers in the background, like some dull constant ache. "Hello, Jew-boy." Just a quick spasm. Strange that just a day after that phone call a derisive Senator Ernest Hollings -of South Carolina should refer to Senator Howard Met- zenbaum of Ohio as "the Senator from B'nai B'rith" during a debate about the school prayer program. AND STRANGE that just a day later, I should be watching Skokie, a television movie about the neo-Nazis who wanted to march through that largely Jewish Chicago suburb a few years ago. It was a good week for anti-Semitism. I am fascinated by this phenomenon, this unreasoning prejudice, this blind hate even as I am the object of it. What type of person is my anonymous caller? I wonder. Some blonde- haired, blue-eyed Aryan jock living in some party-down fraternity with his beer-chugging pals? Some uncouth, redneck rube from out in the sticks? The upright, outstanding son of some southern senator? I picked up a book a few months ago on sale for $2 (an 80 percent markdown; how could I resist?), but had never gotten around to reading it. Anti-Semitism in America, it's called. I cracked it open last week. THE RESULT OF 15 years of nationwide survey research commissioned by the Anti- Defamation League, the book-published in 1979-documents contemporary American at- titudes toward Jews and attempts to determine the causes of anti-Semitism. Some of the findings are heartening. The virulent anti-Semitism of the 1920s, '30s, and early '40s has largely disappeared. Very few non-Jews today favor discrimination against Jews (or other minorities) in such public areas as employment, housing, college admissions, and hotels and resorts. But in place of the virulent, overt anti- Semitism, the research found, a more subtle prejudice has been growing. Fully two-thirds of the non-Jewish public subscribes to one or more stereotypical images of what Jews are like. Such images are predominately those of traditional anti-Semitism: that Jews are deceitful and dishonest in business, clannish in their behavior toward others, pushy and aggressive, vain and conceited, and that they control the media, motion pictures, and- banking industries. IT IS THIS insidious undercurrent of prejudice we saw when an otherwise diplomatic senator blurted his anti-Semitic in- sult in the heat of a debate. And when otherwise upright politicians started pointing to a "Jewish lobby" during the AWACS furor. And when an otherwise ordinary student called me a "Jew- boy" because I wrote a column that upset him. Anti-Semitism is running just below the sur- face in American society. Give it the slightest opportunity and it comes boiling to the top. Not surprisingly, the researchers found that working-class Americans are more anti- Semitic than those in the middle-class, a result, largely, of the former's lack of education. Similarly, older Americans are more anti- Semitic than younger Americans, a pattern again linked to education. And, prejudice toward Jews is distributed similarly to prejudice toward blacks (a prejudice which, granted, is more prevalent and pernicious in America today). EDUCATION IS important not only because it teaches people the norms of democracy, equality, civil rights, and cultural tolerance, but also because it arms them with the cognitive skills to recognize prejudice and reject it. In general. There are certainly more than a few bigots running around with college degrees. Most interesting to me was the suggestion made by the research that Christianity often fosters anti-Semitism. Especially when it b teaches that there is no path to salvation except through Christ and that all non-believers are subject to damnation. Remember the Rev. Bailey Smith? He was the Baptist preacher who announced to the world that "God does not hear the prayer of a Jew." That type of zealous fundamentalism-at- tracting followers in the United States today at an alarming rate-stresses religious in- tolerance. And it poses an ominous threat ndt only to Jews but to any non-Christians. Worse yet, the problem seems absolutely in- soluble. Consider this: All those hard-line, or- thodox Christians-whose religion would be absolutely undermined if they conceded that anyone but Christ could be the Messiah-can- not help but want to convert all the doomed; non-Christians in the world. And as they are met with resistance, they will tend almost inevitably to despise those who refuse them. Not a pretty picture. I wonder what the anonymous phone calls will sound like this week. 0 Ring, ring. "Hello, Jew-boy. You're going to die." Five seconds, if that. Click. It was just one of eight anonymous calls I got after my column of two weeks ago about the College Republicans. I can scarcely remember the other seven-just the usual creative variety of "You asshole" and "Commie hippie." BUT THIS ONE I remember. Not because I was shocked. Not because I was afraid. Because I am concerned. ,'6 Witt's column appears every Tuesday. Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Wasserman 1 PIPNT MAkE TV1}o5E STATrEMENTS X0(2 PERSONAL &AN Vol. XCIt, No. 65 A20 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Honoring fascism i i I T* BEN A MiRD-WORKINWG pUJ$LJC gAVANT N WW4VS BUT ONE D AY I WAS 15XPIININ6G SUPLY-SIDE ECONOI(CS To fE ES OF THE CABt NEt F ROM AFAR, Spain seems to be progressing rather nicely. Since the death of Francisco Franco six years ago, the nation has moved steadily down the road to democracy. A new, liberal constitution has been adopted, basic liberties that were sub- jugated during the Franco years have been reinstated, even the anti-Franco Picasso mural "Guernica" has been hung in the Prado Museum in Madrid. But some of-Spain's progress is at least partly illusory, as was demon- strated this weekend. On Sunday, tens of thousands of Spaniards gathered- as they have every Nov. 20 for the past four years-to mark the anniversary of the death of Franco. In the Plaza de Oriente, the very square in which Franco once ad- dressed throngs of Spaniards, thousands of rightists listened to denunciations of the programs in- stituted under the post-Franco gover- nments., It was all there: The thousands of teenagers wearing para-military garb, the stiff-armed fascist salutes, the chants of "Franco! Franco!" They all listened to calls for the release of Lieut. Col. Antonio Molina, who attempted a coup last February when, leading a small band of Civil Guards, he took most of the member- ship of the Spanish Parliament hostage. His attempt failed, and Monlina is now imprisoned. In short, the demonstration was an amazing show of vitality for a movement that has done very poorly in the two elections held since Franco's death. But in a way, the demonstration was also an amazing show of vitality for Spain's emerging democracy. A massive demonstration against the Francogovernment would have been unthinkable, but under the new regime, demonstrations against 'government policy have become almost blase.' Hopefully, the recent Madrid demonstration is indeed manifestation of the vagaries of a healthy democracy, rather than a display of increasing alienation toward democracy. AND~ ~V Y tY AS N4ODDING AND' $MIU~N6- SUDpNL'/ IT Ht ME-#/1Tay ARE ALu. MI~lIOtiAIRS o o LETTERS TO THE DAILY: 'U'parking situation should improve 60 1 ' J 't Y ' ,, ; :<< ,.; , t ti by iy ([ S t . 1; 1 ':11 t 1 . ' yf , j; 1 To the Daily: For many students who live off campus, driving their own cars to school is the best form of tran- sportation. For these people public buses are not available, or car pooling is impractical. Whatever the reason is, problem is common to parking. Since I encounter problem every day, I know what a nightmare parking be. one all: this just can I would like to see the parking LSA-SG elections important i 4 Ail i I i 1! ; I } To the Daily: It is time once again for LSA students to decide whether or not to vote in the LSA Student Gover- nment elections. Having been president of LSA-SG for the last year, I have realized how impor- tant student support and in- volvement can be. Only with this support and involvement can LSA-SG be effective in represen- ting student, views in governing the College. In the past year, LSA-SG ac- complished many goals set by their 17 member executive coun- cil. These accomplishments in- clude funding of various organizations for educational purposes, sponsorship of the Community Forum on National terested students to get involved in student government. The budget cuts' Action Group was instrumental in the for- mation of It's Our University (IOU). They were extremely ac- tive during the geography discon- tinuance procedures, trying to gain influence in the precedent setting procedure. When students were excluded from official membership on the Geography Review Committee the Action Group helped organize a student hearing to assure that the students' viewpoint was heard. Each of the Action Groups and the Executive Council strived to help students gain a role in the decision making process at every- situation improved. If the University and the City of Ann Arbor make a couple of seemingly small changes, this situation could be improved. My idea of small chages is: * Create a student-paid permit parking section; located at the top level of staff-paid-permit parking structures (because these are rarely occupied by more than a half-dozen cars); " Remove the one-hour-parking limit parking zones on many of the side streets in the central Feiger letter To the Daily: The letter published in the Daily (Nov. 21) is an irrespon- sible action of the president of the Michigan Student Assembly. I agree that LSA-SG elections are an important event and should not be taken lightly, but should our governing body be endorsing a particular political party? Mr. Feiger says that "the ob- as a whole, what right does Jonathan Feiger have in using his title as president of MSA. In other words, it is fine that Mr. Ronald Reagan sold Arrow shirts some years ago, but it would be inappropriate for President Reagan to be adver- tising Lacoste Izod shirts on Western European television. I am not sure if I voted for Mr. campus area (because one hour is just too short of a time). " Increase the number of parking spaces on streets where parking is already allowed, and create spaces on streets where parking is currently illegal. All of these suggestions are aimed at reducing wasted space. I also hope they will reduce the difficulty of parking for those students who drive to school. -Christopher Konrad November 19 irresponsible . ..... _ _ M AW