August 15, 2000

On Friday, August 11, 2000 the JCPA convened a conference call to discuss strategies for responding to concerns about potential anti-Semitism in the wake of Democratic Presidential Candidate Vice President Al Gore’s choice of Senator Joseph Lieberman as his running mate. The call was chaired by David Bohm, Co-chair of the JCPA’s Task Force on Jewish Security and the Bill of Rights (JSBOR) and featured presentations by Kenneth Jacobson, Assistant National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Marlene Gorin, Executive Director, Dallas CRC.

Jacobson began the discussion by noting that above all, Lieberman’s selection should be hailed as a milestone for American Jews. This event, he observed, is a confirmation of all that Jews have been able to achieve in America in the last century. He pointed out that the most significant result of the Lieberman selection is the overwhelmingly positive reaction from all segments of the American public. Even in the instances in which anti-Semitism has emerged, it is important to emphasize that people from all corners of society have spoken out against it.

This is clear from public reaction to the statement made by Lee Alcorn, president of the Dallas chapter of the NAACP. On Thursday, August 10, Alcorn made the following comments on a radio talk show. "I’m concerned about, you know, any kind of Jewish candidate, you know, and I’m concerned about the Democratic Party. I’m sick of the Democratic Party taking the African-American vote for granted... I think we need to be very suspicious of any kind of partnerships between the Jews at that kind of level because we know that their interest primarily has to do with, you know, money and these kind of things."

Jacobson said that the real story regarding the remarks was the immediate condemnation of Alcorn by NAACP National President Kweisi Mfume. Moreover, diverse leaders such as Jesse Jackson, Jerry Falwell and George W. Bush all reacted to the Lieberman selection by pointing out that such a step is positive for all minority groups.

In regard to anti-Semitism, Jacobson distinguished between mainstream and fringe elements. As would be expected, fringe groups have responded to the Lieberman selection with an outpouring of anti-Semitism on the Internet. While this is unfortunate, any mainstream instances of anti-Semitism that emerge following the Lieberman selection would be cause for greater concern.

Jacobson pointed to two mainstream occurrences of which the ADL was aware: the incident in Dallas and the publication of an anti-Semitic editorial in the New York-based newspaper, The Amsterdam News. In addition, there have been reports of an increase in anti-Semitic and hate speech in mainstream chat rooms following Lieberman’s selection. Jacobson noted that the ADL is pleased with the reactions of various Internet providers, such as AOL, which have been removing such messages.

Jacobson cautioned Jewish organizations not to be manipulated by the media on matters pertaining to Lieberman’s selection. "We must play it positive," he emphasized, and not participate in the media’s tendency to "hype the negatives." "We must exercise leadership," he urged, to avoid creating a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding anti-Semitism.

Jacobson noted that usually Jewish organizations criticize the press for unnecessarily mentioning a candidate’s Jewishness. Since, however, Lieberman has openly discussed his Judaism, the press can not be criticized for discussing it. Regarding Lieberman’s status as an Orthodox Jew, Jacobson pointed out that while the Jewish community should clarify that Lieberman’s religious observance does not inhibit his ability to serve as Vice President, Jewish representatives should be careful to avoid speaking for him and his observance.

A representative of the Miami CRC reported that her agency had received complaints about anti-Semitic rhetoric on Spanish-language radio after the selection was announced. While Jacobson was not familiar with the incident, he said the ADL would look into the matter.

Marlene Gorin, Executive Director of the Dallas CRC, spoke in detail about the anti-Semitic remarks of the president of the Dallas chapter of the NAACP, Lee Alcorn. She began by concurring with Jacobson’s assessment that the Jewish community must continue to emphasize the overriding positive aspects of Lieberman’s selection. Gorin said that the Dallas community, both Jewish and non-Jewish, is "euphoric" over the Lieberman selection, and the NAACP incident is an anomaly in her estimation.

Gorin noted that Alcorn’s anti-Semitic statement regarding Lieberman was not the first time that he has been associated with intolerance. Alcorn had been suspended from the NAACP three times prior to the current incident, she reported. In his most recent comments, while on a Christian radio show, Alcorn referred to Lieberman as a "Jew person." Gorin reported that he intimated that he was opposed to any Jewish candidate and that Gore should have chosen an African American. Alcorn also made references to the Jewish interest in and control of money.

The reaction to Alcorn’s remarks was immediate. In addition to the expected condemnations from the Dallas CRC and the ADL, Kweisi Mfume, National President of the NAACP reacted strongly against Alcorn by suspending him from the organization. Additionally, the Dallas Morning News published an editorial taking Alcorn to task for his remarks. Local civic and elected leaders in Dallas also issued statements condemning him. The JCPA and the Dallas CRC sent letters of acknowledgement and thanks to Mfume for his response. (Enclosed is the JCPA thank you letter and a letter that the Dallas CRC sent to the Dallas Morning News).

In the discussion following the presentations, it was emphasized once again that Jewish organizations should be careful not to issue any Lieberman related statements that might be construed as an implicit endorsement of his candidacy.

JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL

Jacob Feldman Building JEWISH

78M Northaven Road - Dallas, Texas 75230 FEDERATION

214.369,3313 - FAX 21 4.373.3 7 86 OF GREATER

e-mail: mgorin@jfgd.org DALLAS

August 10, 2000

Letters to the Editor

The Dallas Morning News

P.O. Box 655237

Dallas, Texas 75265

To the Editor:

Just this week, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Dallas (JCRC) returned to Dallas from an academic study mission to Israel. Sponsored by the JCRC, the mission, over the last two years, has included participants from the Hispanic, African-American, and Asian communities. Members of the missions are Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans, Baptists, Jewish, Methodists--in other words, all inclusive and representative of the mosaic of the Dallas community.

The JCRC, the umbrella organization for the Jewish organizations, agencies, and religious institutions in Dallas, is engaged in a variety of programs and projects together with and in coalition with many diverse organizations within the Dallas community. We are all working together on issues relating to voter registration, domestic violence, health care, child welfare, race relations, education, hate crimes, the environment, equal opportunity for all, etc,

This is what Dallas is about. The remarks this week by Lee Alcorn, commenting on Senator Lieberman's nomination for Vice President, may have us think otherwise. But, that is definitely not the case.

Mr. Alcorn, in trying to apologize for his remarks, indicated that if he offended the Jewish community, he is sorry. He just does not get it--he offended the entire Dallas community and it is to the people of Dallas, who are working so hard to build relationships and goodwill among its citizens, that Mr. Alcorn should apologize.

We congratulate Kweisi Mfume, National NAACP President, for moving so quickly to repudiate and distance the NAACP from Mr. Alcorn's remarks. We also congratulate all the people of goodwill in Dallas who issued statements and voiced their concern on this matter,

Now, let's move forward!

Sincerely

Marlene Gorin, Director
Jewish Community Relations Counci