Walking on eggshells: When race intersects with anti-Semitism

The day after news broke that a Catholic archbishop suggested that Judaism has been displaced, Abe Foxman fired off a letter to Cardinal-elect Kurt Koch, the newly appointed president of Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote on Oct. 25: “We write to protest the shocking and outrageous anti-Jewish comments made by Greek Melkite Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros in connection with the final communique of the Bishops Synod on the Middle East.

“By stating that God’s covenantal promise of land to the Jewish people ‘was nullified by Christ’ and that ‘there is no longer a chosen people,’ Archbishop Bustros is effectively stating that Judaism should no longer exist. This represents the worst kind of anti-Judaism, bordering on anti-Semitism…We urge that you swiftly and publicly correct Archbishop Bustros’s shocking and damaging statements.”

On Oct. 21, The Philadelphia Daily News reported that a Pakistani-born Muslim professor at Lincoln University called on attendees at a Labor Day rally in Washington, D.C., to “stand united to defeat, to destroy, to dismantle Israel - if possible by peaceful means.” Lincoln, historically a suburban Philadelphia university serving African-American students, is partially state funded.

While Pennsylvania officials have raised questions with the university, representatives of five Jewish organizations were slated to meet on Oct. 28 to devise a response plan, according to The Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia.

Funny that it took Foxman one day to formulate a strategy.

The contrast between the two situations highlights two issues involving the Jewish advocacy community: anxiety at challenging anti-Semitism linked to African-Americans and the frailties of Jewish organizations.

It is painfully obvious that people are reluctant to contend with bias originating with a group which itself has faced bigotry. Jews have had this problem with anti-Semitism in the black community.

A passage from the Oct. 28 Exponent reinforces such a concern: “Several sources expressed concern that, if Jewish organizations acted too rashly, the whole issue could be seen through a black-Jewish lens and become a flashpoint for inter-ethnic tensions.”

Notice that these “several sources” refuse to identify themselves for publication. What is so terrible about what they say here?

Let’s be adults. Certainly, we are aware that no single person or institution represents the entire black community. Jews have valid reasons to detest or distrust Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton Jr. and Jesse Jackson, but few Jews lump all African-Americans with them.

When a sensitive situation arises, a Jewish advocacy group needs to move swiftly and firmly assert its concerns, but approach the subject in a respectful manner. Organizations like the ADL and the American Jewish Committee were created in part to challenge anti-Semitism, which was far more prevalent years ago.

Of course, the evolving of these groups quelled manifestations of anti-Semitism so that there is much less of it today.

So what if an African-American individual or institution is the focus of an inquiry? If the subject of a complaint is wrong, they will back off. Some may wave the race card when they are first confronted with a reaction, but the agency must remain resolute in pursuing the matter. Bigots are bullies, no matter what their race or religion, and bullies crumble - sooner or later - in the face of strength and power.

Consider, too, how Catholic church officials might feel if they learned about the slower pace applied to the Lincoln case. They could question if this is a case of anti-Catholic bias.

Jewish organizations have yet to respond to an African-American candidate for governor of New York, Jimmy McMillan, who singled out Jews for keeping slaves in an interview with a New York City newspaper. I know for certain that the ADL received at least one complaint about McMillan.

On a personal level, I complained to the ADL some years ago that an African-American senior manager at my office posted Israel-bashing signs on her bulletin board. If the ADL did anything, I was not aware of it.

The Lincoln matter is already improving. State Sens. Daylin Leach and Anthony H. Williams, respectively Jewish and African-American, initially raised questions with university officials if they were aware of Siddique’s anti-Israel attitudes when he was hired and later granted tenure. They also asked if Siddique’s “anti-Semitic diatribes” are part of his course instruction, according to the News.

One state official also asked the university to inquire if Siddique used Lincoln’s resources for his anti-Israel politics, according to another news report.

In a follow-up article, the Exponent reported that representatives of the Jewish organizations met with Lincoln President Ivory Nelson, who repudiated Siddique’s comments and agreed to plan an educational program.

Nelson said no action could taken against Siddique so long as he separated his outside politics from his job.

Ilana Krop Wilensik of the American Jewish Committee told the Exponent, “They abhor what happened, but find themselves in a bind because their hands are virtually tied with what they can and what they can’t do.”

Reading between the lines, Lincoln officials could fear that Siddique will file legal action if he is disciplined or fired.

The Lincoln matter also points to longstanding concerns that the Jewish community is served by many Jewish organizations whose responsibilities overlap, and despite that these groups at times neglect to act on some issues. The guarded reaction, and lack thereof, to black anti-Semitism is a glaring example of their flaws.