Attorney General Edward H. Levi holds that membership in clubs that discriminate against Jews, Blacks or women should not be “the pivotal point” in judging President-elect Jimmy Carter’s choice of former Judge Griffin Bell as the next Attorney General.
In a farewell nationwide appearance on NBC-TV “Meet the Press” yesterday, the first Jew to head the Justice Department termed criticism of Bell’s membership in such clubs in Atlanta as “trivializing a rather important subject.” Levi made this statement in response to a question on the subject by the program’s moderator and added that he thought the designation of Bell is a good one. Bell himself said last week that he would resign from the clubs. His move followed mounting pressure from civil rights and Jewish groups.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
