The Democratic National Convention failed Friday to adopt a proposed resolution specifically repudiating anti-Semitism, Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, reported. The resolution, originally drafted for the Democratic convention, was prepared by Hier and Commissioner Timothy Hagan of Cleveland, co-chairman of the Ohio Mondale campaign.
The proposed resolution stated, “The Democratic Party takes this opportunity to reaffirm its adherance to pluralistic principles and to repudiate and completely disassociate itself from people who promote all forms of bigotry, racism and anti-Semitism.”
The final language of the resolution was endorsed by top officials of the Mondale campaign at a meeting which was also attended by Hyman Bookbinder, the American Jewish Committee’s Washington representative, and Morris Amitay, the former director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Opposition to the resolution was expressed by supporters of the Rev. Jesse Jackson as an implicit attack against him. The Mondale forces apparently sought to defuse the resentment by Jackson supporters by ignoring the proposed resolution, although David Ifshin, general counsel to Walter Mondale, had assured Hagan that the resolution would be presented for approval to the party leadership at last Friday’s meeting following the end of the convention.
This agreement was reiterated following Jackson’s speech to the convention last Tuesday in which he appealed for reconciliation with those he had offended during his campaign, including the Jewish community.
At the Democratic National Committee meeting, committee chairman Charles Manatt referred to remarks made by Mondale in his acceptance speech Thursday night deploring bigotry and prejudice, but he failed to present the agreed-upon resolution dealing specifically with racism and anti-Semitism.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Democratic Party failed to live up to its commitment to put the party an record as institutionally repudiating people espousing anti-Semitism and racism, there by removing hateful rhetoric from the 1984 campaign,” Hier said. ” It is unfortunate that nowhere in the voluminous party platform which discussed every conceivable issue was there any mention of anti-Semitism which had marred the Democratic primary campaign in the last three months.”
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.
