The Black Muslim movement, whose publication emits a “constant drumbeat of inflammatory anti-Zionism, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda,” is potentially more menacing to Jews today than when it first came to public attention a decade ago because the Muslims “are a significant source of anti-Semitic infection in the Black community.” This was reported here yesterday by Philip E. Hoffman, president of the American Jewish Committee, whose Board of Governors is holding a special meeting here.
The report, compiled by Milton Ellerin, director of the Committee’s Trends Analysis Division, discloses that the Black Muslims have made deer inroads into the Black ghettos in this country. Their publication, Muhammad Speaks, has a sworn paid circulation of 529,930; they have established approximately 50 mosques located in every large American city; their weekly radio broadcasts are carried over 70 radio stations in 60 cities; and consists of a “vast empire” whose physical assets “are valued in excess of $20 million,” the report adds.
The Muslim’s newspaper, the analysts point out, indulges in anti-Semitism and persistently displays hostility towards Israel. This has become especially pronounced since the Suez crisis of 1956. “This attitude is readily transferable to American Jews, with whom most of the Muslim newspaper readers are in frequent contact.” For in addition to anti-Israel features and distorted news items, Nazi-like stereotypes of Jews frequently appear in the publication.
The report also indicates that there are instances where the Muslims follow the Communist Party line, as, for example, in their castigation of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin after he protested the treatment of Soviet Jews by Communist officials. Finally, the report concludes that “it is uncontroverted that the Nation of Islam, anchored in the ghettos of America, is a significant force in Black America. The autocratic discipline imposed on its members. their unquestioning acceptance of Muslim dogma as enunciated by Elijah Muhammad (the 75-year-old self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah) through the widely-circulated Muhammad Speaks, gives the movement impact far beyond their numbers.”
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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.
