— An exhibit of anti-Semitic propaganda, including newsletters, calling cards and bumper stickers distributed by the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi organizations are on display this week at Yeshiva University.
Rabbi Israel Miller, vice president of the university, said the exhibit, initiated by the Jewish Identity Center in cooperation with the Joseph Dunner Political Science Society with material contributed by the Jewish Defense League, is “to create an awareness in the university community of a crisis situation and to acquaint students with problems at home.” In this regard he mentioned the attempt by members of the American Nazi Party to stage a march in Skokie, III. in June 1978. He added that students are not sufficiently involved in understanding and preserving the lessons of the Holocaust.
The exhibit contains an assortment of propaganda ranging from Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” to National Socialist People’s Party calling cards bearing slogans such as “White pride, White power, White Unity.” Also on display is “White Power,” a newsletter of the American Nazi Party published by Matt Koehl in Arlington, Va., and “New Order,” another neo-Nazi publication out of Lincoln, Neb.
Among the strident headlines in these and other publications are: “Israeli aggression threatens world peace” and “There was no Holocaust.” Stickers carrying swastikas state “Communism is Jewish,” “Inflation is Jewish,” and “Dump Israel.”
LEGISLATION IS BEING PREPARED
New York City Councilman Ted Silverman, who was present at the opening of the exhibit, said he is proposing legislation to make it illegal in New York to display emblems which incite people to violence. He was referring to swastikas which were on display at the exhibit. Silverman said “these symbols of bigotry, hatred and destruction are not protected under the First Amendment.” He noted that 23 states now have active Klan and Nazi chapters.
Shifra Hoffman, executive director of the Jewish Identity Center, said, “It is time for Jews to come home to their own land, for these negative reasons. We challenge the Jewish leadership to speak out about this threat and stop minimizing an issue of the greatest magnitude.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.