Jdl to Defy Scranton’s Warning; Aclu to Defend Jdl’s Rights

The Jewish Defense League has announced that it will defy a warning by UN Ambassador William Scranton that legal action may be taken by U.S. authorities against anti-Soviet demonstrators who harass or intimidate foreign mission employes. At the same time, the JDL said it has received written assurances that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would act to defend the JDL against any action by Scranton affecting the JDL’s First Amendment rights.

This development followed a statement by Scranton last week at a meeting of the UN Committee on Relations With the United States as the Host Country that he was “outraged” by the “act of ugly violence” April 2 when shots were fired into the Soviet Mission to the UN. He assured the committee that there will be “energetic” Investigation by federal and New York authorities to apprehend those responsible for harassing and attacking Soviet officials here.

Dov Fisch, associate director of the JDL, said demonstrations would be stepped up in front of the Soviet Mission and “we will carry the most outrageously inflammatory warnings yet to have been used in the campaign to unnerve the persecutors of Soviet Jewry.” He said his group intends to “escalate its near-violent confrontations with the Soviets” here and charged that emigration of Jews from the USSR has slowed down considerably as a result of the detente policies of the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Last Thursday night Fisch and seven other JDL members were arrested after staging a peaceful demonstration in front of the Soviet Mission. They were booked on charges of disorderly conduct and released for hearings on May 11.

ACLU POSITION STATED

Melvin L. Wulf, legal director of the ACLU, said Scranton “has publicly threatened to initiate legal action against anti-Soviet demonstrators who use placards and signs advocating violence or involving threats of kidnapping.”

He added: “The Ambassador may not be aware of the constitutional limits under the First Amendment which forbid government action which invades the right of free speech. The Supreme Court has made clear that abstract advocacy of any action–including violence or kidnapping–is protected under the First Amendment. Speech can be suppressed only if the government can show that it is a direct incitement to illegal action.”

Wulf also said, in his statement, “The placards to which Ambassador Scranton refers could not meet that test by any stretch of the imagination. As expressions of strongly held political beliefs, they are clearly protected by the First Amendment, and the ACLU will provide counsel to the Jewish Defense League or any other organization should the United States attempt to suppress the League’s First Amendment activities.”