The Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington has urged the District of Columbia Council to rescind a resolution praising the drug-fighting work of the Rev. Louis Farrakhan, head of the Nation of Islam.
The JCC issued a statement Thursday that it “is dismayed and deeply disappointed that the D.C. Council approved without debate” the resolution praising the efforts of Farrakhan’s group against drugs, and Farrakhan as the group’s inspiration.
The resolution was adopted by the D.C. Council on Tuesday night, after its sponsor, Councilman Harry Thomas, presented an unsigned copy to Farrakhan on Monday night during an appearance by Farrakhan before 10,000 persons at a rally held in the D.C. Armory.
Thomas said the resolution was in praise of the efforts by local members of the Nation of Islam to remove drug dealers from two housing projects.
Jim Nathanson, the one Jewish member of the council, abstained in the vote. He was quoted in The Washington Post as saying that while he compared Farrakhan to Hitler, he couldn’t “afford to let that Hitler make me cause divisiveness on this city council.”
The D.C. resolution was also denounced by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
“Passing a resolution in favor of Louis Farrakhan, who has a long record of racism and anti-Semitism, makes as much sense as the Louisiana state legislature lauding David Duke for some community service he may have performed,” said David Friedman, director of the ADL’s Washington-Maryland regional office.
During Monday’s event, Abdul Alim Muhammed, a local Muslim leader, said he told Mayor Marion Barry that “when the people see you, weak and afraid, bowing down to the Jews, they will hate you.”
The JCC statement noted that the resolution was presented to Farrakhan at a meeting which “publicly excoriated whites in general and Jews in particular.”
“In its efforts to combat the evil of drugs, the D.C. Council has unwittingly reinforced the evils of racism and anti-Semitism,” the JCC said.
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