Students, Faculty Members, B’nai B’rith Leaders Assail Anti-semitic Statement

An attack on Jews made in the course of an address about two weeks ago at Brooklyn College by a black educator. James Garrett, has stirred up a controversy among students, faculty members, college officials and religious leaders on the campus. The controversy was kindled by a report in a recent issue of Kingsman, the Brooklyn College student newspaper, which stated that Mr. Garrett, Director of the Center for Black Education in Washington, D.C., had told a meeting of the Martin Luther King Jr. lecture series at the college that, “It is the Jew in particular who has kept the black man under chains.” In the aftermath of the outrage expressed by several students, and religious leaders of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations at the statement, charges and counter-charges, denials and disavowals were printed in the Nov. 6th issue of the Kingsman. John W. Kneller, President of Brooklyn College, stated that although he was not certain of the veracity of the reported statement, he nevertheless decried “racism or any other form of prejudice which has taken place at Brooklyn College.” Professor Daniel E. Mayers, chairman of the Afro-American Institute, claimed that Mr. Garrett’s statements were totally distorted in the news account and contended that to “impute to Mr. Garrett the idiotic remark that the ‘Jew controls the means, services and owns the land’ is downright insulting.” Mr. Mayers insisted that Mr. Garrett had said that while people have oppressed black people and that in the course of his remarks, “Mr. Garrett identified certain groups of whites” which included Jews as agents of oppression.

Moreover, Mr. Mayers wrote, Mr. Garrett had also condemned black oppressors. Victor Roth, the student who reported the statement by Mr. Garrett in the Kingsman, replied to Mr. Mayes’ charges of distortion by reiterating the veracity of his report and added: “Mr. Garrett did not just casually mention the Jews. He singled them out as the people who are in true control of this country and thereby the white man most responsible for the black man’s plight in this country. Also mentioned was the large Jewish population at Brooklyn College.” Mr. Roth noted that Mr. Garrett referred specifically to the Jewish people as “they” and “those people.” In a statement about Rosh Hashana. Mr. Roth continued, the black educator said that when “they” celebrated their New Year, all the public schools and stores were closed, thereby demonstrating Jewish control of almost all goods and services in the area in which he resides (Washington, D.C.). “He (Mr. Garrett) said in effect, that society was at a standstill during this holiday period.” Mr. Roth replied to Mr. Mayers’ letter. “Not one other ethnic or religious holiday was mentioned by Mr. Garrett.”

B’NAI B’RITH HILLEL LEADERS SAY ANSWER TO EXPLAIN SLUR IS AN EVASION

Rabbi Norman E. Frimer, national coordinator for Hillel affairs in the New York area and spokesman for the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation on the college campus, and his associate, Rabbi Frank E. Fischer, in a letter sent to Kingsman for its next issue, expressed their disenchantment and disappointment with Mr. Mayers’ letter which did not officially disassociate the Afro-American Department from Mr. Garrett’s remarks. They expressed regret that Mr. Mayers “did not avail himself of the opportunity to focus on the substantive issue of general racism against Jews.” In referring to the ambiguity of Mr. Mayers’ statement, the two B’nai B’rith rabbis noted that an official disassociation “would have been welcome and reassuring.” It would have, they continued, “cleared some of the tension in the air and certainly aided the sorely-needed enterprise of rebuilding the bridges of communication between minority groups whose welfare and security are in reality inextricably interlocked.”

Rabbis Frimer and Fischer, continuing their letter, wrote: “The ‘psychology of hearing’ in all of us predisposes us to be more selectively attentive to those things or words which have relevant significance. Many non-black auditors clearly heard the anti-Semitic slurs. Had the situation been a reverse one we are confident that racist remarks, no matter how slight, would have justly not escaped the sensitized antennae of many of the black listeners.” Mr. Kneller, in his statement, noted that “the focus of the Martin Luther King Jr. lecture series is on strengthening unity among all people. Anything less is not in the spirit of Dr. King.” Meanwhile, Elly Rosen, director of the Jewish Cultural Institute on the college campus, announced that his organization has called a meeting for tonight of presidents of all Jewish organizations on campus to “decide on positive and direct action which would, in whatever way possible, remedy the damage done by Mr. Garrett and prevent a recurrence of such hate mongering statements on campus.”