Michael P. Silverman, president of the Lakewood B’nai B’rith, confirmed today that he had barred a John Birch Society member from joining the Lakewood Lodge because he was not Jewish.
Mr. Silverman said he had no information about a statement made today by George Demetry, 36, of Jackson, N.J. that he had filed a complaint of discrimination against B’nai B’rith with the New Jersey State Civil Rights Division. Demetry said he had telephoned Silverman about joining the B’nai B’rith Lodge and that when he told the B’nai B’rith president about his Birch Society membership, Silverman “abruptly ended the conversation.”
The Birch Society member insisted he was “definitely not anti-Semitic” but added that he saw nothing wrong about the remarks last month of Newton Miller, then vice-president of the Wayne Township Board of Education, who had called for the defeat of two Jewish candidates for the board because, as Jews, they were likely to want to spend heavily for education.
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.
