Label A. Katz, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith here, sharply condemned today Dr. Emmet L. Irwin and the Citizens’ Council of New Orleans for what he termed “a second unwarranted and vicious attack” on the ADL. Last week Mr. Katz denied a statement by Dr. Irwih to the effect that the ADL had been under suspicion as a possible Communist-front organization.
In his reply to the Citizens’ Council leader’s second set of charges against the B’nai B’rith unit, Mr. Katz scored Dr. Irwin for bad faith, saying that “he knows as well as we do that his false accusations and innuendo cannot be substantiated–for the simple reason that blatant lies can never be proved true.”
“Dr. Irwin, for reasons best known to himself, is seeking to destroy the good will which exists in New Orleans, “Mr. Katz declared in his statement. “He is seeking to tear our community apart, to spread poison through falsehood. That such tactics should be used by a man who has taken the Hippocratic oath to heal makes his actions all the more reprehensible.
“Dr. Irwin is careful to point out in his latest statement, “Please, here remember no charges were made that ADL is a communist-front organization. But Dr. Irwin, having made this disclaimer, then immediately descends to the depths of irresponsibility in a futile attempt to prove the opposite. This is the technique of the demagogue. We are proud to cite the praise of the ADL by the nation’s leaders, Christian and Jewish. The best Dr. Irwin can do bolster his non-existent case is to muster up a list of bigots, some amateur, some professional.”
A.D.L. SAYS “CITIZEN’S COUNCIL” JOINED DISCREDITED FORCES
The ADL statement continued by citing the sources used by Dr. Irwin and declaring that many had long been discredited. Among them are Robert H. Williams, Jack Tenney and Joseph Kamp. Mr. Katz asserted that Williams, described by Dr. Irwin as an Army intelligence expert had, had his Reserve commission cancelled by the U.S. Air Force for the “best interests of the service.” He also noted that a series of articles in the Scripps-Howard newspapers entitled “Peddlers of Hate” had discussed “not only the discredited Robert Williams, but other sources which Dr. Irwin cites, such as Jack Tenney and Joseph Kamp.”
Mr. Katz added: “Dr. Irwin and his sources are perhaps best described by a quotation from an American Legion report which listed several of the individuals mentioned above and declared that they and their organizations are ‘inimitable to the best interest of American Democracy, that they are anti-American since they pit class against class, race against race, creed against creed and make appeals with varying degrees of emphasis, all with the purpose of creating chaos and disunity among our people.
“After Dr. Irwin’s first statement, it was pointed out to him and the public that the source of his material was a discredited person., one so branded by the Committee on Un-American Activities, U.S. House of Representatives. By Dr. Irwin’s continued use of similar disreputable sources he leaves us with no other conclusion than that he and the Citizens’ Council, in whose name he issues his statements, have allied themselves with the discredited, divisive forces in our nation.”
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.
