Wednesday, May 22, 1996
Civil rights work extends to court rooms and capitolsBy David A.
Lehrer
On April 10, the Daily Bruin printed an anonymous attack on the
Anti-Defamation League that consisted of unsubstantiated
accusations and gross distortions ("Anti-Defamation League
infringes on civil liberties"). The unnamed attacker described the
Anti-Defamation League as a "rugged super-spy organization that
infringes upon the liberties, rights and freedoms of all
Americans." Then, with the impunity granted an anonymous attacker,
the writer went on to engage in wild accusations about the league
having "spied on Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. on behalf of the
FBI," engaging in surveillance on behalf of the Israeli Mossad, and
having ownership of files, which the attacker claims were found
"after the San Francisco police raided the houseboat of two police
officers, Gerrard and Bullock, in October 1992." The attacker
claims "the two were later convicted."
Not only does the nameless accuser’s attraction to full-blown
conspiracy theories betray a personal agenda, but also, the facts
cited are simply wrong. Here are the correct facts:
ÂThe league never spied on Dr. King. This is an offensive
and appalling accusation to level at a human relations organization
that has fought for civil rights for more than 80 years. To the
contrary, the league was a leader in the American movement to right
civil wrongs and correct racial injustices. The league worked with
Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the
1960s to eliminate racial and religious discrimination, and it
works towards the same goal with leading civil rights groups
today.
ÂThe league has never engaged in surveillance on behalf of
the Israeli Mossad, or any other government entity, foreign or
domestic.
ÂFiles found in the possession of San Francisco police
officer Gerard and in the possession of Roy Bullock (who is not a
police officer and does not own a houseboat) did not belong to the
league. Officer Gerard was convicted of criminal wrongdoing. No
criminal charges were ever filed against Bullock or the league.
It is clear that the inventive writer of the April 10 screed did
not know the correct response to the question he or she posed: "Do
you know what the Anti-Defamation League is?" And in shielding the
writer, The Bruin not only impliedly adopted the writer’s libelous
falsehoods, but demonstrated its lack of knowledge about the
league. Let us take this opportunity to educate both The Bruin’s
editors and its readers about the good work of the league.
Far from treading upon American freedoms, the league has a
demonstrated record of support for civil rights and liberties. The
league not only talks  it takes action. The league has fought
in courts and legislatures to strengthen the wall of separation
between the church and state; to prohibit discrimination against
individuals because of their race, religion, gender or sexual
orientation; and to preserve a woman’s right to choose. Because of
league-drafted statutes, perpetrators of hate crimes face stiffer
penalties; and because of a league model bill, those who engage in
paramilitary activity pay a price for their criminal activity.
The league created the nation’s most effective prejudice
awareness and diversity training programs  A World of
Difference and Institute, A Campus of Difference, and A Workplace
of Difference. In Southern California alone, almost 60,000 K-12
teachers have been trained in, and provided with, curriculum
material to teach students how to recognize and appropriately
respond to bigotry and stereotyping and how to appreciate the
diversity of our society. Our curriculum has been acclaimed by
educators, as well as other civil rights agencies, including the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
As this country’s prime resource on extremists, the league
collects, processes and disseminates information in the form of
research reports in order to inform and educate the American
public. In fighting hatred, the league has been praised by
presidents, statesmen, community leaders, scholars and others. One
of our recent achievements has been the newly-established "Children
of the Dream" project, in which a group of black Ethiopian Jewish
Israeli students were brought to Los Angeles to meet with students
of color to discuss issues of stereotyping, bigotry and the like.
In turn, a group of African American and Latino students were taken
on a trip to Israel to do the same. In the words of one African
American student who returned from Israel, "ADL has made it
possible for me to look at the world with different eyes … I will
never be the same."
It is not hard to divine what animated the league’s anonymous
accuser  a dislike for our consistency and honesty. Our
fervor for combating extremists applies equally to those on the
right (the militias, the Freemen, the Aryan Nations) and to those
on the left (Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, the New
Alliance Party) without regard to political ideology. The Daily
Bruin is right to admit its error in publishing the insidious
misinformation it proffered its readers.
Lehrer is the regional director of the Anti-Defamation
League.
Hiding author identity was not playing fair
Bruin strives to give voice to wide range of readers