Negro Daily Tells Black Power Advocates That Jews ‘battle’ for Negro Rights

A leading Negro newspaper here has cautioned the Negro community and particularly the black power advocates not to forget the “powerful voices which have been lifted on behalf of the Negro people” by Jewish communities and their leaders.

The Chicago Daily Defender pointed out in an editorial that the “Milwaukee Jewish Council pulled no punches in its declaration of support of the civil rights leaders who have been demonstrating for freedom of residence in that Wisconsin city.” The editorial also cited a resolution adopted by the executive board of the Synagogue Council of America urging the Milwaukee city administration to enact open housing legislation.

“In Kansas City,” the editorial noted, “Irving M. Levine, director of education and urban planning of the American Jewish Committee, told the annual meeting of the AJC local chapter that they should organize the intellectual communal and financial resources of the Jewish community to do battle against slums and economic under-development.”

“These powerful voices, which have been lifted on behalf of the Negro peoples’ cause, should not be forgotten when resolutions are passed by the black power hierarchy. Jews and Negroes have problems in common. They can ill-afford to be at one another’s throat,” the editorial stated.