Blacks, Jews see relations improving despite differences

NEW YORK, May 5 (JTA) — The often tense relationship between blacks and Jews may be looking up. But the two communities remain sharply divided over such issues as affirmative action and anti-Semitism in the black community. A national survey of blacks and Jews, released last week, revealed that some 43 percent of Jews and 54 percent of blacks believe that relations between the two groups have improved during the past year. And recalling the days of cooperation during the civil rights movement, a majority of both groups would like to see a partnership formed on civil rights issues. “Blacks and Jews are feeling more positive this year than others because it has been a remarkably calm one,” said Murray Friedman, the author of “Why the Black/Jewish Alliance Failed.” Five years after violent clashes between blacks and Jews in the New York neighborhood of Crown Heights brought relations to a nadir, the survey may indicate a turning point in the relationship between the two minority groups. “In recent years, there has been a lot of publicity about the conflict between black and Jewish Americans,” Martin Luther King III said in his keynote address to a conference last week where the survey was released. But despite those tensions, Jews and blacks have continued to work together in hundreds of towns across the country, King added. The New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which commissioned the survey, was one of the co-sponsors of the conference, which was held at Yeshiva University and was attended by 200 black and Jewish intellectuals. The foundation’s president, Rabbi Marc Schneier, said the survey’s results contradict the general perception that relations between the two minority groups are in a state of decline. But the survey findings also made clear that affirmative action and anti-Semitism in the black community remain divisive issues — and a tension lingered at the Yeshiva University conference when either of the two subjects was raised. The poll demonstrated that “racial preference policies and black leaders such as Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who preach anti-Semitic views, are the two issues that continue to splinter blacks and Jews all over the country,” said Friedman. Jews have never liked racial preference policies, and they are fearful of a powerful leader who espouses anti-Semitic views, said Friedman, who is director of the American Jewish Committee’s regional office in Philadelphia. Indeed, about 49 percent of blacks and 27 percent of Jews surveyed in the poll said they approve of racial, ethnic, or religious quotas for hiring and college education. On the controversial Nation of Islam leader, some 49 percent of blacks said they have a favorable opinion of Farrakhan, compared to 19 percent of Jews. But more than 60 percent of the Jews and more than a quarter — 27 percent — of the blacks said they have an unfavorable opinion of the black Muslim figure. Some black participants remarked that most Jews do not fully understand the complex symbol of Farrakhan. “Many Jews don’t understand that we see Farrakhan’s ability to mobilize 1 million people,” said Denise Richardson, a local television talk show host who moderated the conference discussion on the poll. “We see a leader who has positively influenced thousands — and who also has unfortunate anti-Semitic views,” she said. “We can’t throw away one of the only ones that can lead based on one flaw.” But perhaps as a comment on Farrakhan, the poll found agreement among a majority of both groups that “members of the African American community can do more to silence those African Americans who preach or promote anti- Semitism.” About 61 percent of blacks and 69 percent of Jews agreed with this statement. The telephone survey of 563 African Americans and 556 Jews was conducted by Kieran Mahoney & Associates. The findings have a margin of error of 4 percent. Disagreement about affirmative action also was aired in the conference discussions. A Jewish panelist caused a quiet stir when he argued that affirmative action policy should be based on economic disadvantage rather than on skin color. “What better way is there to make racism obsolete than to stop making race distinctions?” said Nathan Diament, director of the Orthodox Union’s Institute for Public Affairs. Some African Americans at the conference felt that some of the Jewish participants lack an understanding of the purpose of affirmative action programs. Michael Meyers, executive director of New York Civil Rights Coalition, said the idea behind affirmative action programs, to rectify the historical wrongs perpetrated against African Americans, has been “lost.” King appealed to the Jewish community to be more sensitive to black concerns about affirmative action. “American Jews can play an important role in explaining to white America some of the complexities and the subtleties of institutional racism and prejudice,” said King. “In turn,” he continued, “African Americans can fight anti-Semitism by expressing our understanding and condemnation of all expressions of bigotry towards Jews, even when it comes from within our community.” Because both blacks and Jews deeply understand discrimination, they have a responsibility to help each other, King said. And in a certain way, the poll backs up his contention, that despite differences both blacks and Jews see eye-to-eye on some important issues. For example, both groups believe that much more can be done to educate American children about the past sufferings of their peoples. About 49 percent of Jews and 72 percent of blacks said the same about teaching about slavery. Some 59 percent of Jews and 61 percent of blacks agreed that public schools do not teach enough about the Holocaust. Indeed, only 67 percent of Jews and 31 percent of blacks knew that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.