The Chairman's׳

׳The Chairman's to the National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B^ith by Henry Edward Schultz THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTtfi Blaustein Library The activity of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith in 1961 took place against a background of dramatic and challenging events. This was the year of the Eichmann trial; of the Freedom Riders; of the burgeoning of extreme right-wing groups (notably the John Birch Society); and of the peaceful school desegregation in the Deep South's largest city — Atlanta. All these developments posed new challenges, opportunities and tasks for ADL. l The Eichmann Trial Certainly the most dramatic event of the year was the Eichmann trial. To use T. S. Matthews' striking image, the fallout from the bomb that exploded in a Jerusalem courthouse rained down on the whole civilized world. It focused attention as never before on the unbelievable massacre of six million Jews by the Nazis. For many of the younger generation it was a brand-new revelation — a grim education in what fascism can mean. For the older generation it was a reminder of what had happened. For the Germans it was a confrontation of conscience. For history it was a documented account of this crime against the Jews. And for Israeli justice, it was a triumph. The fears that the trial would set off a new wave of anti-Semitism failed to materialize. The ADL, through reports, articles, and anal- yses, helped to bring an understanding of the significance and meaning of this trial to the American people. It helped them see beyond the "illegality" of the "kidnapping" of Eich- mann, beyond the propriety of Israel trying Eichmann, and to the central question of the importance of having this trial. The widest American audience reached directly by the ADL on the Eichmann trial resulted from a series of fifteen-minute com- mentaries on the proceedings by Arnold For- ster, director of the ADL's Civil Rights Divi- sion, who was present in Jerusalem. These programs were carried by more than 100 radio stations across the country. In addition to these broadcasts, upon his return from Israel, Mr. Forster was interviewed by a number of major TV programs. The culmination of ADL's work on the Eichmann trial was a special 20-page issue of Facts at the conclusion of the trial, dealing with its impact on American and world opin- 3 ion. This extensive survey covered better than 1033 dailies in the U.S., the major magazines, radio and TV. The survey also analyzed the major coverage and opinion in Germany, the Soviet Union, England, France, Holland, Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the Arab nations and Latin America. It showed overwhelming support for the trial. It revealed that among the minority who had misgivings about the trial beforehand, there had been a change of heart. Most of them showed an acceptance and admiration for Israel's remarkably civilized and restrained conduct at the trial. Patrick O'Donovan, a correspondent for the British press, who had great misgivings about the possible justice of this trial, illus- trates the depth of the reversal that many observers underwent as the trial progressed. In an article in the New Republic, O'Donovan said, "Despite the vast press apparatus at- tached to the court, this is still a court of traditional and dare I say it — Christian justice ... I do not believe that Adolf Eichmann could have gotten a fairer trial anywhere in the world." As the special issue of Facts concludes: "Finally genocide has been established as a crime under law, and punishable as such, in at least one nation of the civilized world — the State of Israel." The Civil Rights Front In 1961 the struggle for full and equal rights for all reached new intensity. The most important advance yet made in school desegregation took place in Atlanta, Georgia, the largest city in the Deep South. Atlanta's public schools were peace- fully desegregated in August, 1961, an achieve- ment made possible through the efforts of many dedicated, thoughtful and skillful per- sons and organizations, including the ADL. 4 ADL staff and materials were especially help- ful in coping with hatemongers who had vainly tried to repeat the violent experience of New Orleans in Atlanta. Above all, ADL worked for harmony and understanding among the people of Atlanta to make peaceful desegregation possible. In Dallas, Texas, still another peaceful desegregation of a southern public school sys- tem took place. But such victories produced the inevitable tensions that accompany social change. While some white southerners regarded these as maximum privileges to be granted, Negroes themselves, particularly stu- dents, often considered them minimum con- cessions on the road to full equality. During the year, Negroes and sympathetic whites extended the technique of passive resistance to the citadel of southern segregation — Mississippi. A new technique was devised — the Freedom Ride. The rides started last April in an attempt to desegregate public facilities in bus terminals in Alabama and Mississippi. An Interstate Commerce Commission ruling in November upheld the right of people to be desegregated in interstate travel, strengthening the cause of Freedom Riders. They have pushed ahead with fervor and idealism, sometimes filling the jails of southern communities in an ever- stronger movement against all forms of discrimination. Now it is the turn of the smaller cities in the rural areas. McComb, Miss., and Albany, Georgia, replaced Jackson and Bir- mingham, at the year's close, as scenes of battle. On U.S. Route 40 in Maryland — where African diplomats en route to Wash- ington, D.C., have been refused restaurant service — still another skirmish for equality has taken place. The struggle has been extended northward. In New Rochelle, N. Y., the de facto segregation of many northern urban schools, based 5 on the existence of Negro ghettoes, has been successfully challenged in the courts. ADL filed a brief amicus with the U.S. Court of Appeals in this precedent-setting case. Fol- lowing the New Rochelle example, the Urban League in Chicago is challenging this pattern in the Midwest too. The surge toward equality will undoubtedly soon be felt in many other cities. At the top legal level, the Supreme Court this year has produced a mixed bag of deci- sions. None has been of a decisive nature although, before this session is over, the Court may rule on two key questions now at issue: the fundamental legality of the sit-ins, and the legality of the prosecutions of the Freedom Riders in the South. At the state level, this was a year of great progress for civil rights legislation. A joint report of ADL and the American Jewish Committee issued earlier this year concluded that "greater progress has been made from January 1, 1961 through mid-July of the year than in any other comparable period." Important advances were made in the areas of fair employment, housing and resort accommodations in a number of states. Colorado, Oregon, Massachusetts and Connecticut were joined by Pennsylvania, New York and New Hampshire in enacting laws against bias in private housing. Illinois, Kansas and Missouri (the latter a border state) passed fair employment laws. Today there are 21 states with fully enforceable FEP laws. In the field of public accommodations, Idaho, New Hamp- shire, North Dakota and Wyoming joined 24 other states which ban discrimination in places of public accommodation, resort and amuse- ment. Extremists On The Right Out of the frustrations arising from Russia's successes in space, the 6 continuing crises in Southeast Asia, the fail- ures to win the neutrals, and the confrontation with the very real strength of Russia as a national power and world bearer of communism, a rising clamor from the right began to be heard in the land this past year. While, as President Kennedy has said, "There have always been those fringes of our society which have sought to escape their own responsibility by finding simple solutions, an appealing slogan or a convenient scapegoat," their rapid growth in the past year is cause for concern. During the first six months of 1961 alone, 44 such right-wing groups were organized or became active. More extreme right-wing groups emerged in the past six months than in any other single year in the past two decades. Of the approximately (the figures change from day to day) 180 such groups in being, more than half came into existence in the past 18 months. Some are very small but others have substantial mem- berships. The best known and perhaps most powerful of these organizations is Robert Welch's John Birch Society. An article in the ADL Bulletin of June by Benjamin R. Epstein, ADL's national director, analyzed the nature and work- ing of this group. While Welch's stated pur- pose is to fight communism, "his methods, beliefs, conclusions and prejudices," the article went on, "only cause concern or anguish to those who believe that the best revenge on your enemy is to be like him." The John Birch Society with its wild, irresponsible charge of communism against any who dare disagree with its arguments, seems to be heading in the direction of fighting communism by scut- tling democracy. In a famous quotation from the Blue Book, the "bible" of the organization, Welch says, "democracy ... is a perennial fraud." Chief Justice Warren heads the list of tar- 7 gets of the Birch Society. He is regarded as "a traitor who should be impeached." In turn, President Eisenhower has been described by Mr.

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