Signs of Peace Seen as Jews, Jackson Meet

Trying to patch up his relations with Jews, the Rev. Jesse Jackson spent more than an hour at a Hollywood hotel Wednesday engaged in tough talk over breakfast with almost 50 Jewish community leaders, who came away pleased at the gesture but sounding unsure about the man.

Jackson supporters did not expect to win many votes at the closed session, which by most accounts was calm and courteous but spiced with frank comments about relations between blacks and Jews. But they did hope to begin fashioning a peace between Jackson and Jews, many of whom regard Jackson as a less than absolute supporter of Israel, and there were some signs of success.

‘Some Minds’ Opened

“He didn’t change any minds, but I believe he continued to open up some minds,” said Rabbi Allen Freehling of University Synagogue in Brentwood, who organized the meeting, at a press briefing afterward with Jackson and other rabbis at his side.

For some, it was enough that Jackson was willing to sit down and listen to Jewish complaints about Jackson’s record, including his relationship with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, his visit with PLO leader Yasser Arafat and his reference to New York during the 1984 presidential campaign as “Hymietown.”

“By and large, I think the crowd was impressed,” said Donna Bojarsky, a young leader in the Westside Jewish community and a Democratic Party activist. “I don’t think everyone was completely mollified, but the important thing is we are talking.”

However, demonstrators from the fringe Jewish Defense League protested outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during the meeting. They then disrupted the press briefing given by Jackson and the Jewish leaders by banging on windows of the hotel bar, where the briefing was held.

Inside, some who attended said that--despite being pleased to meet with Jackson--they were less than impressed by the Democratic presidential candidate’s remarks.

On the Farrakhan issue, Jackson told the leaders that he had repeatedly repudiated Farrakhan, and he told them also that he had to handle things his way.

“You have to give me trust,” Jackson reportedly said. “Our communities handle things differently. We cannot impose our communities’ solutions on each other.”

Jackson’s weakest response, Jackson supporters and skeptics agreed, was his explanation of the “Hymietown” remark.

He apologized for the remark but said he still didn’t think use of the term “hymie” was derogatory. According to several people who attended, he said some Jewish mothers name their children Hyman and that Hymie was just a shortened version of that. He said it was the same as if he referred to Bishop H. H. Brookins, a prominent Los Angeles black clergyman, as “Brookie.”

Equivocation Assailed

“That was a sad excuse,” said Robert Eshman, associate director of Friends for Peace Now. “He should have just apologized and left it at that. To try to equivocate did not sit well.”

Eshman said also that there was a pronounced silence after Jackson made an impassioned defense of affirmative action. Such programs, when accompanied by quotas, have been viewed by some Jew1931501939Jews to enroll in top universities and get good jobs. “He didn’t exactly get us jumping out of our seats,” Eshman said.

Freehling’s invitation to attend the meeting was declined by many prominent Jewish leaders in Los Angeles, including Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. David A. Lehrer, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, said that Jackson’s insistence that the meeting be closed to the press and public was unacceptable.

Those who were absent were criticized by Freehling, who said it was important to continue a dialogue between blacks and Jews.

“There are those in our community, especially the Jewish community, who are convinced that we and Jesse Jackson have absolutely nothing to say to one another except to spew forth the hate of racism and anti-Semitism. We refuse to regard this as a moment of hysteria. Instead, we embark upon a point in history where there can be a reconciliation.”

Another Jewish leader who attended, Rabbi Leonard Beerman, said nothing would have been accomplished if the meeting were open.

“It would have been an angrier meeting,” Beerman said. “It would have been a violent meeting and a less controlled meeting if it had been held in an open forum. I personally think it would have been less productive.”

Jackson had turned down a similar meeting with Jewish leaders in New York prior to the New York primary. He said Wednesday that he did so because the atmosphere there was too racially charged.

“Here you have a climate that is more conducive to meeting,” Jackson said at the press briefing. “Here you have the contrast between the aggressive and savage attacks of (New York Mayor) Ed Koch in contrast to the more civil behavior of (Los Angeles Mayor) Tom Bradley. Here you have leaders, black and Jewish, who are able to sit together and agree to agree or agree to disagree. We thought this was the right place to start.”

Jackson was described as conciliatory during the closed meeting, although he did take the offensive at one point by pointing out that Israel continues to sell arms to South Africa.

“How do you think I felt when I went to South Africa and saw Israeli technicians walking around?” he said. “Why aren’t Jewish leaders speaking out against that?”

At one point, Rabbi Steven Jacobs of Shir-Chadash, the New Reform Congregation, told Jackson that he had a “burden” to go forth to persuade Jews of his sincerity.

Jackson responded: “I respect your comments, but I feel no burden. I am clean of heart.”