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Page 4 Portland Qtoaarvar, February 29,1984
Washington Hot Line
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Jackson attack contrived
The attack on Jesse Jackson by the press and
< y r f in right-wing Jewish organizations is no ac
cident; it was carefully orchestrated. It is not a
coincidence that the story o f Jackson's u n fo r
tunate remark was pulled from the back pages
of the Washington Post and splashed across the
front pages days before the first Prim ary elec
tion, and that it became the number one issue in
the closing days o f that campaign.
servative Jewish organizations is not new and it
is not confined to those who have made their
hatred public. It is abetted by those who remain
silent and by those who— in their scholarly
way— promote divisiveness. The highly respect
ed A n ti-D e fa m a tio n League, fo r exam ple,
researched and published Jackson’s record, at
tempting to prove him anti-semitic.
Those who try to label Jackson’s desire for
peace in the M id d le East or his belief that the
Palestinian people have the right to a nation,
like a ll other people o f the w o rld , as a n ti
semitism or anti-Israel are doing a great disser
vice to their own people. The idea that any per
son who criticizes Israel’s actions is anti-Jew is
wrong and it prevents discussion o f the im por
tant issues. Perhaps that is what these people
want.
The same Z io n ist and conservative Jewish
organizations were silent when Israel invaded
Lebanon, killin g and m aim ing thousands,
destroying homes and businesses, setting up the
current fascist government and the civil war that
is still killing and maiming.
They were silent when the U .S ., having with
drawn its marines, opened a massive naval
bombardment o f Lebanon’s cities— an attack
that had no purpose but vengence.
They are silent about Israel’s role in arming
and training the armies of the Central American
dictatorships— Honduras and Guatemala— ar
mies that are used only against their own people.
I f these serious problems were addressed,
those organizations and individuals would have
no time to harass Jesse Jackson, to leave dead
anim al heads on his porch, to intim idate his
children, to threaten his life.
The Rainbow Coalition is of far more impor
tance than the presidential race or than Jesse,
him self. It encompasses the oppressed and
neglected, the poor, and the minorities. It in
cludes many Jews who seek justice and equality.
It is so im portant that it w ill meet opposition
from many places; the current attack on
Jackson is only the first. The stronger the
Coalition becomes, the more furious and more
frequent the attacks will come.
The time has come to get involved. Drop by
the “ Jesse Jackson for President” office and see
what you can do to help.
by Congressman Kon
Since the Reagan Adminutration
came io office. Its stewardship of
federal civil rights laws has been
criticized as lax and half-hearted.
Now another voice has joined that
chorus with a 28-page report that
says the reagan Administration has
conducted a •‘shameful assault” on
civil rights law enforcement.
The report was released this week
by the American C iv il Liberties
U nion (A C L U ) and went on to
charge that the Administration’s lax
enforcement o f c ivil rights laws
"could plunge the country back into
historic patterns o f race and sex
discrimination.”
And that’s grim news indeed. The
laws we have b uilt to overcome
racism and prejudice are only as
good as the people we hire to enfor
ce them. Unfortunately, the people
that comprise the Reagan A d
m inistration have not lent them
selves to making these laws work.
W hite the opposite. The A d
*'z4**1
m inistration from the outset has
demonstrated a hostility toward
civil rights legislation and in
stitutions.
We are all sadly familiar with the
fact that the A dm inistration has
strangled the independence of the
C iv il Rights Commission. The
A C L U report, however, brings up
some more examples o f an ti-civil
rights action by the Administration:
- Institutionalized Persons: The
A C L U report points out that the
Administration has sought to limit
its enforcement activity under the
O v il Rights of Institutionalized Per
sons Act o f 1980. The Act was
designed to protect the rights o f
mental patients and others in insti
tutions. The report showed exam
ples where the A dm inistration
refused to litigate on behalf of these
parties in the states o f Idaho,
Alabam a, Louisiana. Mississippi
and Oklahoma.
. Title lX :T itk IX of the Educa
tion Act of 1972 bars sex discrimina
tion in federally financed education
programs. The report points out
that narrow interpretations o f the
title by this A dm in istratio n have
•’effectively strip (ped) the statute of
any enforcement mechanisim.”
The report also said that the A d
m inistration has reversed federal
policy and abandoned support for
groups seeking change through
litigation. Finally, the report iron
ically points out that the Justice
Department itself, charged with the
enforcement o f these im portant
laws, has refusedsince last year to
comply with a requirement to report
its goals and targets fo r hiring
minorities and women.
So far, that is the Reagan record
on civil rights: laax enforcement to
the point o f debilitating the
programs. In short, the Reagan
record is a sad record.
Reagan wins
The Reagan Administration has won another
round in Its fight to turn back the clock on civil
rights.
The U .S. Supreme Court has determined that
it's O .K . fo r colleges and universities to
discriminate in some areas. The government’s
right to w ithhold federal funds from schools
that discriminate against women only applies to
the funded programs, the court said.
r
Does this mean that if a school gets money for j
its library it cannot discriminate in the library
but can freely practice discrim ination in the
dormitories, dining halls, assignment of classes,
discipline, etc? Apparently it does.
This is only one more sign that it is imperative
to get rid o f Ronald Reagan before he has the
opp o rtu n ity to app o in t several new Supreme
Court Justices— judges who will hold office for
the next 20 to 40 years.
The only way to get rid of Reagan is to vote.
Letters to the Editor
Blood Knot great
To the editor:
Monday night. February 20th. I
had the privilege o f attending The
B lood K n ot by Authol Fugard and
directed by Rick Jones at the Store
Front Theater. 6 S.W . 3rd Ave.
It is tremendousl Every adult in
I Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Asso. ..Hion
Portland, Black and white, should
see it. The Blood Knot, a parable of
two brothers— one white skinned,
one black— vividly portrays the
fears and anguish of racial tensions.
It is filled with the humor and deep
pain of bigotry.
The Observer welcomes Letters to
the Editor. Letters should he short,
and must contain the writer's name
and address 1addresses are not print
ed/. The Observer reserves the right
to edit fo r length.
Evelyn M. Collins
Director
Grace Collins M emorial Center
Let the
Portland Observer Classifieds
work for you.
Call 283-0090 todayl
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” N o, we have enough
problems over there. We just
got our boys out of Lebanon, so
I think we should let them
blockade their oil.”
M • *•••••
Th« Porllend Observer e t n ««tablmhed m 1970
Subecnphon« »15 00 par yaa» m Ihe Tr. Countv «>«« Po«l
m a ita » S«n<1 «dd>«« change» lo lh« Porlland Observer P O
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I Mail to
Mrs. Taahner
Bookkeeper
Yaa. I w ould lika a aubacription
to the Portland Observer.
□ I have encloaad my check or
money order for 116. for a
one-year aubacription.
Ban Roberson
Retired
Use Femrlte
Housewife
PLEASE PRINT
Portland Obaarvac
Boa 3137
Portland Oregon 9T208
"1 don’t think anyone should
invade. I t ’s their oil. Let’s not
get involved.”
N a m e _______
A d d ress
C it y ___
“ 1 don’ t think so. It would
start a war with Russia, I don't
[think we are ready for that.”
.S ta te .
Zip
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Kent Q rover
Truck Driver
" I f we are going to invade it
like we did in Vietnam, then no.
jt we need to protect our-