Dems Denounce Farrakhan’s Remarks

L O S  A N G E L E S, Aug. 12, 2000 -- The Democratic Party denounced Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan today for suggesting vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman, anOrthodox Jew, may be more loyal to Israel than to the UnitedStates.

“I’m sure most Americans would repudiate those remarks,”said Rick Hess, deputy press secretary for the DemocraticNational Committee. “There is always that element in America,but it is distinctly the minority view.”

Lieberman, a two-term U.S. senator from Connecticut, is thefirst Jewish politician to run on a major U.S. political ticket,and says his “first and primary loyalty” is to the UnitedStates.

Nevertheless his selection by Democratic presidentialhopeful Al Gore is testing the extent to which U.S. voters arecomfortable with the idea of an Orthodox Jew holding thenation’s second-highest post—one in which he would assume thepresidency should the commander-in-chief die in office.

Farrakhan Makes Incorrect Statement

Sharply criticised by Jewish leaders as anti-Semitic,Farrakhan on Friday questioned Lieberman’s national loyalty,asking if his religion made him more faithful to Israel or theUnited States, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Mr. Lieberman, as an Orthodox Jew, is also a dual citizenof Israel,” Farrakhan asserted incorrectly at a newsconference. “The state of Israel is not synonymous with theUnited States, and the test he would probably have to pass is:Would he be more faithful to the Constitution of the UnitedStates than to the ties that any Jewish person would have to thestate of Israel?”

Farrakhan’s comments come just ahead of the DemocraticNational Convention in Los Angeles, where delegates willformally anoint Gore and Lieberman as their presidential ticket.

Lieberman Refutes Accusation

Appearing on CNN’s “Larry King Live” earlier this week,Lieberman rejected suggestions that his religion would influencehis policies regarding Israel.

“In my work in the Senate, and if I am honored andfortunate enough to become the vice president of the UnitedStates, my first and primary loyalty is, of course, to theUnited States of America,” Lieberman said.

But Lieberman said he backed moving the U.S. embassy inIsrael to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, a move analysts say couldprovoke a potentially explosive reaction in the Arab and Moslemworld because Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capitalof a future Palestinian state. Israel sees the whole ofJerusalem as its “united and eternal” capital.

Lieberman has also described America as “pro-Israel.”

Farrakhan Is Not Alone

Farrakhan’s magnetism has boosted membership in the Nationof Islam to around 200,000 since he took over leadership of thegroup in 1978.

But he has drawn criticism for espousing black separatismand damning whites, particularly Jews. In speeches, Farrakhanhas called the Jews “wicked deceivers of the American people,”the “synagogue of Satan,” and has insisted that a coterie ofJews controlled the U.S. government to the detriment of blacks.

Farrakhan’s were not the first controversial comments aboutGore’s selection of a Jewish running mate.

Earlier this week, a veteran Dallas civil rights activistquit as head of the local NAACP after the national organisationrebuked him for anti-Semitic comments about Lieberman.

The activist, Lee Alcorn, said in a radio interview he waswary of Gore’s choice. “I’m concerned about, you know, any kind of Jewish candidate, you know, and I’m concerned about theDemocratic Party. I’m sick of the Democratic Party taking theAfrican-American vote for granted,” Alcorn said.

“I think we need to be very suspicious of any kind ofpartnerships between the Jews at that kind of level because weknow that their interest primarily has to do with, you know,money and these kinds of things.”

The National Association for the Advancement of ColouredPeople (NAACP) suspended Alcorn for the remarks.