Page 2-THE NEWS-Mav 1989
Editorial
A Tour Through Venice, Where the Ghetto Began
We Jews Cannot Afford Disunity
By Marc H. Tanenbaum
The recent mobilization of Jewish leaders for
expressing solidarity with Israel was met with
ambivalence in some Jewish quarters.
Clearly, there are some serious differences in
geopolitical views both within Israel and in the
Diaspora for how to cope constructively with the
peace process. But increasingly, I believe with
others that rebuilding the Jewish family into a
caring community is an overriding issue.
In recent weeks, I have been reading several
biographies of Theodor Herzl (in preparation for
a book I am writing on “The Vatican, the Jews
and Israel.”) Herzl is a heroic legend today among
all Jews, and for obvious historic reasons.
But it is heartbreaking to read accounts of how
Jewish disunity, hostility, egocentric politics
impeded the rise of the Jewish state and virtually
destroyed Herzl's health.
Everybody had “good"’ reasons: The assimila-
tionists feared that a Jewish state would create
dual loyalties; they wanted only colonies in
Palestine. The cultural Zionists wanted to
concentrate on Palestine as a “spiritual center”
and not on its political realization.
The triumph was that Herzl succeeded finally
with his diplomatic genius, despite much oppo
sition from Jewish leadership. To the imperiled
masses of Jews in Eastern Europe, Herzl was “the
king of the Jews.”
When will Jews leam that we are the 1^ people
on earth who can afford such internal nc^tility
and alienation from one another; that only our
worst enemies profit from Jewish disunity?
Somewhere in Jewish life today the central
affirmation must become again “love of Jews for
one another” and learning to disagree in non
destructive ways.
Rabbi Marc H. Tannenbaum is international
consultant to the American Jewish Committee.
On Reflection .
By Ruth E. Gruber
(JTA)
Venice gave the world the
word — and concept of—the
ghetto, and no Jewish tour
ist in the Canal City should
miss a visit to the old Jewish
section.
The ancient ghetto area is
an easy walk from the train
station in the northern part
of the city. It was once the
Foundry District — “ghetto”
in the Venetian dialect —
and it was here that in 1516
Venice became the first Ital
ian city to confine Jews to
one section of town. It was
not until 1797 that Jews were
allowed to live in other parts
of the city.
Today, the area is slightly
off the more fully beaten
tourist track, but the charac
teristic architecture, the
beautifully decorated old
synagogues and the little
Jewish Museum are well
worth a few hours’ visit.
There are also several
shops in the area where one
can buy books, Jewish ver
sions of typical Venetian
souvenirs — Mezuzot and
kiddush cups made from
Murano glass. Star ot David
pendants in mosaic lace
hangings with Jewish de
signs and the like.
The center of the ghetto is
the new Ghetto Square
(Ghetto Nuovo), which was
the first place in which Jews
were confined. Adjacent are
the Ghetto Vecchio and
Ghetto Nuovissino, which
eventually were also as
signed to the Jewish com
munity.
At one time, as many as
5,000 Jews liv^ in the ghet
to. They could circulate free
ly in the city during the day,
but at sunset they were
locked inside behind gates
which were watched over by
guards until dawn.
At the entrance to the
Ghetto Nuovo you can still
see the remains of the hinges
of the gates and windows of
the guard house. A stone
tablet dating back to 1541
lists regulations for the
Jews. The Mchitecture in the
ghetto is different from that
elsewhere in Venice.
Nev^rmMher,
For 80 many people con
fined in a relatively small
space — only 42.000 square
yards — the only way to
build homes was to build up,
Sind the many-storied apart
ment buildings are known as
Venetian Skyscrapers.
One of the best ways to
visit the ghetto is to start at
the Jewish Museum and join
one of the guided tours of
three of the ghetto’s five
synagogues.
Tours are given in several
languages, including Eng
lish, and the tour includes
visits to the Spanish School,
Levantine School and Ger
man School synagogues, all
dating back to the 16th cen
tury and all elaborately dec
orated.
The guide explains the
differences between the vari
ous Jewish groups that once
lived in Venice, distin
guished by their different
origins and rites. It is also
interesting to note that most
of the synagogues in Venice
were built on the top floors
of already existing build
ings.
The great (Jerman School
Sjmagogue is on the top floor
of the building that now
houses the Jewish Museum.
The museum’s two rooms
contain a rich display of
ritual art and objects, includ
ing finely wrought silver
and beautiful ketubot.
There are also important
manuscripts and other
sacred objects. The museum,
too, has am interesting selec
tion of books — many in
English — on sale, relating
both specifically to the Ve
nice ghetto as well as to
Italian and European Jew
ry.
Today there are only about
500 or so Jews living in
Venice.
• • By Ira Gissen, Virsinia/North Carolina Director ADL
The Bigot in Baton Rouge
In recent weeks,in meet
ings at the University of
Virginia, Winston-Salem,
Roanoke, Charlotte, Rich
mond, Staunton, Norfolk,
and Virginia Beach — re
gardless of the announced
subject, the one topic of
concern everywhere was the
election of David Duke to the
Louisiana State Legislature.
Two questions resonate in
every meeting. “Has he re
formed?” “Was his election
a fluke, or does it have sig
nificance?”
The answer to the first
question is: “No he hasn’t.”
The second question re
minds me of the favorite
saying of my best professor
in graduate school; “To pre
dict the future is both essen
tial and impossible.”
David Duke, through the
years, has worked hard to
cultivate a seemingly moder
ate clean-cut image, and to
articulate his racism and
anti-Semitism with decep
tive subtlety.
Duke set out on the racist
trail at age 17 as a follower
of extreme right-wing
groups. While attending
Louisiana State University
he proclaimed himself the
leading campus advocate of
white supremacy, founded
the White Youth Alliance
and affiliated it with the
National Socialist White
People’s Party of Arlington,
Va., formerly the American
Nazi Party. On at least one
occasion — an anti-leftist
demonstration at Tulane
University in New Orleans
— Duke marched wearing a
stormtrooper-style brown
shirt and Nazi swastika
armband. Like other anti-
Semitic hatemongers, he has
asserted that the Holocaust
is “an historical hoax.”
Duke secured his first ma
jor public attention during
the Klan resurgence of the
1970s in which he and his
Louisiana-based Knights of
the Ku Klux Klan were in
strumental.
He doffed the hooded robe
and put on a business suit.
He took some of the mumbKv
jumbo out of the Klan ritual
and nomenclature, calling
himself a “national direc
tor” rather than a wizard or
a dragon. He articulated
racism in so slick a manner
that journalists would des
cribe it as “rhinestone ra
cism” and “button-down
terror.” He urged Kluxers to
“get out of the cow pasture
and into hotel meeting
rooms.”
Duke skillfully exploited
such legitimate issues as
affirmative action, busing,
and illegal immigration to
stir up fears, while television
interviewers such as Barba
ra Walters and Tom Snyder
just as skillfully exploited
Duke and pushed this color
ful nonentity into celebrity
status.
David Duke’s days as a
Klan leader ended abruptly
in 1980, when Bill Wilkin
son, who had left Duke’s
organization five years ear
lier to form the rival “Invis
ible Empire” Klan, told the
press that he had forced
Duke’s resignation from the
KKK by secretly videotap
ing a meeting at which Duke
offered to sell his member
ship lists for $35,000. Duke
denied the whole incident,
but he backed away and
established the National
Association for the Advance
of White People, which he
has described as “a white
rights lobby organization, a
racialist movement, mainly
middle class people.”
Still preening the dapper,
respectable image, Duke ex
plained in a letter to his
followers that the message
of the KKK and the NAAWP
were “essentially the same.”
Duke’s NAAWP News
parallels his efforts to exploit
racial tensions. “Victory in
Forsythe County” was the
headline after a racist march
in that troubled Georgia
county in January 1987. A
week later, during a civil
rights counter-demonstra
tion in the same region,
Duke and two other men
were arrested (and later con
victed) of reckless conduct
and illegally blocking a state
highway after a confronta
tion with state law enforce
ment officers.
Mr. Duke had run afoul of
the law previous to this, of
course; he had been arrested
and convicted for inciting to
riot in connection with Klan
rallies in 1976 and 1979.
Duke’s 1989 legislative
victory was not his first
foray with politics. In June,
1987, Duke announced that
he would seek the 1988 De
mocratic nomination for
President. His campaign
manager was Ralph Forbes,
an erstwhile “captain” in
George Lincoln Rockwell’s
Nazi Party who has since
become a minister in the
anti-Semitic “Identity”
church movement. By
March of 1988, however,
candidate Duke had
switched parties and accept
ed the Presidential nomina
tion of the Populist Party,
which had been founded in
1984 to promote the political
agenda of the Anti-Jewish
Liberty Lobby and its found
er, Hitler-admirer Willis Car-
to. Duke as Populist was on
the ballot in 11 states and
received 48,267 votes — Vaoth
of one percent of those cast.
See BIGOT page 11
THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS
P.O. Box 13369, Charione. N.C. 28211
Published monthly by:
Charlotte Jewish Federation Michael L. Minkin, Director
Foundation of Charlotte Jewish Community &
Jewish Community Center Barry Hantman, Director
Lubavitch of N.C Rabbi Yossi Groner, Director
Editor Rita Mond
Advertising Blanche Yams
Editorial Board Joel Goldman, Chair
Phil Joffe, Sally Schrader, Marcia Sinton,
Dr. Sehvyn Spangenthal, Barry Wohl, Barbara Zie^er
Copy deadline the 10th of each month
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