Anti-Klan Tactics Split Jewish Groups

Should members of hate groups be fired from their jobs?

That question has divided two Jewish organizations that have been longtime opponents of the Ku Klux Klan.

The divisions surfaced after one group--the Jewish Defense Organization--prompted two people to be fired in its “Operation Klan Kicker” campaign.

The campaign urged opponents to call Klan members’ employers and demand that they be fired.

The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, which has also campaigned against the Klan, has challenged the tactics used by the Jewish Defense Organization.

The Jewish Defense Organization aided the firings by providing the names and employers of Klan members. That information, along with the telephone numbers of Klan members’ bosses, was made available through the Jewish group’s answering machine.

Two of the men who were fired admitted that they were members of the Klan. A third target was a truck driver from Deer Park, N.Y., who initially denied being a member. He threatened to sue the Jewish group when it urged his termination. However, he later told a television reporter that he had been associated with the Klan.

This week, the Jewish Defense Organization’s recording, which is changed periodically, urged callers to phone the United Auto Workers Union and demand that the driver’s membership be revoked. Revoking his membership is a necessary step for him fired from his job.

On Tuesday, Abe Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, criticized the campaign in a statement.

“To deprive individuals of their employment for the lawful expression of their opinions, no matter how detestable those opinions may be, is not a proper way to counteract hate groups in a democratic society,” Foxman said.

Foxman acknowledged, however, that his organization has often called for the dismissal of public officials, law enforcement officers or other public employees if they are active Klan members. The league has argued for the dismissal on the grounds that membership in such an organization “is inconsistent with a post that requires fair and equal treatment to all members of society,” Foxman said.

Asked if the Jewish Defense Organization’s campaign implies that members of the Klan have no rights to jobs, National Director Mordechai Levy said: “I don’t believe Klansmen or Nazis have any rights. A group that wants to put us into an oven has no rights.”