Abe Foxman, a legendary Jewish leader, and the head of the Anti-Defamation League from 1987 to 2015, passed a few days ago, aged 86. It\u2019s been a while since we last spoke, but speaking with him had always been one of the more enjoyable perks for a person writing about U.S. Jewish life. In the introduction to the book about the U.S. community I wrote about a decade and a half ago, a little story about Foxman appeared, which I thought was appropriate as a farewell to this man and to an era. Reading through it reveals just a little of what made Foxman endearing in many ways, and it also reveals, by being so offhand, almost na\u00efve, how much America changed in such a short time.<\/p>\n
So here is one little story, about antisemitism, basketball, humor and Foxman. RIP.<\/p>\n
American and Israeli basketball fans with long memories will recognize the name Michael Ray Richardson, a player who was linked to the Israeli team Hapoel Ramat Gan 15 years ago after being banished from the NBA due to drug use. Richardson, who died about a year ago, had a long history of brief scandals; in 2007, another was added to the list when he was fired from coaching the \u201cAlbany Patroons.\u201d One of the reasons: antisemitic remarks.<\/p>\n
This was an incident that taught me a lesson about the state of American Jewry far more than it taught me about Richardson, who never quite excelled at choosing his words. \u201cI\u2019ve got big-time lawyers. I\u2019ve got big-time Jew lawyers,\u201d he said in response to a question regarding his contract renewal. When told that some might be offended by his words, he responded: \u201cAre you kidding me? They\u2019ve got the best security system in the world. Have you ever been to the airport in Tel Aviv? They\u2019re real crafty. Listen, they are hated all over the world, so they have to be crafty.\u201d He said about us \u2013 Jews \u2013 that we\u2019ve got a lot of power in the world, \u201cyou know what I mean?\u201d He said \u201cI think that\u2019s great.\u201d He didn\u2019t think there\u2019s anything wrong with that. If you look at professional sports, he said, Jews run it. If you look at most successful companies and such, most businesses, Jews run them.<\/p>\n
In America, compliments must be given with caution. Richardson ultimately just wanted to say something nice about Jews. That didn\u2019t prevent his suspension, nor did it stop the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from complaining about the \u201cpain his words caused to many people\u201d (to be precise: an anti-gay remark was also among the reasons for his dismissal for the Patroons). In principle, the claim made by the head of the ADL, Abraham Foxman, was correct: Richardson\u2019s description of Jews bore too much resemblance to antisemitic stereotypes.<\/p>\n
However, as author Ze\u2019ev Chafets noted in an op-ed published in The Los Angeles Times: \u201cJews, as a people, are indeed smart. And they are proud of it, too.\u201d Indeed, around the same time, a long-form article by Charles Murray appeared in the Jewish-American magazine Commentary. Murray \u2013 one of the controversial authors of \u201cThe Bell Curve,\u201d which caused an uproar by claiming (and this would be a highly simplistic description) that Black Americans were less intelligent than Whites and Asians \u2013 argued that the roots of \u201cJewish genius\u201d lie in processes that began even before the Jews went into exile. No one accused him of antisemitism. It was a sensitive and yet an interesting article.<\/p>\n
Reading it reaffirmed the need for a redefined, updated definition of the verbal \u201cdanger zone\u201d: in the 21st century, given the influence and visibility of Jews in America, one shouldn\u2019t jump at every use of a stereotype as if it were a racist event deserving of condemnation. Not every generalization justifies punishment.<\/p>\n
The Richardson case was a minor event, worth lingering over because it masked a persistent fear of majority prejudice. It served as a reminder that this large, powerful community \u2013 the U.S. Jewish community \u2013 possesses a minority consciousness that seemingly cannot disappear. But as is the way with fears, they sometimes paralyze \u2013 paralyzing judgment, clarity of thought and the ability to put events into proper perspective.<\/p>\n
After Richardson was suspended, I wrote in the newspaper that \u201cmerciful Jews\u201d \u2013 another controversial generalization about our people \u2013 should call for his reinstatement. For the cancellation of Richardson\u2019s suspension. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA and one of the Jews who \u201cruns professional sports,\u201d came to Richardson\u2019s defense and stated that he \u201cis not an antisemite.\u201d Abe Foxman, who initially welcomed the suspension, admitted to me in a conversation that \u201cperhaps it really is too harsh a punishment.\u201d He agreed that we must be careful lest, on the rocky road to eliminating antisemitism, Jews lose another beloved stereotype: that they have an excellent sense of humor.<\/p>\n