Wherever There Is Jewish Pain

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bunderstand: “We are not doing this for you and we are not binterested in what you think. We are doing this because you bsymbolize Jewish rights that are being trampled and we bintend to see to it that those rights are protected whether byou like it or not.”

bIt was to Dr. Einhorn’s credit that he eventually came to bunderstand this so vital point. When JDL came into being, bwith the school strike threatening Jewish teachers, tens of bthem flocked to join the new group. They came, however, bnot out of love of Jews but rather out of love of teachers, of bthemselves. As soon as the strike ended and JDL showed bthat it was formed to help all Jews and demanded from the bteachers the same kind of sacrifice for nonteachers that they bhad manifested for their own survival, most of them left. bAnd the same held true for merchants, for neighborhoods, band for Forest Hills. They mouthed slogans; they packaged btheir cause in “Love of Jews” wrappings; but they really bfought for themselves. When the cause was something else bor when the going became difficult or when the FBI entered bthe scene or when we insisted that they give of their time and bmoney—they disappeared. It was a difficult idea but one bthat was vital for them to understand, that JDL never fought bfor a Jew as a specific individual, profession, or neighbor- bhood but only because he was a member of the Jewish bpeople and there was a Divine obligation not to stand idly by ba fellow Jew’s blood.

JEW-HATRED

bOur views on Jew-haters were well known. One does not bdiscuss issues with people who preach gas chambers or who bphysically attack Jews and threaten their rights. Thus, every btime we found Nazis on the street who were not protected by bpolice, JDL people had orders to smash their heads, a not bvery elegant action but one that was sublimely Jewish and bsane. In my interview in Playboy, I told Walter Goodman bthat “If an American Nazi party leader poses a clear and bpresent danger to American Jews, then not to assassinate bsuch a person would be one of the most immoral courses I bcould imagine.”