By Susie Davidson
Advocate Correspondent
BROOKLINE - There was much lox, but little schlock at the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA)’s annual meeting brunch this past Sunday at the Holiday Inn in Brookline. Celebrating the first year of the progressive, multi-generational group headed by the indomitable Sheila Decter, the morning was marked by strong commitment to civil rights and constitutional liberties. Honorees Edward Barshak, Gerald Berlin, Sumner Z. Kaplan and guest speaker Congressman Barney Frank mingled with State Representatives Alice Wolf, Kay Khan, Jay Kaufman, Frank Smizik and Ruth Balser as well as City Councilor Felix Arroyo and others who included David Friedman, Counsel and Chief Policy Advisor to Senate Leader Robert Travaglini, the JCRC’s Brad Kramer, and Frank’s mother Elsie Frank, President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Association of Older Americans, Inc.
MC Jamie Fleckner and President David Guberman commented on the continuing need for JALSA’s work, given the fact that American Jews are largely well off, free from discrimination, and that an Orthodox Jew is a frontrunner for the Presidency. “Success never nullifies the responsibility for all citizens to fight bigotry and safeguard the ideals of freedom and liberty,” Guberman said.
“Nothing is as haimische as speaking to this group,” said Frank, following an introduction by Friedman. “Without you, I wouldn’t have won in 1980.” Frank discussed current challenges to Americans, Jews and liberals. Deference, the main avenue for national security prior to September 11, 2001, he explained, had given way to more physical prevention, i.e. increased airline security, and also, a dimunition in privacy.
Frank recalled J. Edgar Hoover’s failed quest to prove that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a communist which, in the process, unfortunately uncovered personally embarrassing information. “My view,” he said, “is that if you’ve reached the age of 30 and there is nothing about your life you are embarrassed about, you have my sympathy.”
Though he cited progress compared to earlier times, and said that free speech has not been noticeably curtailed, Frank discussed the unfair treatment of immigrants, even those who are here in violation of their visas. “There are some ringleaders who got swept into the wave of fundamentalism in their countries who should be prosecuted,” he said, “but solitary confinement for life is not, to me, the American dream.”
Frank said that the judicial system did in fact work fairly in the cases of Lindh, Moussaki and Reid, without the need for separate, absolute executive powers. “It is our duty to defend the U.S. against all enemies, foreign and national,” he quipped, “and I think that means Ashcroft.” He ended with a critical discussion of Bush’s faith-based initiative and a tribute to Decter. “Aliva Shalom to the AJCongress,” he jokingly concluded.
Honoree Berlin, who received a U.S. Navy Bronze Star Award for minesweeping work and just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary, was the first Assistant Attorney General of the Division of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, President of the Massachusetts ACLU, and AJCongress’ Regional Attorney and Director of the Commission on Law and Social Action.
Barshak, a longtime civil rights attorney at Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, which received a Boston Bar Association Pro Bono Award, was then honored. He helped implement the state’s Racial Imbalance Law for minority education and represented the NAACP for over a decade.
Kaplan, former Army Brigadier General, past AJCongress President and former Brookline State Representative, is on JALSA’s Executive Committee.
"Congressman Frank reminded the audience of the need for greater surveillance, but also to have it be both useful and subject to our traditional set of checks and balances,” recapped Decter. “The kind of excesses that historically were carried out by Hoover as head of the FBI cannot now be given to the Executive Department without limitation. Requiring officials to go to judges for permission to evesdrop on Americans and putting the burden of proof on government to demonstrate their role, if non-terrorist related information becomes known in the public marketplace as a result of that surveillance, is the kind of balance that JALSA believes is essential.
“Congressman Frank indicated his concern for the extended detention of persons who have not been shown to have a relation to terrorist activities,” she continued. “JALSA is concerned about the indefinite detention of persons of Middle Eastern background who have not been found guilty of terrorist acts. JALSA will continue to ask the INS and the Justice Department to demonstrate that the roundup of such persons is actually making us safer."
“The work of JALSA is more urgently needed that perhaps ever before,” said attendee Rabbi William Hamilton. “I’m thrilled and honored to support any organization led by Sheila.
“I was particularly excited to witness the honoring of Sumner Kaplan, a lifelong member of Kehillath Israel who recently celebrated his second bar mitzvah with great distinction,” he added.
Civil rights attorney Harvey Silverglate will speak at JALSA’s First Sunday program on Feb. 2 between 5-7 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 50 Sewall Ave. in Coolidge Corner.