Farrakhan’s Ally Weighs Owens Race
Seeks Ouster of Solon Who Defended Jews
By Jeffrey Goldberg
The Forward, February 25, 1994
NEW YORK — The challenge wasn’t long in coming. In the wake of Rep. Major Owens’ ringing denunciation of Rev. Louis Farrakhan, a new candidate is eyeing the Brooklyn Democrats’ seat — Eric Adams, who last month condemned Jesse Jackson for denouncing an anti-Semitic speech by one of Rev. Farrakhan’s aides and who last year attacked a Puerto Rican candidate for comptroller for marrying a Jewish woman.
Mr. Adams, who heads an association of black police officers, said last week he is contemplating a run for Mr. Owens’ Brooklyn seat. Mr. Owens, who is being feted this week at a Jewish conference in New Orleans, is leading the countercharge by black moderates against Reverend Farrakhan. The Nation of Islam has announced its intention to campaign for Mr. Adams, should he declare, and whether or not he declares to campaign for the top candidate on Mr. Adams’ “ticket.” The “ticket” includes Rev. Al Sharpton, who plans to run against Senator Moynihan in the Democratic primary, although sources say he may also be contemplating a run at Mr. Owens’ seat, should Mr. Adams decide not to run.
Standing Ovations
In New Orleans, members of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, including political fund-raisers and activists, gave Mr. Owens two standing ovations during a speech at the group’s annual convention, Lucette Lagnado of the Forward reports from Louisiana. Mr. Owens attacked the “politics of recklessness,” saying he wanted to “save the African-American community from chaos and self-destruction — not the Jewish community.” After the speech, the audience broke into a rendition of “We Shall Overcome.”
The reception given Mr. Owens reflects the fact that his future is of concern to Jewish leaders, locally and nationally. By taking on the Nation of Islam, something many mainstream black politicians have been unwilling to do, Mr. Owens has sent a comforting signal to the Jewish community, whose leaders have been looking for prominent blacks to back their charge that Rev. Farrakhan is an anti-Semite who must be isolated. Mr. Owens, whose civil-rights credentials are impeccable, may be able to prove that the coalition of blacks and Jews is not as dead as some would have it and is a counterweight to the increasing radicalism of some black leaders.
To Jews in his district, Mr. Owens’ future is of more than symbolic importance. Such Orthodox Jewish strongholds as Crown Heights and Flatbush fall in Mr. Owens’ district; he recently inherited most of his Jewish constituents from Stephen Solarz, whose district was carved up to create a Latino seat. Though they have been lukewarm on Mr. Owens to date, Orthodox leaders say they would support him against a candidate such as Mr. Adams.
“Obviously, if it boils down to these two, the people would go with Owens,” said Yehezkel Pikus, director of the Council of Jewish Organizations in Flatbush. “People are uncomfortable with someone like Mr. Adams who makes such bold statements in public.” When asked in New Orleans about Mr. Adams’ possible candidacy, Mr. Owens shrugged and said, “It’s a free country.”
Jewish Candidate?
If Mr. Adams’ challenge proves credible, Mr. Owens is assured of strong Jewish support in his district only if the Jewish community doesn’t put up its own candidate for the seat, something insiders say Jewish leaders are trying to do. Sources say that Jewish power brokers have approached Robert Miller, an attorney who has run for City Council, about declaring for the seat. Mr. Miller, a non-Jew popular in Orthodox Jewish circles, told the Forward he has “no plans” to run.
Mr. Adams, who could not be reached for comment, first sowed controversy in 1993, when he criticized Herman Badillo, then running for comptroller, for marrying a non-Hispanic woman. Mr. Adams, who is president of the Grand Council of Guardians, last month criticized Rev. Jackson, telling New York Newsday, “I believe no matter what was said, it’s time for us to realize the importance of what Farrakhan is trying to do around the issue of crime in this city. Jesse Jackson cannot deliver the African-American community as a debt to pay for the ‘Hymietown’ statement. He is losing his credibility.”