lamentalists
Not All In Family
JViday^March 29,1985 / The JewishFtoridian of Palm Beach County Page 13
,rman Lear, television
Hucer, is best known for
[work in comedy. Lear is
creative genius who
ught to life TVs favorite
Archie Bunker, and
s most famous liberal,
ude.
|ut Lear came to Miami this
(k not to be funny, but to
I serious on a topic he
siders a threat to American
My. As founder of People
the American Way. Lear is
g to gather grassroots
pori against ultra-
Bamentalists, or the so-
td "moral majority," who
[politics and religion.
Vc have to pay attention
Iny minority who wish to
Id their religious dogma on
ktion of many, many
tfs," Lear said in an in-
few with The Jewish
Fidian.
OPLE FOR the
fcrican Way is trying to
tbat the ulna
iamentalist movement
kgh public education
ects and mass com-
lications. People for the
fcrican Way attempts to
ularize democratic values
advocates separation of
rch and state. The
Inization has also been
fely involved in the fight
book banning in public
|ols and libraries.
ar said he realized the
lit of the threat to
lican pluralism when
hi years ago he started
thing the TV evangelists,
ding Rev. Jerry Falwcll
I Pat Robinson. Lear was
research for a satirical
movie on religion and how it is
used as a tax dodge.
"1 had been skipping over
the TV evangelists and having
my laugh, but now I was doing
research, so I was paying a lot
of attention.
"And the way they were
mixing politics and religion,
the way they were calling
people who simply disagreed
with them on social or political
issues ungodly, anti-Christian,
un-American, bad family
people all of those things
started to worry me sick."
LEAR DECIDED to make
a TV commercial opposing
this movement, and out of
that eventually grew People
for the American Way, which
now claims more than 150,000
members.
Lear said the issue is not just
a Jewish concern, but also a
Christian one. "The mainline
churches are very much in
support," Lear added.
Lear railed against ex-
tremism from either the left or
right. "1 don't like reflexive
attitudes on anything, liberal
or conservative. Things have
to be thought out in-
dividually."
But Lear drew a distinction
between liberal extremism and
what he calls "ultra-
fundamantalists" by evoking
the memory of slain civil rights
leader Martin Luther King Jr.,
who preached the spirit of the
great religions and civil leaders
of peace.
"KING DIDN'T call
somebody who disagreed with
him somebody who belonged
TV producer Norman Lear, founder of People
for the American Way, visited Miami this
week to raise money for his fight against
to Satan, who was demonic.
That's quite another thing.
"And only the ultra-
fundamentalists do that. Not
fundamentalists, not con-
servatives and not anybody
but the ultra-fundamentalists.
"They are the ones, and
they unfortunately are the
Falwells and the Robinsons,
who feel the others who
disagree, on the simplest of
matters ... are ungodly, anti-
Christian, un-Christian and
bad Americans."
LEAR VISITED Miami to
attend a private fund-raiser
for his organization at the
home of Jeffrey Berkowitz,
(rtwto by Andrew Polinl
'ultra-fundamentalist' Christians who, he
says, are trying to Christianize America.
who is a board member of the
Greater Miami Jewish
Federation and on the
executive committee of The
American Israel Political
Action Committee.
"We're looking for
whatever support we can find.
We're hoping we can generate
enough interest in South
Florida to support this,"
Berkowitz said.
CORRECTION:
THE B. MANISCHEWITZ COMPANY
PASSOVER MENU PLANNER
Due to an error in the printing of the
Manischewitz 1985 Menu Planner, Herring and
Cream Cheese Spread was included in what was
intended to be a convenient pareve menu for the
second Seder which this year falls on Saturday
night
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