New York, N.Y., April 13, 2001 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said the Publisher Emeritus of the city’s venerable black newspaper, The Amsterdam News, has once again resorted to anti-Semitic language in "an attempt to divide the city by race, ethnicity and religion."

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and Howie Katz, ADL New York Regional Director issued the following statement:

Once again, Wilbert A. Tatum is resorting to anti-Semitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories by injecting the issue of a person’s religion and ethnicity into the New York City mayoral campaign. He claims Jews, as a religious group, "run" the city. In his April 12^th-18th editorial for the Amsterdam News, Tatum asserts that Jews manage to "promote themselves above all others in order to first achieve power and then, most importantly, to keep it."

This is another episode in Tatum’s long track record of engaging in crude anti-Semitism. Most recently, in August 2000, he claimed Jews "bought" Sen. Joe Lieberman’s vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket because of financial considerations and not his public record.

Tatum’s use of anti-Semitic language, an attempt to divide the city by race, ethnicity and religion during an election year, is insidious and should be strongly condemned.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.