New York, NY, March 19, 2002 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today accepted the apology of the Rev. Billy Graham for anti-Semitic remarks he made in a conversation with President Richard Nixon at the White House. In his apology, the Rev. Graham stated that "racial prejudice, anti-Semitism or hatred of anyone with different beliefs has no place in the human mind or heart."

ADL Says Billy Graham's Anti-Semitic Views on Nixon Tape are "Chilling and Frightening"

"We accept the apology of Reverend Billy Graham," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "These words, unlike his previous words uttered 30 years ago, are full of sadness and repentance. This is the Billy Graham we thought we knew."

Following the recent release of the new Nixon Tapes, which revealed the 1972 conversation between the Rev. Graham, President Nixon and his Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman, Mr. Foxman called the anti-Semitic views on the recording, "chilling and frightening even today, 30 years after the statements were made."

On the recording, the Rev. Graham, a spiritual advisor to presidents and an American icon, is heard asserting that Jews had a "stranglehold" on the country and that a second Nixon Administration, "might be able to do something."

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.