Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

WASHINGTON — Five years have passed since the Million Man March, and the Rev. Louis Farrakhan sings the same song, but in a different tune. His words have been softened and his comments toward Jews less overt, but his message is one that makes the Jewish community wonder if he has changed his ways.

Thousands convened Monday on the National Mall in support of the Million Family March, traveling from all over the United States to support Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.

In a related development, vice-presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman decided not to meet with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who is known for his anti-Semitic remarks.

Lieberman, who recently told a radio show that he would meet with Farrakhan, said Tuesday that such a meeting would not be constructive and would be "too loaded with political controversy."

Unlike the Million Man March, when then-mayor Marion Barry attended the march and demonstrated his support for the controversial leader, D.C. Mayor Tony Williams was out of town. However, a city official did address the crowd.

Carolyn Graham, deputy mayor for families and children, commended Farrakhan for organizing the march.

A mayoral proclamation also was read, welcoming the march to the nation's capital and proclaiming Oct. 16, 2000 the Million Family March Day in Washington.

David Friedman, Washington-area director of the Anti-Defamation League, criticized Graham's participation. To see the mayor "embracing an anti-Semite through proclamation and official welcome" sends a terrible signal to the entire community that those who preach hate will be accepted in to the mainstream, Friedman said.

"We're writing to the mayor, expressing how troubled we are and asking him to explain how he can espouse principles against bigotry and at the same time praise the organizers of the march," Friedman said. They came up with something that endorsed and legitimized him.

Special Assistant to the Mayor Jim Wareck, noting that there hasn't been "an inch of space between the mayor and the ADL on bigotry and anti-Semitism," said Graham was there not to represent the office, but herself.

As for the proclamation, Wareck said, "I cannot recall an event for which we turned down a proclamation. You've got a significant number of people in the District who don't support Farrakhan, but saw the march as one of blacks."

David Bernstein, Washington-area director for the American Jewish Committee, also was disappointed in the proclamation. "We were gratified [Williams] didn't go to the march, but we thought the proclamation that was read was much more supportive of the march than we originally" thought it would be, he said.

Ira Forman, one of the organizers of the Jewish political group Citizens for a Pluralistic D.C., believes "the mayor's absence spoke volumes, especially when you compare it to the former mayor's very visible connection to the Million Man March."

Among the diverse group of guests was a representative of the mufti of Syria, whose anti-Semitic remarks came as no surprise. As the crowd cheered in approval, the Syrian representative, who was not clearly identified, referred to the Zionist-controlled media in the United States and called Israel a "Nazi state which was developed illegally on Palestinian land."

In addition to the anti-Jewish tone of some of the speakers, some anti-Semitic literature was distributed by an organization called the Israelite Network.

Farrakhan's speech touched on a variety of subjects, from abortion to Middle East peace. Referring to the latest fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Farrakhan said he hopes there can be peace between the two groups. But, he concluded, there should be justice for the Palestinians who suffered these past weeks.

Farrakhan made no mention of support for Israel or Israeli casualties. The mostly African-American crowd cheered throughout the two-hour address.

Though the Nation of Islam leader did not make any overtly anti-Semitic comments, he spoke of "poison in today's society."

"This poison," he said, "has affected Judaism. We see black Jews, Ashkenazi Jews and Semitic Jews fighting," he said.

In light of these marks, ADL's Friedman said, "It is vintage Farrakhan to present himself as a unifier when in fact he has such a long and infamous hatred for the Jews."

Over the weekend, Farrakhan, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" reiterated his charge that Jews control many prominent African-Americans, although he did not provide any evidence.

"If I stood up tomorrow and said, 'I regret saying that there is Jewish control over black artists and black athletes and black professionals,' I would be lying," he said. "The Jewish people have that kind of control. That is maybe to their credit, but it is to our pain, and I want to relieve our people of that pain," he added.

AJCommittee's Bernstein said the increasing acceptability of Farrakhan "erodes one of the greatest achievements of the civil rights era — the social norm that requires men and women of goodwill to distance themselves from racist views."

Other National Stories

Son of Jewish Democrats revels in role as Bush's key spokesman

U.S.Report