----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 1:45
PM
Subject: [Sndbox] RE: I bet if they
depicted Islam it would not be acceptable
Could you imagine the outcry if some group
made murals of blacks as monkeys? The courts would order their arrest
for hate crimes within hours. I guess it's politically correct to be
anti-Semitic.
Charles
Mims
Controversial Cleveland
murals are protected
By: DOUGLAS J.
GUTH Staff Reporter
 |
| The First Amendment protects all forms of speech,
including these controversial new murals on the 55th St. Deli.
|
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
protects freedom of _expression_, no matter how offensive, from government
interference.
With that in mind, Louis Brandeis, the first Jew to serve
on the U.S. Supreme Court, uttered the famous quote that still resonates
today: "The remedy for bad speech is more speech."
For those offended by murals painted on the
outside walls of Brahim "Abe" Ayad's East 55th Street deli, "more speech"
might be the only recourse.
Ayad, 37, a Palestinian-American who owns
Grandpa's Kitchen, has had dozens of controversial images painted on his
business establishment over the last few years. Public officials and Jewish
Clevelanders say these murals are blatantly offensive and
antisemitic.
The newest signs, painted over the spring and summer at
the deli, include a group of skullcap-wearing Jews counting money at a table
while Jesus hangs on a cross above them, and a supposed talmudic endorsement
of pedophilia. In the latter, a Jewish priest holds a small boy in his arms.
The priest is quoted as saying, "Silly man, this is not my son, he's my wife."
Below this is an alleged line from the Talmud. "Like the tear comes to the eye
again and again so does ... virginity to a child under 3 years and 1
day."
Above this mural is contact information for Cong. Stephanie Tubbs
Jones for those seeking reparations from Israel. The congresswoman's image has
also unflatteringly appeared on past murals. Ayad was angry she never followed
up on a letter she sent him over two years ago, claiming she would help him
get back his father's land.
Another new sign shows Hitler with the Star
of David branded into his upraised and bleeding hand. A larger Star of David
superimposed with a swastika is painted to the right of this image.
In
the past, Ayad's signs have portrayed Jews as monkeys and pigs, and repeated
canards such as Jews control the media and Jews were behind the 9/11 terror
attacks. The first signs appeared on a car wash Ayad owned at E. 55th and
Cedar. The images were painted over after the City Mission bought the
building.
Ayad, a father of eight who lives in North Olmstead, has said
he does not support violence against Jews. The murals, he notes, are a protest
against "evil-doing Zionists" who, among other offenses, he claims, took away
his Palestinian father's land to make way for the state of Israel.
"The
Constitution states the guy has a right to be as obnoxious as he wants," says
Jonathan Entin, professor of constitutional law at Case Western Reserve
University. Even if the signs are perceived as hateful, it's difficult to make
"a valid, legal claim" that someone is defaming a particular group.
In
a landmark case in Minnesota (RAV vs. St. Paul-1992), the U.S. Supreme Court
declared a city hate speech code unconstitutional. The state's law, according
to the court, was "viewpoint based" and "overbroad," prohibiting speech that
was constitutionally protected, Entin explains.
Put simply, "the
government cannot choose sides," says the professor. Ayad's signs could be
taken down only if they led to an unusually dangerous situation. Further, "If
we suppress bad speech, people might be deterred from using 'good' speech,"
says Entin.
Clevelanders have rallied against the murals over the last
few years. Last fall, a billboard stating, "The Hate Stops Here," was erected
as part of a campaign begun by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Cleveland
Mayor Jane Campbell spoke at a campaign press conference across the street
from the deli, as did Congresswoman Tubbs Jones.
About 125 people,
including students from the Cleveland Heights High School Unity Group and
members of the Zionist Youth group Betar attended the anti-hate press
conference.
No rallies are planned for the immediate future. "There's
nothing you can do (to remove the murals) until the community becomes outraged
enough," admits Bettysue Feuer, ADL regional director.
Councilwoman
Fannie Lewis, who represents the ward where Grandpa's Kitchen is located, has
tried various means to get the signs removed by the city. She has spoken to a
number of lawyers, as well as to City Hall, to no avail. She recently
contacted the Cleveland Planning Department, for example, to see if the murals
were violating any signage codes. (They aren't.) She has also met with Ayad
several times.
Lewis, who is African-American, remembers growing up in
Memphis, Tenn., during the race riots of the 1960s. She fears similar violence
could occur here if the murals are allowed to stay up. "When hatred is allowed
to fester, it only gets worse," she says.
Ayad, however, insists that
he doesn't hate anybody. He considers himself an American, and even claims
Jewish ancestry. The murals, he says, are his way to vent frustration and
disappointment.
Ayad says the ADL and Cleveland City Hall, among
others, have been trying to shut him down for eight years. The shocking
imagery on his walls are his way "of fighting fire with fire," he maintains.
"If they want to insult me, they should know how it feels to be
insulted."
Cong. Tubbs Jones would like to see Ayad take down the
murals. She recognizes his right to speak freely, but "as a business owner,
it's his responsibility to show some leadership" within the community, she
told the CJN.
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