208	The Story of the Jewish Defense League

bphysical assaults on Jews were not new. They had been with bus for years while the major Jewish groups did nothing, in bgreat measure because their liberal tendencies drove them bto favor an “integration” that destroyed Jewish neighbor- bhoods, a reverse discrimination that would “compensate” bNegroes for past injustices, and also because they had no bcontact at all with the masses of poor, struggling, and fright- bened Jews.

bIt is important to bring to bear examples of the all-too- bnumerous cases of Jewish problems that the Jewish leader- bship had done nothing about and that JDL’s call for Jewish bPower was meant to resolve.

bIn August 1968, while I was still associate editor of the bJewish Press, a letter arrived from an employee of the New bYork City Department of Social Services, later to become bknown as the Human Resources Administration. Dated bAugust 23, 1968, it read:

b“I am currently employed in the NYC Dept. of Social bServices and was shocked and amazed when I recently dis- bcovered that, at a meeting, our current Commissioner, Mr. bGoldberg, informed his administration that he feels that bthere are too many Jews in his upper and middle adminis- btrative force.

b“He said that he was going to rectify this problem by badding a requirement of an oral examination to the promo- btional requirements for the position of Adminstrator, Assis- btant Director, and Director. This requirement will be so bgeared that only the ‘proper types’ will be acceptable. When bquestioned further, our Commissioner said that the proper btypes would consist of more Negro administrators. I was bshocked that such a statement should be articulated by a bcommissioner of our department. . . .”

bA postscript added: “Please don’t mention my name, as bour department does not take kindly to complaints.” In- bdeed.

bWhat Jewish Commissioner Goldberg had said privately, bwithin three years had become official, public, and written bpolicy for the now Human Resources Administration under bits Jewish Commissioner Jule M. Sugarman. On December b