Counter Apologizes for Offending Hillel

Harvard Foundation Director S. Allen Counter apologized yesterday for any misunderstanding caused by a letter he wrote which has provoked objections from Hillel and at least one call for his resignation.

Counter said he wrote the letter, which appeared in Tuesday Crimson, to present concerns he had heard from students about the newspaper and about relations between Black and Jewish students.

"I am deeply sorry for any discomfort I may have caused any students in Hillel or otherwise in my efforts to raise important issues which are brought to our office regarding problems in race relations," he said in an interview yesterday.

"I apologize for any misunderstanding of any of the things that were stated in the letter," he said.

The six-page letter, co-signed by Harvard Foundation Student Committee Co-chair Natosha O. Reid '93, criticized a December series of Crimson articles on diversity at Harvard. The other co-chair, Muneer I. Ahmad '93, did not sign the letter.

The letter said that "Crimson writers active in Hillel have written extensively" on Black-Jewish relations and that The Crimson "frequently cites the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel...as one of the student groups that is dissatisfied with the Foundation's work."

Hillel Coordinating Council Chair Shai A. Held '93 said in an interview yesterday that the letter was "filled with misrepresentations, distortions and outright lies."

Held said the latter "makes insinuations and accusations which certainly smack of standard anti-Semitic

fare" and "insinuates conspiracy between Hilleland The Crimson, which is simply false and rathersick."

Counter, who is also associate professor ofneurology, said he did not the mean to imply thatThe Crimson was aligned with Hillel.

"I'm sorry if that association was understoodor presented," he said.

Reid could not be reached for commentyesterday.

Counter discussed the letter with Held andHillel acting director Rabbi sally Finestone in aclosed-door meeting yesterday afternoon thatlasted more than two hours.

Representatives of Dean of the college L. FredJewett '57 and President Neil L. Rudenstine alsoattended the meeting.

Both counter and Held said the meeting wentwell but declined to disclose details.

"A lot of progress was made in trying tounderstand some of the differences we face,"counter said.

Held said that Hillel plans to discuss thematter further with Counter, and that theorganization's official reaction will be decidedat a coordinating council meeting next weeks.

Daniel J. Libenson '92, a former Hillel leadersaid he will file an official complaint todayasking the University to remove Counter as head ofthe Foundation. Libenson emphasized that he isnot acting in connection with Hillel.

Libenson is quoted anonymously in thecontroversial letter as "complaining that'Harvard's celebration of Christian holidays suchas Christmas is as offensive to Jews as racism isto Blacks."'

"It's completely unprofessional to take thewords in of a student and say anything about themin a public forum," Libenson said. "He used myquote to try to prove some sort of Jewish plot andI feel betrayed."

Counter apologized for quoting Libenson in theletter and said that the "any quotes we makeregarding race relations are an effort to bringout the difficult issues we face... [and] to haveothers in the community see how difficult theissues are and how hard we must work to theresolve them."

Counter and Reid wrote in the letter that TheCrimson's articles and editorials were biased andunfair and that the views of "the Crimson group"did not represent the feelings of other studentson campus.

They also wrote that the "most intractableracial conflict has been between Jewish and Blackstudents."

The Crimson responded to the letter with alengthy staff editorial which defended itscoverage and sharply criticized counter asinsensitive.

Counter said the phrase" Crimson group wasmeant only to refer to what some students see asThe Crimson's "fraternal" nature one which makessome minority students feel excluded.

Held objected to the counter and Reid'sdescription of Hillel "as one of the studentgroups that is the dissatisfied with theFoundations work."

Held maintained that Hillel leaders have nevercriticized the Foundation and indeed have praisedits work.

Another inaccuracy in Counter's letter,according to Held, is that Hillel members wereasked to join the Foundation and refused, sayingthey were not minorities.

Rabbi Ben-Zion gold, the who was director ofHillel when the Foundation was founded, said thatno formal membership offer was ever made. Heacknowledged that an informal one to individualsmight have occurred without his knowledge.

Counter's assistant, Adrienne McLaughlin, saidyesterday some individual Hillel members refused afoundation grant four years ago. she said thestudents they were not minorities.

Held did not Libenson in calling for Counter'sresignation. The Crimson said counter "should notbe in charge of intercultural and race relationsat Harvard" unless he retracts statements in hisletter.

"I don't think it's Hillel's place or positionto take a stand the on Harvard personnel issues,"Held said. He said Hillel's position is not finaluntil its coordinating council meets.

Libenson also refereed to an article in TheCrisis magazine written by Counter in 1985,saying the it raised the additional questionsabout the director's sensitivity.

The article entitled "Racial Slurs," condemnedwidespread use of the word "nigger" in the themedia and theorized about why it appears morefrequently than other ethnic slurs.

Counter suggested that ethnic whites whocontrol or influence the media use the word"nigger" to lessen their insecurity about theirown ethnicities and to denigrate Blacks.

One passage said that "The widespread increasein use of the 'nigger'...may well be part of amuch larger ethnic scheme designed to denigrateAfro-Americans and keep them as the focus ofnegative attention for the American majority."

Another passage read, "Significantly, the mediaforms through which some conspire to traduceBlacks with some conspire to traduce blacks withracial epithets are not controlled by theostensibly racist white groups." He said "specialinterest groups" influencing the media do moredamage to Black society than groups such as the KuKlux Klan.

Counter referred to movies such a as BlazingSaddles Roots II Saturday Night Fever andThe Godfather, and he blamed the some"Euro-Americans" and "para whites" for common useof the epithet.

Libenson said he brought up the article becausehe believes it uses the same "code words that havetraditionally been for a Jewish conspiracy in themedia" that the said he saw in the counter'srecent letter to the Crimson.

"There's no way I can definitely call AllenCounter an anti-Semite, but he sure the soundslike one," Libenson said.

Counter said the Crisis article never referredto a specific ethnic group and declined the tocomment further on the article.

In the interview yesterday, counter said muchcan be done to improve race relations on campus.

He said "we need to do a lot of the work" toimprove relations between Blacks and Jews and thathe is personally committed to "an effort to reachout to all groups to be a part of the Foundation,including Hillel."

Assistant Dean of Race Relations and MinorityAffairs Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle declined tocomment on Counter, the Foundation or his letter,but did say that The Crimson's diversity seriesdid not portray her office fairly.

"it failed to represent a full and accuratepicture to the community," she said

fare" and "insinuates conspiracy between Hilleland The Crimson, which is simply false and rathersick."

Counter, who is also associate professor ofneurology, said he did not the mean to imply thatThe Crimson was aligned with Hillel.

"I'm sorry if that association was understoodor presented," he said.

Reid could not be reached for commentyesterday.

Counter discussed the letter with Held andHillel acting director Rabbi sally Finestone in aclosed-door meeting yesterday afternoon thatlasted more than two hours.

Representatives of Dean of the college L. FredJewett '57 and President Neil L. Rudenstine alsoattended the meeting.

Both counter and Held said the meeting wentwell but declined to disclose details.

"A lot of progress was made in trying tounderstand some of the differences we face,"counter said.

Held said that Hillel plans to discuss thematter further with Counter, and that theorganization's official reaction will be decidedat a coordinating council meeting next weeks.

Daniel J. Libenson '92, a former Hillel leadersaid he will file an official complaint todayasking the University to remove Counter as head ofthe Foundation. Libenson emphasized that he isnot acting in connection with Hillel.

Libenson is quoted anonymously in thecontroversial letter as "complaining that'Harvard's celebration of Christian holidays suchas Christmas is as offensive to Jews as racism isto Blacks."'

"It's completely unprofessional to take thewords in of a student and say anything about themin a public forum," Libenson said. "He used myquote to try to prove some sort of Jewish plot andI feel betrayed."

Counter apologized for quoting Libenson in theletter and said that the "any quotes we makeregarding race relations are an effort to bringout the difficult issues we face... [and] to haveothers in the community see how difficult theissues are and how hard we must work to theresolve them."

Counter and Reid wrote in the letter that TheCrimson's articles and editorials were biased andunfair and that the views of "the Crimson group"did not represent the feelings of other studentson campus.

They also wrote that the "most intractableracial conflict has been between Jewish and Blackstudents."

The Crimson responded to the letter with alengthy staff editorial which defended itscoverage and sharply criticized counter asinsensitive.

Counter said the phrase" Crimson group wasmeant only to refer to what some students see asThe Crimson's "fraternal" nature one which makessome minority students feel excluded.

Held objected to the counter and Reid'sdescription of Hillel "as one of the studentgroups that is the dissatisfied with theFoundations work."

Held maintained that Hillel leaders have nevercriticized the Foundation and indeed have praisedits work.

Another inaccuracy in Counter's letter,according to Held, is that Hillel members wereasked to join the Foundation and refused, sayingthey were not minorities.

Rabbi Ben-Zion gold, the who was director ofHillel when the Foundation was founded, said thatno formal membership offer was ever made. Heacknowledged that an informal one to individualsmight have occurred without his knowledge.

Counter's assistant, Adrienne McLaughlin, saidyesterday some individual Hillel members refused afoundation grant four years ago. she said thestudents they were not minorities.

Held did not Libenson in calling for Counter'sresignation. The Crimson said counter "should notbe in charge of intercultural and race relationsat Harvard" unless he retracts statements in hisletter.

"I don't think it's Hillel's place or positionto take a stand the on Harvard personnel issues,"Held said. He said Hillel's position is not finaluntil its coordinating council meets.

Libenson also refereed to an article in TheCrisis magazine written by Counter in 1985,saying the it raised the additional questionsabout the director's sensitivity.

The article entitled "Racial Slurs," condemnedwidespread use of the word "nigger" in the themedia and theorized about why it appears morefrequently than other ethnic slurs.

Counter suggested that ethnic whites whocontrol or influence the media use the word"nigger" to lessen their insecurity about theirown ethnicities and to denigrate Blacks.

One passage said that "The widespread increasein use of the 'nigger'...may well be part of amuch larger ethnic scheme designed to denigrateAfro-Americans and keep them as the focus ofnegative attention for the American majority."

Another passage read, "Significantly, the mediaforms through which some conspire to traduceBlacks with some conspire to traduce blacks withracial epithets are not controlled by theostensibly racist white groups." He said "specialinterest groups" influencing the media do moredamage to Black society than groups such as the KuKlux Klan.

Counter referred to movies such a as BlazingSaddles Roots II Saturday Night Fever andThe Godfather, and he blamed the some"Euro-Americans" and "para whites" for common useof the epithet.

Libenson said he brought up the article becausehe believes it uses the same "code words that havetraditionally been for a Jewish conspiracy in themedia" that the said he saw in the counter'srecent letter to the Crimson.

"There's no way I can definitely call AllenCounter an anti-Semite, but he sure the soundslike one," Libenson said.

Counter said the Crisis article never referredto a specific ethnic group and declined the tocomment further on the article.

In the interview yesterday, counter said muchcan be done to improve race relations on campus.

He said "we need to do a lot of the work" toimprove relations between Blacks and Jews and thathe is personally committed to "an effort to reachout to all groups to be a part of the Foundation,including Hillel."

Assistant Dean of Race Relations and MinorityAffairs Hilda Hernandez-Gravelle declined tocomment on Counter, the Foundation or his letter,but did say that The Crimson's diversity seriesdid not portray her office fairly.

"it failed to represent a full and accuratepicture to the community," she said