From: Charles [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, October 06, 2003 2:43 PM
To: 'The Sandbox Discussion List'
Subject: [DazzleBytes] I bet if they depicted Islam it would not be acceptable
Controversial Cleveland murals are protected
 |
| 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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