Louis Farrakhan sued Jewish leaders for $4.8 billion. A judge tossed the case
Prominent Jewish leaders are free to continue calling Louis Farrakhan — leader of the Black nationalist organization the Nation of Islam — antisemitic, according to a New York court.
The Nation of Islam had sued the Anti-Defamation League and Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center for $4.8 billion, claiming the Jewish organizations had violated the Nation of Islam’s 1st Amendment rights by calling Farrakhan's frequent unflattering comments about Jews “antisemitic.”
In recent years, Farrakhan has publicly likened Jews to termites, accused the “synagogue of Satan” of wrapping its tentacles around the U.S. government, and argued that the “pedophilia and sexual perversion” in Hollywood could be traced to “Jewish influence.”
In dismissing the case, Manhattan federal court Judge Denise Cote held that the claims of antisemitism were based on direct quotes by Farrakhan and that there was no evidence that being called antisemitic had harmed the Nation of Islam.
“We are grateful that the United States judicial system recognized and validated our First Amendment right to confront and speak out against anti-Semitism,” said the Wiesenthal Center’s Rabbi Abraham Cooper in a statement Monday. He called the lawsuit a “not-so-veiled attempt to silence” Jewish voices.
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In a video address posted on the Nation of Islam’s website in the fall, Farrakhan argued that everything he had said about Jews “is absolutely the truth” and that the “vile” claims of antisemitism had cost him and other members of his organization jobs in the media and other business opportunities.
“And with their influence over the media," Farrakhan added, "these false charges have been spread throughout the Earth.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
