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.On tour in the Middle East, Jackson wasphotographed embracing PLO leader Yasir Arafat and leadinga number of largely puzzled Palestinians in the  I am Somebodychant.His conduct appalled Israelis and American Jews, justas surely as it delighted the Arab world.So it was that when Jackson appealed to Syria for the releaseof Lieutenant Goodman, President Assad replied with an83 Our Time Has Comeinvitation to come and talk things over.Trailed by a retinue ofclergymen, aides, Secret Service agents, and reporters, Jacksonheaded for Damascus.It was risky business.He had received noofficial encouragement at all Reagan refused his telephonecall and a skeptical press was calling the trip shameless grand-standing.Even the airman s father, fearful that interventionmight worsen his son s plight, asked Jackson not to go.In Damascus, Jackson argued with Syrian officials thatfreeing Goodman would break the  circle of pain in AmericanSyrian relations.After one lengthy conference, he suggestedconcluding with a prayer and turned to a fellow American,Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who delivered anIslamic prayer in faultless Arabic.This display both touchedand impressed the Syrians.Three days later, on January 3, 1984,Syrian officials summoned Jackson and handed him goodnews: Goodman was a free man.JESSE DID IT! screamed the headline of the New York DailyNews.Even Jackson s political rivals had to hand it to him. It is impressive, yes, said Walter Mondale.As soon as theirplane touched down in Washington, Jackson and Goodmansped to the White House for a ceremonial welcome home byPresident Reagan.In the Rose Garden, with Vice President George Bush andcabinet members forming a solemn tableau, Jackson was theradiant star. Reverend Jackson s mission was a personal missionof mercy and he has earned our gratitude and admiration, thepresident said.His tone was gracious, but he was far frompleased by Assad s turning Goodman over to a political foe.In one bold stroke, Jackson had dramatically answered thenoisy critics who said he was all talk.New life surged throughhis campaign for president.A poll of Democrats in NewHampshire, site of the first primary and a state with a tiny blackpopulation, put him in third place with 16 percent of the vote.Then, with one stroke more, he threw away nearly all hehad won.84JESSE JACKSONPOLITICALLY INCORRECTOn the morning of January 25, 1984, Jackson arrived atWashington s National Airport and, before his plane took off,dropped into the cafeteria for breakfast.When he saw MiltonColeman, a black Washington Post reporter covering hiscampaign, he waved him over to his table. Let s talk black,Jackson said.It was something he frequently said to blackcorrespondents his way of declaring that the conversationthat followed would be off the record.Coleman understoodthat in any story he wrote, nothing Jackson said could bedirectly attributed to him.The talk turned to an upcoming meeting at which Jacksonand several Washington Post editors would discuss thecandidate s views on foreign policy.Questions about Israel,Coleman said, were certain to be asked.Fine, said Jackson, buthe would not be intimidated.He continued,  All hymie wantsto talk about is Israel.Everytime you go to hymietown, that sall they want to talk about. Hymie was new to Coleman, but he assumed, correctly,that Jackson was referring to Jews and that  hymietownmeant New York, the city with the nation s largest Jewishpopulation.For the time being, Coleman did nothing. I filedit away in my head, he recalled.When he learned that other black reporters had heardJackson say much the same thing, Coleman decided to pass theinformation along to Rick Atkinson, a Post reporter who waswriting a story about Jackson s chilly relations with Jews.OnMonday, February 13, Atkinson s story appeared in the Post.Near the end were two brief paragraphs:In private conversations with reporters, Jacksonhas referred to Jews as  hymie and to New York as hymietown. I m not familiar with that, Jackson said Thursday. That s not accurate.85 Our Time Has ComeThe revelation soon became front-page news.On February 18,the Post editorialized that Jackson s hymie remarks were  ugly, degrading, and  disgusting. Jackson, said the paper, shouldpresent  an explanation and an apology. Five days later,the New York Times finally offered its first coverage of theincident.By then, leaders of Jewish organizations were express-ing outrage at Jackson s slur.For the best part of two weeks, Jackson stuck to his denial.On  Face the Nation, he said,  It simply isn t true, and I thinkthe accuser ought to come forth. That satisfied no one in thepress, and the controversy gathered fury.On February 25, the storm nearly became a hurricane.Itwas Savior s Day, a holy event on the calendar of the Nationof Islam, the Black Muslim sect led by Louis Farrakhan.Amesmerizing speaker, Farrakhan was a regular at Jacksonrallies, warming up the crowd, then introducing the candidate,which was what he did on Savior s Day in Chicago.With Jackson a few feet away, Farrakhan declared:  I sayto the Jewish people who may not like our brother, whenyou attack him you attack the millions who are lining upwith him.You are attacking all of us.If you harm thisbrother, I warn you in the name of Allah, this will be the lastone you do harm. Jackson listened and, in his own speech,said nothing to contradict Farrakhan s open threat to thenation s Jews.Jackson s advisers were horrified: Matters were bad enoughwithout this apparent tolerance for Farrakhan.Now, saidseveral Jackson staffers, unless something was done rightaway, the entire campaign might explode [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]