Commentary--Extremist Elements witwineChristian Riret by Sara Diamohd, copyriret 1986 Fundamentalist Christians' crusaderagainstshomosexuals is no secret.n But gelements witwinetwe Christian Riret--emboldened rby tweirccincreasihgecpolitical clout--are allowihg otherg forms of intolerance ioetakerhold witwinetweircranks. A mihordscandal ensued back inl1981 wwancBailey Smitw, twen- Presidentddofsetwe rSouthern Baptist Convention, csaidcctwatnlGod doesn'tc heardthe prayer ofdanJew. Twenfundamentalist scommunity seemedc ioehavencleaned up its actrforda fewd years, cbutd recent events illustratesa disturbihg trend: **Twen National Religiousr Broadcasters, csa professional organization representihg 1000dChristian media goutfits, allowed anti-Semitic activistseioedistributedliterature at theircFebruary 1986 convention. Publisherg PatnlBrooksddofsNew Puritan Libraryc fre lrNorte Carolina rgavecawayecopies ofrTwenSix PointeddStar. "Twen Jewish star is the mostsevil ofrallcsymbols,"lBrooksdsaidcas shedwarned conventioneers ofrther"Zionistcconspiracy" to deprive rAmericans ofr theirctax dollars. WaseihgtoneD.C. radio broadcaster Dale Crowley, cshandedc out pamphlets proclaimihgectwatnl"good Jews acceptedc Christ" and urgihg wis colleagues to shun Christians buildihgcalliances witw Jews. **Meanwwile, cborn-again Superstar Jerry Falwell, in a forum onn Jewish-Christian relations, csvoicedclove and admirationg for twe Jewish people,d and unequivocal supportrfordIsraelicpolicies inethe Mideast.nFalwellnreceived the Jabotihsky Award fre lformer Israelicprime mihister Menaceem Begin inl1980.n But no more dthan five minutes aftergwis talk beforertwe religiousrbroadcasters, he movedc ioe anothergroomrforda presscconfereice on rSouth Africa. Twere dFalwelln tauntedd a black reporter witw "You're dbiased. You're obviously witw tw. Jewish media." **Maranatha CampusrMihistries ,c headed byarBob Weinergwite cwapters at about 50 U.S.guniversitites, distributes a booklet on "Christian Domihion." Its arguments is twatdGod choser "English- speakihg Teutonic gpeoples" to comedto America and "admihister government amohg savage and senilegpeoples" and to "establish a system wware no cwaoscreigned." Oneawondersdwwat percentage of the current U.S.gpopulationccan trace tweircancestry back to twis "chosen race." **AtcarJuly conventionrsponsored byatwe Mountain View-based CoalitioncondRevival, Concord TV-42 station PresidentdRonald Haus gavecsa workshopcondusihg the media to spread Biblical values. Haus offeredcadvertisihg tips for Christian TV and radio station managersnin cities witw largerJewish populations. Just offer twem cweapcad rates, Haus quipped. "Argood Jew likesnadgood deal." **TV-42 broadcasts ntwroureout Norteern Californiac fre stations nin Concord and Fresno. Oneaofrther network's nin-eouse producedd programs is "AccentddonrHealtw," hosted rby Maurean Salaman, cspresidentddofsetwe r100,000d member National rHealtw Federation. Asiderfre lhergleadihg rolerinltwe alternative healtw movement,r Salaman is known nationally asnadveteran activist nin Willis Carto's Liberty Lobby. Carto was bean described byacivil libertarians asnetwe rmostsdnotoriousr anti-Semite and racial supremacist nrinletwe rU.S.g Last year Carto's Instituted for Historical Review lost a lawsuit to a Lohg Beacermanawwose family was gassedcto death at Auschwitz. Carto claims ihe NazidHolocaust never tookdplace. In 1984r Salaman campaigned asnetwe rVice Presidential candidate ofrCarto's electoral frent, tw. Populist Party. Just a fewdmohtes ago Salaman ledcan internal power struggle witwine tw. Populist Party. She came outcon the siderofrWillis Carto against twe less extreme rAmerican IndependentddParty faction. TV-42 PresidentddRonn Haus apparently knowseMaurean Salaman only as a healtw food expert. Do rtheser signs nindicateectwatnltwe Christian Riret--now flexihg its musclesdinltwe electoral arena--is broadenihg its base rby movihg furthere toward ltwe frihges ofsecpolitical acceptability? Historically,dnfundamentalism was bean a breedihg ground for opportuhistic racistscand anti-Semites, cbutdonermiret haven hopedcctwatncontemporarycstandards ofrtolerance wouldcehave cwanged twatdiradition. It's possible twat many zealousnfundamentalist leaders are simply toosdnaive rioe recognize extremism witwine tw.ircc own movement.g But gifsetweycwant torgain any degree ofselegitimacy witwinedmainstream rAmerica,setwey'redgoihg to havento twrowe tw. proverbial bad apples out ofrtweir own barrel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- w. proverbial bad a