Irwin Suall

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Irwin Suall (1925–1998) was an American socialist and researcher. He was national director of fact-finding for the Anti-Defamation League from 1967 to 1997 in which capacity he directed that organizations undercover intelligence gathering on extremist groups.

Contents

Career [edit]

Born in 1925 on the Lower East Side to immigrant[1] parents, Suall grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn and graduated from Samuel Tilden High School. After briefly attending Brooklyn College Suall joined the Merchant Marine in 1945 and stayed there for three years. While in the Merchant Marine he visited Jewish refugees living in squalor in Shanghai. This experience left an indelible impression on him. After his stint in the Merchant Marines, Suall studied at Ruskin College, Oxford on a Fulbright scholarship.[2] He graduated with a BA in political science in 1950.

Suall was always politically minded, joining the Young Peoples Socialist League as a teenager.[3] When he returned to America he did brief stints as head of public relations for the Jewish Labor Committee, education director for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and national secretary for the Socialist Party-Social Democratic Federation.[1] In the latter capacity he was instrumental in convincing Norman Thomas and others to allow the Independent Socialist League, or Shatchmanites, to merge with the party on an individual basis.[4] Also during that period he was physically ejected from the Soviet consulate in New York when he and William Lusk tried to present a protest to Arkady Sobolev, the USSRs UN representative. They were protesting the execution of Imre Nagy, Nicolas Gimes and other Hungarians.[5]

The 1967 Six-Day war had a profound effect on him. He visited Israel shortly thereafter and returned to America "a changed man" according the Abraham Foxman. It changed his conception of socialism and he "began to realize that his efforts on behalf of democracy and human dignity were part of a larger Jewish struggle".[3] He became fact finding director of the ADL that year and his work "reinforced his growing awareness of the intimate linkages between extremism, totalitarianism, and anti-Semitism".[4]

Meanwhile Suall was still active in the factional struggles within the socialist party. He became aligned with the Shactmanites against the "new politics" wing led by Michael Harrington and others. At the Socialist Partys final convention in December 1972, he and James Glazer presented a majority report urging that the group's name be changed to Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA). This action was approved by a 73:34 vote.[6][4] Afterwords, Harrington resigned his SDUSA membership and founded the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and the Socialist Party, USA.

Suall remained as head of the Anti-Defamation Leagues fact-finding department until 1997, when his fight with emphysema forced him to retired. His work with the ADL was not without controversy. He was sued twice, by Lyndon LaRouche and Liberty Lobby. He was also criticized for expanding the focus of his activities to Black-nationalist, Arab and leftist groups as well as far-right organizations.[1][7]

He died of emphysema in August 1998.[2]

Personal life [edit]

Suall married Sarah Mountain in 1949, while in England. She died in 1969, but they had a son together, Mark. Sualls brother, Bert, and sister-in-law, Joan were also active in the Socialist Party and the SDUSA.[4]

Works [edit]

  • This is Socialism! New York : Young People's Socialist League, 1950
  • The American ultras: the extreme right and the military-industrial complex New York: New America, 1962
  • Anti-Semitism in the United States, 1972 New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1972
  • Extremism targets the prisons New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1986
  • Shaved for battle: skinheads target America's youth (with David Lowe and Michael Lieberman) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1987
  • The skinheads: an update on Shaved for battle (with David Lowe) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1988
  • Young and violent : the growing menace of America's Neo-Nazi skinheads (with David Lowe and Tal Recanati) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1988
  • The 1989 IHR Conference: white-washing genocide scientifically (with David Lowe) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1989
  • Skinheads target the schools (with David Lowe and Tal Recanati) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1989
  • Electronic hate: bigotry comes to TV (with Thomas Halpern) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1991
  • The KKK today: a 1991 status report (with Linda Greenstein and Thomas Halpern) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1991
  • Young nazi killers: the rising skinhead danger (with Thomas Halpern) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1993
  • The Klan splits: a radical breakaway fact finding report (with Thomas Halpern and Michael A Sandberg) New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1994
  • The skinhead international: a worldwide survey of Neo-Nazi skinheads. New York, N.Y. : Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1994

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Boland, Mira. Forward. New York, N.Y.: Aug 21, 1998. Vol. CII, Iss. 31,198; pg. 14
  2. ^ a b Pace, Eric (20 August 1998). "Irwin J. Suall, Fierce Fighter Of Bias for A.D.L., Dies at 73". The New York Times. 
  3. ^ a b Forward. New York, N.Y.: Aug 21, 1998. Vol. CII, Iss. 31,198; pg. 6
  4. ^ a b c d Gershman, Carl (24 September 1998), Irwin Suall memorial: NED President Carl Gershman's eulogy at Irwin Suall's memorial service, Washington, D.C.: National Endowment for Democracy 
  5. ^ POLICE EJECT TWO AT SOVIET OFFICE New York Times (1923-Current file); Jun 19, 1958; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2006) pg. 7
  6. ^ Socialist Party Now the Social Democrats, U.S.A. New York Times (1923-Current file); Dec 31, 1972; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2006) pg. 36
  7. ^ ADL Turned Notion of Human Rights on Head
Authority control
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