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The dark shadow of anti-Semitism lies lightly on the U.S. compared to the pogroms and Dreyfus trials, "Crystal Nights" and concentration camps of Europe. The American anti-Semite is often even invisible to himself; a sweet Atlanta matron recently whispered to one of her guests: "Come, I want you to meet him. He's a Jew boy, but very nice"; and there are still those who naively protest: "Some of my best friends are Jews!"

"Some of My Best Friends. . ." (Farrar, Straus & Cudahy; $4.50) is the title of a just-published study of U.S. antiSemitism, by Benjamin R. Epstein and Arnold Forster, national director and general counsel of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (founded in 1913 to combat antiminority prejudice).

"Convenient to Churches." Epstein and Forster report, among other things, on a survey of clubs made by the A.D.L. in 1961. Out of 1,152 clubs in 46 states, plus the District of Columbia (total membership: 700,000), 555 clubs barred Jews completely, and 136 limited Jewish membership to small numbers. Of the country clubs, 72% practiced discrimination, compared with only 60% of the city clubs. And discrimination, of course, produces counter-discrimination; in the sample, there were 90 "Jewish clubs," 85 of which excluded Christians.

Epstein and Forster concede that the right of a club to discriminate in its membership is as fundamental as the right of the individual to pick and choose the people he invites to lunch. But they note that when discrimination is applied to a group, independently of the personal merits or demerits of individuals, a club may be the center of an infection that spreads through society as a whole.

People with "Jewish-sounding" names eventually learn that certain hotels and vacation resorts will always have a No Vacancy sign for them. Five years ago, the Anti-Defamation League surveyed 3,014 resort hotels and motels, secured a statement of policy from about 35% of them, and found that 22% of these 1,065 had a frank policy of turning down Jews. Real estate agents, too, are kept well aware of what suburban communities or city apartment houses they must not show to Jews; classified ads for houses often contain such transparent euphemisms as "convenient to churches" or "exclusive" community.

"Must Play Saxophone." Authors Epstein and Forster find the greatest progress against anti-Semitism during the last 25 years has been in the area of industry, although many job orders to employment agencies still carry codes, such as "All American," "G" (for white gentile), or "Nordic." Sometimes the codes are farther out; one Manhattan agency uses the incomprehensible phrase "Recommended by Redbook" to indicate that no Negroes are wanted and "Must play saxophone" to exclude Jews. But such discrimination has declined sharply since the late '30s.