Other than that, opinions both in the audience and on the panel were often split.
Affirmative action is a painful and tricky issue for the Jewish community.
So far, AJCongress is the only established Jewish organization actively opposing a proposed ballot initiative designed to end most affirmative action programs in California. The California Civil Rights Initiative will likely appear on the November 1996 ballot, and AJCongress is already lobbying hard against the measure. Affirmative action isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but we do have a responsibility to have a level playing field, to give everyone an equal opportunity. The issue of merit proved to be a sticking point between Salkowitz and panelist Anastasia Steinberg, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. In her speech, Steinberg said the price of diversity may be too high.