Anti-Defamation League Of The B'nai B'rith
The Anti-Defamation League Of The B'Nai B'rith is a Jewish-American organisation who advocate against instances of antisemitism.
In 1979 Frank Zappa was targeted for a while because of his song Jewish Princess. He felt the claim was ridiculous, because 1) such types of Jewish girls actually exist 2) he actually sang he wanted one.
Zappa about the Anti-Defamation League
"The ADL is a noisemaking organization that tries to apply pressure on people in order to manufacture a stereotype image of Jews that suits their idea of a good time. They go around claiming that other people are saying things that produce stereotype images of Jews. What they're really about is manufacturing a freeze-dried, totally perfect image of a Jew. It's an organization paid for by Jewish people. Their job is to make sure that everybody who is not a Jew will always perceive Jews in just this one special, perfect way. This is wrong. It's as wrong as your assuming that all musicians are the same. There's all different kinds of Jews, too."
Did you have your lawyer call them for an apology?
"I told them, yeah. I called them up and demanded an apology. I knew I wasn't going to get it, but I'm not going to take any bull from them. I don't believe in anybody who tries to control PR that way. I think it's as dangerous as the things the Nazis did and just as fake."
Do you expect a similar uproar with your forthcoming song about oral sex, "Catholic Girls?"
"No, but I didn't expect one with "Jewish Princess" either. You see, when you have an organization like that, their first duty is to prove to themselves that they need to exist. If it hadn't been me, it would have been somebody else they would have been talking about in the newspapers. I just came along and was their meat for that month."
- He's Only 38 and He Knows How to Nasty, Clark Peterson, Relix, November 1979.
"The songs I write about women are not gratuitous attacks on them, but statements of fact. The song Jewish Princess caused the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith to complain bitterly and demand an apology. I did not apologize then and refuse to do so now because, unlike The Unicorn, such creatures do exist -- and deserve to be 'commemorated' with their own special opus." - Frank Zappa in The Real Frank Zappa Book.
