
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 16, 1990                   TAG: 9005160608
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/7   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

INVITATION TO MALEK WAS SENT BY MISTAKE

The Simon Wiesenthal Center inadvertently invited Frederic Malek, who once compiled a list of Jewish officials for President Nixon, to help chair an event commemorating the Holocaust.

Malek, the president of Northwest Airlines, resigned from George Bush's presidential campaign in September 1988 after it became known that he compiled the 1971 list for Nixon, who Malek said thought a "Jewish cabal" was trying to undercut his economic record.

A spokeswoman for the Wiesenthal Center said the organization contacted every major American corporation and asked for the participation of their top executive to serve as a co-chairman for the June 6 dinner to honor journalists who covered the Holocaust.

"Had we realized Frederic Malek was president of Northwest Airlines, the invitation to serve as a vice chairman would not have been extended," said Rhonda Barad, the group's Eastern regional director.

Malek accepted the offer, however, and his name appears on invitations to the $500-a-plate dinner.

Now, "if Mr. Malek wants to come he is more than welcome," said Barad. "He might find it to be a very moving and educational experience."

- Associated Press

by CNB