As a sell-out crowd of 1,200 prepares to watch 'Liberators' tonight, the question of rocky Black-Jewish relations once again comes under scrutiny. As the administration moves to reform its race relations policies, an uneasy calm remains on campus, but the question everyone will be asking is...

A year ago this time, when controversial City University of New York Professor Leonard Jeffries came to speak at Sanders Theatre, campus attention focused on Black-Jewish tensions.

Tonight, those tensions will be under scrutiny again in the same arena, when 1,200 people flock to Sanders to watch the controversial movie 'Liberators,' a documentary about the role of Black soldiers in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps.

The screening of the movie is an effort by the University administration to address the perceived tensions between the Black and Jewish communities at Harvard. It is also part of the administration's attempt to develop a comprehensive and proactive approach to ameliorating campus race relations.

Though the veracity of the movie has come under fire in recent weeks, the organizers insist the film will be an opportunity to improve relations between Blacks and Jews on campus. The event is sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Dean of Students and the Afro-American Studies Department.

But Black and Jewish student leaders interviewed last weekend say tensions are not as serious as some College administrators seem to think.

Black Students Association President Zaheer R. Ali '94 calls tonight's program a late reaction to last spring's turmoil. He also says the administration's worries about Black-Jewish relations are now obsolete. "I think they are blowing it out of proportion," says Ali.

"I don't see [tonight's] attempt as a desperately needed discussion," says Shai A. Held '94, a former Hillel chair and a former chair of Hillel's inter-group relations committee, which tries to promote dialogue between Hillel and other campus groups, especially the BSA.

Ali says he does not think there are tensions between Black and Jewish students, either on an organizational or an individual basis. Relations have not been volatile since last spring and the emphasis on ameliorating Black-Jewish relations seems a late response to an old crisis, according to Ali.

"The only time that [the administration] responds to students is when we protest and act up and the last time we did that was last spring," Ali says. "The administration really needs to catch up with what's going on now."

Hillel and BSA members say they are unaware of racially insensitive acts by either Blacks or Jews on campus. On an individual basis, relations between Black and Jewish students are cordial, students say.

"I don't think I'm ever going to hear an individual making an anti-Semitic slur," says Megan E. Lewis '95, a Hillel member and panelist in tonight's discussion.

But she adds that good relations can be marred by organizational conflicts between the BSA and Hillel that can trickle down to the interpersonal level.

Acting Director of Hillel Rabbi Sally A. Finestone attributes any tension between the groups to "programmatic issues" and says she has "not had any Jewish students come in and complain of problems on an interpersonal level."

The only time that [the administration] responds to students is when we protest and act up and the last time we did that was last spring. The administration really needs to catch up with what's going on now.