Ned Touchstone, The Citizens Councils and The Councilor

The following biography of Ned Touchstone is taken from:
Extremism on the Right: A Handbook, (New York: Anti-Defamation League, 1983) p.138

Ned Touchstone, 57, a longtime resident of Shreveport, Louisiana, has served as an editor and distributor of racist hate literature for over two decades. Touchstone worked for several local Louisiana weeklies and owned his own printing company, Bossier Press, before he became associated with the militantly segregationist Louisiana Citizens' Council. As a state board member and secretary of this group, Touchstone played an active role in the Council's fight against civil rights laws during the 1960s.

Since its inception in 1962, Ned Touchstone has served as editor of The Councilor, an openly racist and anti-Semitic hate sheet. For a number of years, The Councilor functioned as the semi-monthly house organ of the Louisiana Citizens' Council, a group which professed two goals: "States rights and Segregation of the races." Later, a non-profit organization called Councilor Research became owner and publisher of the monthly periodical.

Articles in The Councilor have frequently attacked Jews in general and the ADL in particular. Touchstone's newspaper has stated that, "the ADL (sometimes called the 'Russian Mafia') is composed of anti-Christ Khazars. . ." In addition, ADL and "its international connections with communism" have figured prominently in anti-Semitic conspiracy stories published by The Councilor. Based in Touchstone's home town of Shreveport, The Councilor has recently claimed a total circulation of 18,000.

Touchstone has offered for sale anti-Semitic and other racist literature through the National Biographic Society, which has operated from Touchstone's home address. Titles distributed through the National Biographic Society have included Rise of the House of Rothschild, The Red Network and The Rising Tide of Color, as well as "truth-pak," a collection of pamphlets and newsclips promoting bigotry.

Touchstone has been linked to Willis Carto's right-wing extremist group, Liberty Lobby. Besides holding a seat on their Board of Policy, he has been a featured speaker at several gatherings sponsored by Liberty Lobby. Touchstone himself has stated that, 'The Councilor and Liberty Lobby are on the same side 99% of the time." Concerning the notorious anti-Semite Carto, Touchstone added, "I consider Willis Carto of Liberty Lobby one of the greatest living Americans. . ."

Touchstone has been affiliated with The American Mercury, a once respectable literary magazine which has since become a voice of anti-Jewish hate. Until 1980, Touchstone was listed among others as a contributing editor of the publication. Subsequently, The American Mercury relocated from California to Texas, where Touchstone took over the magazine's management. Lately, his name has appeared on the masthead as "financial editor."

Source: "Ned Touchstone, the Citizens Councils and the Councilor." Extremism on the right: A Handbook. New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1983. 138. ISBN: 0884641295 (pbk.) :; 9780884641292 (pbk.) LCCN: 88-71108

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