Jack Ruby's copy of the "Welcome Mr. Kennedy" anti-Kennedy ad

This infamous full-page advertisement was signed by the American Fact-Finding Committee, chaired by Bernard Weissman. In reality, there was no organization called the American Fact-Finding Committee, though Bernard Weissman and his associates did write the content of this ad, which was paid for by several Dallas-area conservative businessmen. Weissman at the time was part of a small "secret" group called Conservatism USA, whose main objective was to infiltrate other right-wing organizations and ultimately bring all of those organizations under one umbrella organization (that Weissman and his other young associates would lead). Conservatism USA broke up almost immediately after the assassination.

Jack Ruby may have been particularly disturbed by this advertisement since Weissman is a Jewish name. Weissman recognized (and relished) the potential controversy that a Jewish name on an ultra-conservative, anti-Kennedy advertisement would create. "I reveled in that kind of stuff," said Weissman in his oral history, recorded with the Museum in 2016. Interestingly, considering the anti-Semitism prominent in ultraconservative organizations at that time, one of Weissman's friends had earlier suggested that he change his name. Weissman refused and considered this ad a great opportunity to promote himself as a political activist. Naturally, he instantly regretted using his name on the ad when the assassination occurred on the same day it appeared in The Dallas Morning News. - Stephen Fagin, Curator