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After a meeting between the Protestant Board of School Commissioners and a committee of Jewish citizens appointed to confer with the Board on the Jewish school question, a memorandum embodying the terms of the agreement which had been unanimously arrived at, was handed to Hon. L. A. David, Provincial Secretary, for submission to Hon. L. A. Taschereau, Premier of the province.
The terms of the agreement cannot be disclosed until the Government has had an opportunity to study them. It may be stated, however, that the question of establishing a separate Jewish panel, which has been proposed as a solution of the difficulty, was thoroughly canvassed and felt to be not in the best interests of the community.
However, action on the terms as agreed upon lies in the hands of the Government.
The agreement constitutes one more step in the effort to fix the status of Jews in regard to educational matters in this city.
An act was passed in 1903 by the provincial Legislature which provided that Jews should be regarded as Protestants for all school purposes. Some years ago the question arose as to whether this did not authorize the appointment of Jewish representatives on the Protestant School Board in Montreal, and as to whether in this and other matters the Act of 1903 was not ultra vires.
The Government appointed a commission to consider the whole question, and on its recommendation the matter was referred to the courts and carried to the Privy Council, which rendered judgment last Spring.
In that judgment the rights of Protestants and Jews in educational matters were clearly set forth. The problem that has since confronted those two sections of the community, has been to ascertain whether, within the four corners of the judgment, a solution could be found satisfactory to all parties.
Informal conversations have taken place during the last three months between leading citizens of the Jewish community and the Montreal Protestant School Board. Recently a representative Jewish committee was appointed, which met the Protestant Board on several occasions in the office of Hon. Mr. David, and it was at the close of the meeting that the memorandum referred to was agreed upon.
It was, of course, recognized from the start that certain matters were excluded from discussion by the Privy Council judgment, and that no agreement which might be arrived at could prevent individuals from taking action on their own responsibility. It is felt, however, that the agreement which (Continued on Page 4)
has been submitted will prove acceptable to all fair-minded men in both parties.
The utmost harmony and good will prevailed throughout the negotiations, and at the close of the meeting a vote of thanks to Hon. Mr. David for his courtesy and assistance was moved by Principal James Smyth, chairman of the Protestant Board of School Commissioners of Montreal, and seconded by Mr. David Kirsch, and cordially adopted.
While the agreement has reference primarily to the situation in Montreal, it is hoped it will form the basis for the settlement of the question throughout the province.
The committee representing the Montreal Protestant board was composed of Principal James Smyth, chairman of the board; Ald. J. A. Mathewson, Ald. J. N. Drummond, Walter A. Watson, Rev. Malcolm Campbell, D.D., and the Rev. James E. Fee. The committee of Jewish citizens was composed of David Kirsch, Allan Broniman, A. Z. Cohen, A. H. Jassby and S. Ogulnik.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
