An appeal to Lutheran pastors and church leaders from representatives of the five synods of the American Lutheran Conference to “take a firm stand against slander and falsehood” being disseminated against the Jews in America was made public today by the signers.
It deplored “anti-Semitism in whatever form it may take as incompatible with the doctrines of the Bible and hostile to the confession and teaching of the Lutheran church as well as inconsistent with our heritage of liberty and fair play.
“We express our full appreciation of and profound sympathy in the stand taken on this question by the pastors and members of the Confessional Synod in Germany,” the appeal said. “We further declare that every attempt to use the Scriptures as an excuse for anti-Semitic attitudes is irreconcilable with the life and spirit and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The statement called attention to the “persistent campaign of Jew hatred” carried on by foreign agencies, augmented by so-called Fundamentalist leaders and fed by thousands of pamphlets, books, periodicals and radio addresses.
Signers of the appeal are Reverends S. L. Tallakson, Gideon Olson, C.M. Videbeck, A. W. Walck and J.R. Gronseth.
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.
