The National Jewish Welfare Board is satisfied that there was no anti-Semitism in an Air Force incident involving a Jewish serviceman’s request to attend Yom Kippur services. Washington JWB director Phillip Schiff said today that the case has been settled satisfactorily.
Last week a newspaper report said airman Irving Weinstein, a violinist, asked Col. George E. Howard, chief of the band, to be excused from performing Friday night in order to attend religious services and complications arose. A Veteran’s group charged that Col. Howard in response to the airman’s request assigned Weinstein “extra duties” and discharged him from the band. The Air Force has denied that any discriminatory or punitive action was involved.
The Jewish Welfare Board pointed out today that all five Jewish members of the Air Force band were excused from duty and urged to attend services. Four of them, however, chose to play with the band. “We are convinced that there was no anti-Semitism involved,” Mr. Schiff said. “The colonel has done everything that could be expected to straighten the matter out, and we are satisfied with the action that has been taken.”
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.
