Orthodox Jewish Group Calls for Approval of New Charter for New York

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America added its name to the list of Orthodox Jewish, Catholic and other groups urging voters to ratify the proposed new constitution for New York State. Joseph Karasick, president of the Union, based his call for support of the new charter on what he said were “the many ways it reverses long standing inequities in a number of areas” and because it “is a vast improvement over the current one.”

Mr. Karasick’s statement did not refer directly to the controversial article XI, 3–the Blaine Amendment — a 73-year-old prohibition on the use of state funds for church schools, which the proposed new constitution would repeal. It is repeal of the Blaine Amendment that has stirred widespread opposition to the new constitution by Jewish and other groups who see in it a weakening of the traditional principle of separation between church and state.

Proponents of the new constitution received powerful support when Governor Nelson D. Rockefeller broke with the Republican Party leadership in Albany last week to urge ratification because, he asserted, the good features outweigh the bad ones. The Governor’s stand was sharply criticized by the New York Times. In an editorial, the newspaper stated: “We agree with the Governor that the community development program that would be authorized by the new Constitution would be a most progressive and socially desirable step. Unfortunately, however, at its core is a relaxation of the restrictions on gifts and loans which would permit the funneling of state funds into the construction of denominational schools. To this we are unalterably opposed.”

Gov. Rockefeller said he favored repeal of the Blaine Amendment “because I see no reason why the New York State Constitution should be more restive in this regard than the Constitution of the United States.” He promised that if the new charter were adopted, ” I will appoint a high-level commission to make recommendations as to how this change in the proposed Constitution can best be implemented for the benefit of all the people of the state.”