A Federal District Court Judge refused here yesterday to grant an injunction asked by 178 parents from Westfield, N.J. to ban a high school Christmas pageant in which, the plaintiffs said, Jewish and other students were being forced to participate. Judge Frederick B. Lacey ruled, however, that any children who do not want to take part in the program should not be compelled to do so and should not be penalized.
The complaint was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Newark on behalf of a group of Jewish and non-Jewish parents in West-field which calls itself the Committee Against Religious Encroachment in Schools (CARES). The suit marked the latest development in a seven-year simmering dispute between the parents and the School Board over forced participation in the religiously oriented program, according to the ACLU.
Westfield, a well-to-do suburban community 30 miles from New York City, has a population of about 36,000 of which 8-10 percent are Jewish. In refusing to ban the program Judge Lacey said there was no proof that an injunction would “still the unrest” in the community. The ACLU, which intends to pursue the case, said CARES opposes the School Board’s policy of requiring art, drama and choir students to participate in the pageant in order to earn credit for their courses.
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.
