The JWB Jewish Book Council in cooperation with major national community relations agencies of the Jewish community issued an alert to parents, rabbis, educators, and book-sellers concerning a children’s Passover storybook that includes Jesus at the Last Supper.
In a joint statement, the JWB Jewish Book Council, the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC), American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York asserted:
“We jointly protest the publication of ‘The Story of Passover for Children,’ a glossy, full-color paper-back marketed by Ideals Publishing Corp., of Milwaukee, a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson, Inc. The publication is misleading. We ask that it be recalled and remarketed under a title that represents what it is: ‘A Christian Storybook of Passover for Children.’
“We affirm that Jewish children should indeed learn about Christian celebration and Christian children about Jewish celebration. But children should be taught in a manner that is open, straightforward, and respectful of the particularity and distinctiveness of our respective religious traditions.”
The Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York also endorsed the statement. Blu Greenberg president of the JWB Jewish Book Council, said, “The story of Passover is central to Jewish history, theology, and celebration. It is the story of redemption from slavery to freedom telling of God’s love for the Jewish people. Thus a work that retells this tale is most welcome.
“Not so ‘The Story of Passover for Children.’ Nestled neatly between the recounting of the Pass-over story and a description of the way the holiday is traditionally celebrated in the Jewish home — is the story of Jesus, ‘a Jew from Nazareth, (who) … broke bread with friends at his last supper when Pass-over prayers were said’.”
GREENBERG SAID THERE ARE THREE OBJECTIONS
“First, its target market is the Jewish child. The use of the word Passover, the name of a Jewish holiday, in its title, as well as the fact that it is sold with a companion volume, ‘The Story of Easter for Children,’ suggests the publisher expects Jewish parents to purchase the Passover book for their children and Christian parents to purchase the Easter book for theirs.
“Second, the recounting of Jesus and the Last Supper has no relevance to the story of Passover and is an intrusion. Moreover, to describe Jesus as a Jew is an oversimplification. Jesus became the central figure of a new religion — Christianity — which broke away from Judaism.
“Lastly, planting the seed of Christian ideas in Jewish children in the guise of the Passover story is uncalled for. Mixing Christian and Jewish concepts as though they are one is inappropriate.
“Therefore, we deplore this approach. It is beneath the dignity of the new ecumenical encounter. All who participate in Christian-Jewish dialogue should join in disavowing such a disingenuous approach.”
BARNES & NOBLE HALTS SALE
Booksellers and publishers are being made aware of the joint action by the JWB Jewish Book Council and the other Jewish agencies, according to Ruth Frank, Council director.
In a late development today, the JWB Council reported that Barnes & Noble book chain said it has asked all its stores to pull the book from the shelves and to halt its sale.
Frank said a one-page list of books about Jewish holidays for children is available free of charge from the Council. To obtain this list, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to JWB Jewish Book Council, 15 East 26th St., New York, NY 10010-1579.
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.
