Alabama voters ousted Republican Gov. Fob James, whose backing from the religious right was not enough to win him re-election. James was widely criticized by Jews during his tenure for his stand in favor of teacher-led prayer in public schools and for threatening to call out the National Guard to protect a judge’s right to post the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. Democrat Don Siegelman received 58 percent of the vote to James’ 42 percent. Siegelman, who is Catholic, is married to a Jewish woman, and their family belongs to a Conservative congregation in Montgomery.
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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.
