An appeal to all Americans that they rededicate them selves to the goal of making of the United States “a stronger, more unified democracy, ” re-emphasizing the “promise of our Pledge of Allegiance of ‘one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all,’ ” was made here today by Dr. Lewis Webster Jones, president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. The appeal was voiced in connection with the annual observance of Brotherhood Week which started today. President Kennedy is Honorary Chairman of the Brotherhood Week this year, with Former Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell acting as National Chairman.
Beginning today and for the rest of the period until next Sunday, Brotherhood Week will be observed throughout the country, through special school assemblies, youth conferences, pageants, film forums, plays, sermons, festivals of religious music, civic club meetings, displays and exhibits in department stores and libraries through human relations institutes throughout the country and through many special radio and television broadcasts. Many Governors and Mayors of cities all over the United States have issued special Brotherhood Week proclamations. This weekend and next, special Brotherhood Week services were scheduled in many synagogues and churches throughout the country.
Dr. Jones listed three main objectives of this year’s observance. These are: “1. To give people an opportunity to rededicate themselves as individuals to the basic ideals of respect for human rights; 2. To dramatize the practical thing which can be done to promote an understanding and realization of these ideals; 3. To enlist the support of a larger number of people in year-round activities to build brotherhood.”
“Let us recognize,” he said, “the hard truth that we have failed, to date, to provide equal opportunities for all our citizens; that at this crucial moment in the history of our republic, religious differences on matters of public policy still continue to divide the American people; that failure to find consensus on such church-state problems as religious and public education, and such moral and economic problems as inequality in employment and education, pits American against American at a time when, as a nation, we should be working together as never before to combat threats to our freedom at home and abroad.”
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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.
