The United Synagogue of America, representing 744 Conservative synagogues, of which 212 are in New York State, requested the State today to repeal laws permitting the playing of bingo in religious houses of worship.
The executive council of the organization sent a telegram citing the code of approved synagogue practices adopted by the United Synagogue of America last November. The code specifies that fund-raising for synagogues or charitable purposes “is in itself an act of sanctity, and therefore must have the same spiritual quality as the ends to which the funds are to be employed.” The telegram criticized “the transformation of the house of worship into miniature gambling casinos like those conducted at Monte Carlo or Las Vegas.”
“The synagogue,” stated the message, “cannot be the vehicle for nurturing the something-for-nothing yen that is the real motive for gambling, whether legalized or not, whether for charitable purposes or not. Legalized bingo is wrong, and the law sanctioning it should be repealed.”
The United Synagogue leaders requested in their wire an opportunity to press the view of their organization on legalized bingo at a hearing.
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