A 30-year-old custom of placing a representation of the Nativity scene on the front lawn of a high school here has been suspended at least for the coming Christmas season, but a Christmas tree will be installed as a substitute.
In recent years, the representation of the creche was accompanied by a seven-foot Chanukah Menorah. Superintendent of Schools Benjamin C. Willis issued a ban against a display this year of both religious symbols at the Lake View High School after he received protests from five Jewish and one non-Jewish organization. The temporary ban permits a Christmas tree.
The protests were made by the American Jewish Congress; the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith; the Council of Traditional Synagogues of Chicago; the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Decalogue Society of Lawyers. The American Civil Liberties Union also joined in the protest. The basis of the complaints was than display of the two symbols represented a breach of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state.
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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.
