A protest by a Jewish mother against the presentation of a nativity play in a school at Ross, a small town north of here, during the Christmas season last year has drawn the support of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Despite a 1955 ruling by the State Attorney General’s office that the state may not intrude upon the home and church responsibility for religious training. Attorney General Edmund Brown’s office has avoided ruling on a protest by Mrs. Ann Diamond that the play’s religious orientation was not that of her children and “confused them. ” Mr. Brown’s office has notified the Ross school board that it has no jurisdiction over local boards and has refused to give a legal opinion.
The Marin County ACLU chapter has asserted: “This particular play is clearly a breach of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state, and violates the rights of the parents and children involved. “
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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.
