The American Conservative rabbinate called today for the Abolition of capital punishment as not consonant with the dignity of man and with “God’s sovereignty over human life.”
That stand was embodied in a resolution approved at the 60th anniversary convention of the Rabbinical Assembly of America here. The delegates also asked President Eisenhower to “exert the full force of his office” to dissuade Arab League nations from continuing their anti-Suez blockade. They also urged that Secretary of State Christian A. Herter and other responsible Government officials “cease making American Governmental agencies a party to the boycott by their imposition on American businessmen of limitations in their freedom to transact business.”
In a related resolution, the Conservative rabbis urged the United Nations “ceaselessly to pursue its goal “of obtaining free passage through the Suez Canal for peaceful shipping of all nations “thus eliminating a serious obstacle to eventual peace in the Middle East.”
Rabbi Isaac Klein, retiring president, called in his final presidential report for delegates to press for a “sound civil rights program” in their communities and in the nation. Rabbi Edward T. Sandrow of Cedarhurst, L. I., was elected president to succeed him.
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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.
