Newton Miller, the vice-president of the Wayne Township School Board who had earlier this month called for the defeat of two Jewish candidates to the board, was himself replaced last night by the only remaining Jewish member of the board.
Mr. Miller, who had urged the defeat of two Jewish candidates because he said that Jews were “liberals,” especially when it came to spending for education, stepped down a vice-president in favor of Fred Lafer, whose seat on the board was not up for election in last week’s balloting. Mr. Lafer was elected vice-president unanimously.
Mr. Miller, who was sharply criticized for his anti-Semitic remarks, declined to retract them although he denied he was an anti-Semite. Jack Mandeli and Fred Kraus, the two Jews whose defeat Mr. Miller had called for, were badly defeated in the election.
When the new board met last night to elect its officers, Mr. Lafer was unanimously elected to succeed Mr. Miller. David J. Caliri, a Presbyterian, was elected president, a post Mr. Miller had indicated he hoped to receive. After the vote and an exchange of conciliatory remarks between Lafer and Miller, the new board gave Mr. Miller a unanimous vote of confidence in an apparent effort to heal the divisions over his stand, which led to a vote of censure by the prior board in a resolution asking him to resign, which he rejected. Mr. Miller was not up for reelection.
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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.
