With a prayer that “our nation may help to free mankind” and that “my people shall never again be wronged,” Dr. Stephen S. Wise, rabbi of the Free Synagogue, yesterday observed the 50th anniversary of his ministry with an address before Congregation Bani Jeshurun, which heard his inaugural address a half century ago.
“The year 1893, exactly 50 years ago, came within two years of the grievous pogroms of Czarist Russia, ” Dr. Wise said. “Alas, after half a century, the Jewish position is even more grave and grievous than it was in that far-off day. With much of Europe under the might and blight of evil incarnate, one great and enduring gain is at hand – the understanding on the part of civilization of truth that anti Jewish ill-will and assaults are primarily the weapons of those who would destroy political democracy and human freedom.”
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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.