A warning to the people of the United States to be vigilant against racial and religious discrimination has been voiced by President Eisenhower. “Bigotry and intolerance, racial or religious hate and discrimination are spiritual acts of treason,” the President emphasized.
The President strongly condemned the anti-Jewish drive in the Iron Curtain countries. “The vicious, calculated persecution of Jews in the Communist-enslaved countries,” he said, “is our latest reminder that the ways of the tyrants are always the same, however their banners and their slogans may change.”
President Eisenhower expressed these views in a message addressed to Roger W. Straus, general chairman of Brotherhood Week, which is sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Accepting “with pride” the honorary chairmanship of World Brotherhood Week, the President said in his message:
“The fight for freedom today is, in a real sense, aifight for the idea of brotherhood. This idea touches every value we cherish. It presupposes the dignity of every human being as a child of God. It expresses the honor and the respect which every man, therefore, owes his neighbor. It appeals to the spirit of comradeship and the practice of cooperation which are the essential, telling marks of a democracy. The survival of free civilization depends upon the survival of this idea and upon the practical allegiance it commands of all free peoples.
SAYS RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IS “SPIRITUAL ACT OF TREASON”
“In the affairs of our own nation–in the tens of thousands of communities across our land–this allegiance demands tireless vigilance. Bigotry and intolerance, racial or religious hate and discrimination are spiritual acts of treason. They invite the scorn and the mockery of the despot.
“In the affairs of the world, we are dedicated to defending the same ideas. The vicious calculated persecution of Jews in Communist-enslaved countries is our latest reminder that the ways of tyrants are always the same, however their banners and their slogans may change.
“The ways of free men, too, must ever be the same; strengthening one another in military might to resist the aggression of despots; aiding one another in economic policies that promote the productivity and welfare of all peoples; sharing in common confidence the political responsibilities and decisions that go to making up the defense of freedom everywhere. Above all, they must aid and strengthen the oppressed and the persecuted.
“This is the Idea of brotherhood at work. This is the idea of fraternity–the triumphant product of a liberty enjoyed by all and an equality respected by all. In this spirit, I accept with pride the honorary chairmanship of World Brotherhood Week. I extend to the National Conference of Christians and Jews my fervent wish that the next 25 years of your great work may match, in honorable accomplishment, the brilliant quarter of a century you have now completed.”
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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.
