Religious instruction in the public schools and a program on which Catholic, Jew and Protestant can unite with regard to parochial schools were debated at the concluding sessions of the St. Louis goodwill seminar. Rabbi A. E. Halpern of St. Louis declared that the public schools should let the homes become more religious. This was his answer to the Catholic representatives who expressed an uncompromising attitude in favor of parochial schools.
Rev. Hugo Sloctmeyer of St. Louis University, and Michael Williams, editor of the “Commonweal,” were the chief Catholic spokesmen, while Rabbi Samuel Cohen of the Hebrew Union College, Rabbi Halpern and Rev. J. E. Crowther, claimed that an agreement among the groups could be found but religion must be kept out of the schools.
Rev. Elias Newman, apostate in charge of the Presbyterian mission, caused a sensation at the afternoon session when, in commenting on Rabbi Wise’s speech, he urged, as a former Jew, that the Christians eliminate the concept of the Jews as “Christ-killers.” He proudly referred to his Jewish associations and supported the Rabbi’s plea against proselytizing among Jews.
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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.
