Jewish communal organizations are not of one mind as to whether Lynn and Susan Stein, twins of nearby fairfax, Va., who shunned their high school graduation exercises last Saturday because they were held on the Sabbath, should take the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The American Jewish Congress has joined with the two Orthodox girls in their decision to have the nation’s highest tribunal consider their appeal that in the future institutions like Virginia’s Woodson High School and the Fairfax County School Board should not hold such events on Sabbath days. However, the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington and the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA) see the circumstances from a different perspective.
When Woodson High conducted its exercises last Saturday morning, Lynn and Susan were attending services at the Conservative congregation Olan Tikyah, Fairfax’s only synagogue, which is within walking distance of the Stein home. Numerous friends were prepared to boycott the graduation in sympathy but the sisters discouraged them “This is an event that comes once in a lifetime and you should take part,” they told classmates.
VALEDICTORIAN HONORS FOR ONE SISTER
Of the 512 students in the class, 12 are Jewish Besides the Stein sisters, one other Jew declined to attend the exercises. George Hamil, spokesman for the Fairfax County School Board, informed the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the class had six valedictorians and Susan was one of them but not Lynn. Hamil said that Lynn had a 4.0 average until she received a “B” in calculus for the last semester that” pulled her down.”
Noting that the twins had been trying since last December to get the exercises held on a day other than the Sabbath, their lawyer, Washington attorney Michael Housfeld, told the JTA that Lynn “devoted so much time to the effort that it had to take its toll somewhere.” Housfeld said that unless the school authorities change their policy so that exercises will not take place on the Sabbath day for Christians or Jews. The girls are prepared to take the issue to the Supreme Court. They have until the end of August to take that action.
The Virginia Supreme Court on May 29, eight days before graduation, agreed with the Fairfax Circuit Court against overruling the County Board which by a 5-3 vote refused to change the date. Woodson’s principal and two area school superintendents had previously rejected the twins’ appeal.
TRACES OF ANTI-SEMITISM
The attention resulting from the issue brought about what The Washington Post described editorially as “traces of anti-Semitism.” School authorities said that if threats were evidenced they should have been brought to their attention. Mrs. Evelyn Stein, mother of the twins, told the JTA “I have seven children and I don’t want them hurt.” The twins are the oldest in the family of Dr. Jerome Stein, a physician who practices in northern Virginia, and Mrs. Stein. JTA was informed by sources close to the case that they know of anti-Semitic remarks by Woodson students and threats that jeering at the graduation against Jewish students would ensue if the graduation were postponed.
When the case was before the Virginia Supreme Court, the ADL, the Washington Council and COLPA suggested through their coursel, Washington attorney Nathan Lewin, that the court rule in support of the girls’ complaint but not to defer the graduation since it was so close to its scheduled date. Lewin, who has often appeared in court on behalf of Orthodox Jewish causes, told the JTA that “we hoped for a victory on principle.” The three organizations filed their brief with the court on May 27. A hearing was held the next day and the court’s denial came the following day.
OPPOSITION EXPLAINED
In opposing further court proceedings, Lewin told the JTA that the issue is not like compulsory participation in employment or professional testing that involve the Sabbath. “Attendance at graduation is not an absolute requirement, “Lewin noted. “There is no question the girls will get their diplomas.”
As for the twins’ view of the legal process, Lynn said: “It’s not over. We’re not finished. It will never be finished until the date gets changed.”
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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.
