A Whitechapel mother’s tearful objections to the marriage of her daughter to a non-Jew failed to sway Magistrate Metcalfe in Old Street Police Station, who granted permission to Rose Bernstein to marry Arthur Curtis.
Rose applied to the magistrate for permission to wed after her mother, Mrs. Sarah Bernstein, refused to sanction the marriage because of religious scruples against her daughter marrying a non-Jew.
After the probation officer had reported the situation and described the prospective bridegroomas “of excellent character,” the magistrate asked the mother if she still persisted in her refusal.
When she said she objected to intermarriage between Jew and Gentile on religious grounds, the court commented: “It would not be the first time, and there have been some very happy marriages between them.”
Turning to Rose, he asked her if she still wanted to marry young Curtis. When she replied affirmatively, he said he saw no objection to the wedding and would grant the application for permission.
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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.
