Officials of the Minnesota Centennial Commission are re-considering retention of the cross in a proposed Centennial emblem, after a formal protest from the Minnesota Jewish Council, it was learned today. No final action had been taken on retaining the cross. The centennial will be observed during 1958.
Several members of the Centennial Commission “pointedly asked” the Minnesota Jewish Council whether Jews were “not afraid of the rise of anti-Semitism if they freely expressed their position, ” the American Jewish World local weekly newspaper reports. Dr. C. A. Nelson, chaplain of the State Senate, declared that “for the protection of minorities, this ought not to become an issue at this time.”
L. H. Frisch, editor and publisher of the American Jewish World, said that the comments by the Commission members and that of Dr. Nelson were “a direct threat against citizens who dare to defend their conscience and speak freely.” He pointed out that an earlier design of the emblem carried a rocket and an airplane as symbols of transportation. These were removed by the Commission out of consideration for the teamsters and railroad men. If the Commission could be so sensitive about an inadequate trademark, it certainly ought to give due consideration to a question of conscience,” he said in an editorial in his paper.
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