Newark Jewry has been spared possible inflation of anti-Semitic feeling that follows in the wake of the production of the drama, the Freiberg Passion Play, it became known yesterday, because M. S. Schlesinger, who controls the Broad and Shubert Theatres in this city, refused to book this play.
Mr. Schlesinger was repeatedly called upon by the producers of the Passion Play to book this drama. Mr. Schlesinger has flatly refused to consider the presentation of the play.
“I know that the Passion Play foments anti-Semitic hatred,” he declared, “and I simply would not be a party to such insidious propaganda against our Jewish people. The Jews have suffered more than their share, and such dramas as the Freiberg Passion Play will never bring about an abatement of the anti-Semitic evil.”
The Passion Play is now being run in Philadelphia, where it has been showing for several weeks. A storm of Jewish protest in Philadelphia has failed to bring about the abandonment of the play, which is being shown at the Academy of Music there.
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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.
