Representatives of ten civil rights organizations agreed at a conference called here today by New York State Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, to discuss with their respective organizations the “desirability and need” of special legislation for the outlawing of the dissemination of “hate literature.”
Attorney General Lefkowits made it clear after the meeting that the conference had no relationship whatever to the recent outbreaks of anti-Semitism and the desecrations of houses of worship. Among the groups represented today were the American Jewish Congress, the Protestant Council of New York, the American Jewish Committee, the Catholic Interracial Council, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the New York Board of Rabbis, the Jewish Labor Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
In Chicago, the City Council passed an ordinance yesterday providing fines and jail terms for vandals who deface houses of worship. The ordinance imposes fines of not less than $25 or more than $200 and jail sentences of up to six months. In Baltimore, an ordinance which would increase maximum penalties for defacing religious institutions, was introduced into the City Council.
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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.