Strong endorsement of President Kennedy’s civil rights program was voiced today by the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia in a statement urging Congress to enact the bills proposed by the President. The statement expressed sympathy with “the long-strained patience of our Negro fellow-citizens.” It read:
“The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia, whose rabbis serve a Jewish community of some 350, 000 souls, strongly supports the Civil Rights Bills, presented by President Kennedy to the Congress. This legislation, giving the long-deprived Negro community the opportunity to enjoy the rights and freedoms contained in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, is long overdue.
“We urge the Congress of the United States to enact the Civil Rights program presented by the President with a minimum of delay. We sympathize with the long-strained patience of our Negro fellow-citizens, especially in the South, who have been waiting for 100 years to emerge into the full light of freedom.”
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