Baltimore Rabbis are divided on the observance of National Defense Day, September 12th.
The Rev. Dr. Morris S. Lazaren, Secretary of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Rabbi of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, has declined to become a member of a citizens’ committee to protest against the activities of the day and petition of the National Defense act. In a letter to the Rev. Dr. Peter Ainslie, pastor of the Christian Temple, who is organizing the committee, Dr. Lazaron said in part:
“I believe in the education of the will to peace and was one of the special committee of our Rabbinical Conference to draft the resolutions which state our position on war and peace. These resolutions declare in favor of ‘the outlawry of war’ and the ‘persistent education of the will to peace.’ But they also recognize the necessity for adequate preparedness. I am in complete sympathy with Mobilization Day according to the general explanation of its intend and scope as outlined by the War Department.”
The Rev. Dr. Edward L. Israel, Rabbi of the Har Sinai Congregation, has sent a letter to Dr. Ainslie approving his
plans. Dr. Israel, in his letter, tells Dr. Ainslie that he is with him heart and soul in his proposed protest against Mobilization Day.
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