Offering to reduce the wine quotas of Jewish congregations in New York City below the allowances of the national prohibition act, a group of New York rabbis, representing the Assembly of Hebrew Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada, protested yesterday to Dr. James M. Doran, commissioner of industrial alcohol, against “over zealousness” and “undue suspicions” of Federal prohibition officials in New York City in their watch on sacramental wine distribution there.
The offer was presented by Rabbis Kalman Kellner, J. J. Margolin and Bernard Birstein, officers of the Rabbinical Board of New York, to prove that Orthodox rabbis are not interested in the diversion of wine. The plan is to limit allowances of wine for sacramental purposes in the home to 1½ gallons per family, instead of the five gallons permitted under the Volstead law.
Complaints at the alleged dilatory tactics of prohibition officials in dealing with rabbinical applications for wine permits were also made by the rabbis, who said that in many cases no action would be taken on the applications. This, declared the rabbis, frequently worked hardships when rabbis were preparing their ceremonies in advance.
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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.
