The New York Board of Rabbis, comprising members of the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbinate in the New York area, expressed “firm opposition” today to a proposed amendment to the New York State constitution which would provide for a state guarantee of $500,000,000 in bonds for the expansion of public and private colleges in the state, including those run by religious institutions.
In an appeal to voters to reject the amendment when it comes up for approval next Tuesday, Rabbi Harry Halpern, president of the board, said that the removal of constitutional restrictions against the use of public funds to aid religious educational institutions “will do grave injustice to religion consistent with the American custom of religious voluntarism.”
Declaring that American Jewry “entirely with its own resources” had devoted itself “to the preservation and enhancement of Jewish traditions,” Rabbi Halpern said that “history has demonstrated that all religious institutions prosper best in a climate of religious voluntarism guaranteed by separation.”
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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.
