A four-point resolution designed to spur American Jewry’s defense of democracy in the face of “another world war which threatens the sanity and safety of America” was adopted last night at the closing session of the two day convention of the Assembly of Hebrew Orthodox Rabbis at the Hotel Sharon.
The resolution was unanimously adopted by more than 100 delegates after a heated two-hour debate behind closed doors which saw two important points in the original text resolution struck out. The defeated points urged that rabbis “refrain from using their office and influence in the turmoil of domestic politics” and that they “shall not seek deferment or exemption from military service for themselves or for rabbinical students.”
In the adopted resolution the rabbis pledge “the moral, material and physical resources of American Jewry in the aid of democracy’s fight against Nazism, Fascism and Communism,” resolve that Jewish congregations lend additional support by releasing their rabbis from some of their duties “so that they may tender their services as chaplains in military training camps,” urges Jewish families “to open their hearts and homes to refugee children fleeing the terrors of war” and announces the rabbis will petition President Roosevelt “for advice as to the best means of serving the nation in these troublous times.”
Prayers were recited for Britain’s safety.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
