President Truman today endorsed the nation-wide campaign to enroll Jewish children in the schools which are maintained by Jewish community groups to give instruction in Jewish religion, culture and history as a supplement to the public school system. The campaign is being conducted by the American Association for Jewish Education.
In a message addressed to Michael A. Stavitsky, president of the Association, Truman said: “Our nation today is faced with challenge and dangers unmatched in its history. In such a period, the responsibility which falls upon every American is indeed a great one. One unfailing source from which each of us can draw the strength to meet these responsibilities is that great reservoir of faith, human progress and human dignity contained in the ageless religious traditions which stems from the Prophets of old.
“For our children, who must grow to maturity in a world of ever-present strains and tensions, this rock of faith is indispensable. Under our American system, it is the responsibility of every parent to provide his children with instruction in the spiritual, ethical and moral values which they must absorb in order to develop as the best kind of American. It is for this reason that I welcome the observances of Jewish Education Month by the American Association for Jewish Education, and the nation-wide campaign to enroll Jewish children in the religious schools of their parents’ choice.”
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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.