Jewish religious textbooks deserve “the highest mark” for being free of material prejudicial to any race, religion or color, it was announced here today by scholars who have completed a three-year study of such texts.
The study was headed by Dr. Bernard D. Weinryb, professor of Jewish history at the Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School, who is also on the faculty of the Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, Philadelphia. He was aided by Meir Ben-Horin as consultant, and by Daniel Garnick as researcher.
The study embraced a large sample of about 220 books, plays, and issues of periodicals drawn from 46 organizational and individual publishers covering most of the Jewish schools in the United States.
Ninety percent of intergroup references in all the texts were found free of prejudice and, on the other hand, teaching friendliness and anti-prejudice toward “Christians, Negroes, Italians.” Most of the 10 percent of prejudicial matter in texts, according to the scholars, was “left in the texts through oversight, reprinting material originating in Europe, or otherwise unintentional. “
The study found that, in reference to “interrelationship between Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism” there was “much more” prejudiced material in the texts than there was in regard to non-Jewish groups.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
