Local leaders of the Canadian Jewish Congress here have adopted a resolution condemning the innovation by the municipality of Friday night shopping in this city. The inauguration of Friday night shopping had been adopted without protest by local religious leaders. However, it is feared that the new program will cut synagogue attendance. The choice of Friday night was a departure from the Monday night pattern adopted in many Canadian and U.S. communities.
An attempt to establish Friday night shopping in Edmonton, it was recalled here, was met by Jewish and Christian clergy who joined in protesting the move and forced a switch to Monday night. Edmonton’s move had evidently been prompted by the fact that Calgary, Saskatoon and Vancouver all had adopted the Friday night practice.
In a letter to the “Jewish Post” here, Dr. Louis L. Sacks, spiritual leader of Edmonton’s Congregation Beth Shalom, explained that Christian clergy in Edmonton had felt “that it was not only a Jewish problem, but also a Christian problem and an infringement on the rights of the Jewish community in the observance of their faith.”
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