Jewish Leaders Hail Recommendations of Committee on Civil Rights

Leaders of the American Jewish Committee and of the American Jewish Congress today hailed the recommendations of the President’s Committee on Civil Rights and urged immediate action on them.

Judge Joseph Proskauer, in a statement issued to the press, said that the American Jewish Committee welcomes the recommendations “as a major contribution to the strengthening of American unity and the preservation of democratic rights.” Pointing out that “violations of civil rights, group dissension, race and religious discrimination and bigotry, constitute one of the most immediate challenges to American ##mercracy,” Judge Proskauer said: “Through a combination of intelligent legislation, ##ased on an effective program of popular education, this challenge can be met.”Dr. Stephen S. Wise urged on behalf of the American Jewish Congress that President Truman keep the Committee on Civil Rights in existence in order to obtain the adoption of its recommendations. He expressed his particular gratification with the Committee’s recommendations to State Legislatures that they enact fair education practice laws for public and private non-sectarian educational institutions. He also ##called attention to President Truman’s address of last June in which the President ##promised full executive support of urgently needed civil rights legislation.Philip Murray, president of the CIO, also lauded the report. Pointing out that our history “during the 172 years of our national existence has been marked with a number of milestones,” Murray cited the report as “by far the most significant of all of them, constituting as it does a public accounting of what has been accomplished ## in the matter of human rights under the American tradition, and setting forth concrete ## plans as to the work that remains to be done.”