A proposal that the Houston Jewish Community Center be opened on Saturday afternoons has failed to secure a two-thirds majority of the members of the Center and the institution, consequently, will remain closed on the Sabbath.
The Center’s board had originally voted to open the institution on Saturday afternoons for a youth program. When strong protests were made on the grounds that this would violate the Sabbath, the board left the final decision to a referendum of members of the center with the proviso that a two-thirds majority of those voting would have to declare themselves in favor of the Saturday programs.
A total of 1,113 members, more than 50 percent of those eligible to vote, participated in the referendum. The vote in favor of opening the center was 56,2 percent. As this was short of the required two-thirds majority, the Center is to remain closed on the Sabbath.
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.
