The decision of the Minnesota centennial commission to adopt as its official emblem a symbol including both a church and a cross was scored as a “spiritual relapse by the American Jewish World, local English-Jewish newspaper.
The editorial noted that the adoption of an “unfair and non-representative emblem” by the commission, despite the protests of the Minnesota Jewish Council and the Minnesota Rabbinical Association will result in a decision of many residents to “serve the state and its history best, during the centennial year, by refusing to participate in many aspects of the program as directed by a misguided commission.”
The centennial commission disregarding warnings from the Jewish groups that acceptance of the emblem would exclude many groups, both Christian and Jewish, from wholehearted participation in this historic event,” voted 10 to 3 for retention of the church and cross. Prior to the final vote, the commission turned down a suggestion by Aaron Litman, one of the commission members, for modification of the emblem to include an “unadorned” church spire.
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.
