Jewish-gentile Religious Conflicts Discussed at Smith

The firm conclusion that “it is the necessity and right of Jewish and Gentile groups to fully realize and express their own highest values and that it is obligatory for each group to respect and stimulate the self-expression of other groups,” was the important result of the round table discussion of conflicts of Jewish and Gentile culture, which took place at the intercollegiate conference on “Cultural Conflicts in America,” at Smith College over the week-end.

The leaders of the round table discussion were James Waterman Wise and Prof. S. Ralph Harlow of Smith College. The chairman was Everett R. Clinchy, secretary of the Committee on Good Will Between Jew and Gentile. Jewish and Gentile students from Yale, Weseleyan, Amherst, Wellesley, Vasar, Mt. Holyoke and Smith colleges participated.

As a means of breaking down present cultural conflicts and turning the different qualities of Jew and Gentile into creative and positive channels, the round table group went on record in favor of “an attempt to effectuate an attitude of respect among other groups other than our own, to create mutual understanding and appreciation by urging the introduction in colleges of courses of study of various contemporary cultures in America and by bringing to campuses representative leaders of different groups to interpret their groups to others.”

The conference also went on record as favoring an attempt to eliminate considerations of race and religion in the selections to college offices and organizations, the avoidance of language and presumptive attitudes which express social antagonism and the stimulation of healthy social contacts between Jewish and Gentile groups on college campuses.

At the opening session, John Herman Randall, Jr., of Columbia University, said that without doubt in the next generation the Jews are going to furnish a large proportion of the intellectual leaders in the arts and sciences in the United States. Prof. Frank H. Hankins, of Smith College, declared that without pride of race, Jewish civilization could never have achieved its greatness in the arts, literature, science and philosophy.