B’nai B’rith Young Adults Parley Finds ‘reasonable Moral Standards’ Lacking

Delegates to the 23rd international convention of B’nai B’rith Young Adults agreed today that although our generation lives in the midst of revolutionary change in moral practices, we look in vain for reasonable standards to be followed.” They called for a colloquium of rabbis, behavioral scientists and youth leaders to seek as wide a consensus as possible on “morality for the 1970s.”

The convention, in another resolution, held that involvement of youth in the struggle for progress, Justice and equality was a better “mind-expanding” device than marijuana and LSD. It went on record as opposing the legalization of marijuana but said some of the harsher penalties for Its use imposed on young offenders should be eased. The resolution warned that increasing use of hallucinatory drugs and “pep pills” could indicate profound social crisis.

Another resolution supported the efforts of Negro educators to introduce Afro-American studies in the classroom and declared that this trend should apply to the introduction of Hebrew courses wherever there is a sizeable Jewish student body. It said that ‘the use of Hebrew as the language of modern Israel and its significance to Western culture merit its recognition as a major subject of study in American classrooms.” It urged that “the Jewish contribution to world civilization be adequately presented in the public schools curricula.” The delegates also went on record as supporting President Johnson’s recommendations to reduce the voting age to 18 and as approving proposed guaranteed annual wages and other measures to combat poverty.