School Board Officer in N. J. Attacks Jewish Candidates; Won’t Retract

A Wayne Township School Board official who had called for the defeat of two Jewish school board candidates because “most Jewish people are liberals, especially when it comes to spending for education,” vigorously denied today that he was anti-Semitic but declined to retract his statement. Newton Miller, vice-president of the Wayne Township School Board, had urged the defeat in next Tuesday’s school board elections of Jack Mandell, an incumbent, and Robert Kraus, another Jewish candidate. Another board member Fred Lafer, who is not up for election, is also Jewish.

In his statement, published in the local newspaper, Wayne Today, Mr. Miller, besides predicting “real financial trouble” if there were three Jews on the board, declared: “Two more votes and we lose what is left of Christ in our Christmas celebrations in our schools.” His statement was sharply condemned by three national Jewish organizations and disavowed by Wayne Mayor Edward Sisco. The mayor said that he did not believe the school board vice-president’s statement was shared by anyone in Wayne. The Miller statement was also criticized by school board president George Schroeder, who called the remarks “ridiculous and shameless.”

Appearing at a press conference called here today by Mayor Sisco, Mr. Miller apologized for the “entire incident.” But, when asked whether or not he stood by his original statement, he declined to reply. He said it was “extremely unfortunate” that he had been condemned “as being anti-Semitic and a bigot” and that his record “proves just the opposite.” He insisted: “There is no truth to the charges being made against me. If I have done any harm to any candidate because of my release and the publicity, my apologies.”

SEES FAITH, ETHNIC BACKGROUND AS FACTORS; SHARP CRITICISMS VOICED

In reply to questions, Mr. Miller said that, while he does not believe that faith necessarily should be considered in the qualifications of a candidate, he did believe that the ethnic background and faith of any candidate might possibly influence his thinking.

Mayor Sisco said that Mr. Miller’s statement calling for the defeat of the Jewish candidates was “unfortunate” and “in extremely bad taste” and that “in his desire to defeat the school board budget, he has gone far beyond the basic issues in trying to prove his point.”

Before today’s press conference, Mr. Miller’s statement urging the defeat of the Jewish candidates was condemned by the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and the American Jewish Congress. The ADL demanded “a public and unequivocal apology” by Mr. Miller or his immediate resignation. The American Jewish Congress sent a telegram to New Jersey Governor Richard Hughes, asking for Mr. Miller’s removal from office. The American Jewish Committee said that Mr. Miller’s statement was “a clear example of the bigoted mind of an extremist at work.”