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When Jews really did wage a ‘war on Christmas’

JL;DR SUMMARY In December 1906, Jewish parents in New York City protested against the mandatory participation of their children in school Christmas activities, marking a significant stand for religious freedom in public education. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish IdentityNew York CityPublic EducationJewish ActivismReligious FreedomYiddish PressChurch And StateChristmas Boycott1906Albert Lucas

Places mentioned

New York, United States
"On a frigid winter's day in 1906, tens of thousands of Jewish parents in New York's Lower East Side and Brooklyn kept their children home from school."
Newark, New Jersey, United States
"said Seligman, who grew up in Newark, New Jersey, in the 1960s, when schoolchildren were still made to recite the Lord's Prayer."
Brooklyn, New York, United States
"how a seemingly local dispute in one Brooklyn school exploded into a test case for religious freedom and civic belonging."
Nebraska, United States
"(Nebraska University Press)"

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Cairo Item ID 67089
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2025-11-16 18:00:42 UTC
Curated 2025-11-16 19:00:30 UTC