Resolution Adopted by the CCAR
CENSORSHIP
Digests of resolutions adopted by the
Central Conference of American Rabbis
between 1889 and 1974
1. We recognize the right of our government to exercise censorship in certain
delicate
areas, such as defense and foreign affairs, but we deplore the use of the
security
system simply to withhold from the people information to which they are
entitled.
Our democratic life must have an informed constituency to survive. We detect a
tendency
on the part of our government to withhold information from the people which
would
enable them properly to understand and evaluate vital issues.
We deplore further, the growing use of the security program for partisan ends.
Security
is not a political instrument; it must guard us from treason, but not penalize
dissent
and social experimentation. (1955, p. 66)