Members of the Southeast Pennsylvania Interfaith Alliance (TIA-SEP) recently called for the resignation of a North Penn School Board official who made blatantly anti- semitic remarks. According to Board Solicitor Charles Potash, school board vice- president Donna Mengel said, "I am a good Christian, and when I die, I will be up in Heaven looking down at the Jews burning in Hell, and I will be hearing the snap, crackle, and pop." This outrageous remark was directed at a Jewish member of the school board.

Local Alliance leaders quickly responded to Ms. Mengel's comments. The Reverend Willifred S. N. Allen-Faiella, co-chair of the Southeast Pennsylvania Interfaith Alliance said, "We cannot stand idly by while those claiming to be 'good Christians' perpetrate the kind of inflammatory rhetoric which in the past has led to pogrom and Holocaust. . . . When you hear that kind of rhetoric continue under the guise of Christianity, you must show it won't be tolerated."

The Reverend Rock Schuler, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity in Lansdale, expresed his concern that such views may be shared by others in the community. He said, "I would hope that the school board will investigate whether this kind of sentiment is symptomatic of a larger feeling within the community. And if it is, we've got to take action against it."

Rabbi Gerald Wolpe, Senior Rabbi of Har Zion Reformed Temple echoed this concern "It is tragic that anyone who defines herself as a 'good Christian' should express such blatant bigotry. Her imagery is not only an unwarranted anti-semitic utterance, but it is also a violation of the Christian religion she claims to profess: a religion that affirms the Divine love for all humankind."

Although Ms. Mengel denied making the comments, an independent investigator hired by the school board determined otherwise. Because the school board does not have the power to fire Ms. Mengel, who is an elected official, TIA-SEP leaders have joined with other members of the local community to insist that Ms. Mengel immediately offer her resignation. According to Reverend Allen-Faiella, "Our children deserve nothing less."