54 Friday, December. 24, 1976.
Ins
A Forgotten Federation Centennial
BY JACOB R. MARCUS
.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Director, American
Jewish Archives
The Council of Jewish
Federations and Welfare
Funds was founded in
1932. That makes it 44
years old. Actually it is
the out-growth of many
agencies that preceded it.
The oldest attempt to
create a national Jewish
federation of welfare
societies goes back to
1876. Although the line of
descent is broken, in a
way the Council of Jewish
Federations is 100 years
old.
What actually hap-
pened? In the fall of 1876
the United Hebrew Relief
Association of St. Louis
issued a call for a national
organization of the
Jewish charities. This is
documented by a refer-
ence in the American
Jewish Archives. No
doubt the Jews were in-
fluenced by the non-
Jewish charities which
were then fashioning union was the National
their first all American Conference of Jewish
association, the National Charities. It was estab-
Conference of Charities lished in 1899 and is still
and Correction.
in existence, though its
The 1876 Jewish na- name has been changed
tional society did not come more than once.
into being; too few re-
It prospered in a day
sponded. Why organize at when there were some
all? It was a period of panic remarkable Jewish social
and depression; thousands workers. One was a
of people were on the road chemist named Lee K.
begging or looking for Frankel who in 1908 was
work. Something had to be appointed general man-
done to cope with the prob- ager of the United He-
lem of dependent Jews, brew Charities of New
some of whom were im- York.
postors.
There was more success
in 1885 when the As-
sociated frebrew
Charities of the United
States actually came into
being. It met in assembly
but soon faded away be-
cause the local . Jewish
philanthropic societies
feared they would lose
their autonomy. They
were a touchy lot.
The first permanent
Jewish national charity
munities plan their social
welfare future.
Today there are about
200 federations serving
some 800 communities. It
is one of the most effi-
cient, important, and in-
fluential national Jewish
associations.
Thou Nast Made Progress
Me Hunger
on Terrorism
My God, thou hast made me
hunger,
and naked forsaken me,
and set me in the dark
most of night,
and taught me thy power
and height.
Though thou burn me in fire
I shall but continue to love
thee
and to joy in thee,
as Job said,
"Though He cut me down, to
Him I shall aspire."
—Bahya ibn Pakuda
Land Purchase
Between 1880 and 1935,
from the Turks and the
British, all the State domain
JACOB BILLIKOPF
that the Jews could buy
Its success can be amounted to 106,033 dun-
measured by the fact that ams. To satisfy the needs of
the gross national prod- a settlement internationally
uct of American Jewish covenanted, they had to buy
communities now is about over two million dunams of
$2 billion; the oldest ex- private land, in many cases
tant budget of a Jewish from absentee owners. The
community on this conti- vendors ordinarily only sold
nent goes back to 1721, to part of their holdings or
New York City. Its were provided with as good,
JACOB MARCUS
budget that year was if not better, holdings in
Kaufmann Kohler, pres- about £132! replacement.
ident of Hebrew Union
College, tried to dissuade
him from becoming a pro-
fessional social worker; he
said it was a job only for
unsuccessful rabbis. How-
NEW YORK (JTA) —
ever, Frankel was so suc-
Explaining his state-
cessful that the Metropoli- Rabbi Bernard Cherrick, ment, Cherrick said the
vice
president
of
the
He-
tan Life Insurance Co. or-
cutbacks at the universi-
ganized a health depart- brew University of Jerus- ties meant that many
ment for its policy holders alem, expressel concern young faculty members
and ultimately made him a that the "retrenchment" would lose their jobs. He
by all of Israel's universi- said many persons who
vice-president.
To show what could be ties is causing some of the wanted t6 stay in Israel
done, he went into a best young intellectuals would leave because there
Canadian town and re- in Israel to leave the were no places for them on
duced the infant country.
He said if the money university faculties. He
mortality rate from 300
used
by the government urged AFHU members to
per 1,000 to 79 per 1,000.
provide the needed funds.
Another social worker and the Jewish Agency to
Venezky, who was one
get
a
"few
Americans"
to
of distinction was Jacob
of the four founders of the
make aliya went to the Israel Bond Organization
Billikopf whose extant universities it could
,"be and a founder and first
papers are now in the
used
to
keep
the
best
American Jewish Arc- brains in Israel."
chairman of the National
hives in Cincinnati. Bil-
Cabinet of the United
Cherrick
spoke
Nov.
28
likopf was the first man to to some 300 persons at a Jewish Appeal, was pre-
secure a gift of about $1 dinner of the American sented the award by Dr.
million for a Jewish Friends of Hebrew Uni- Max Kampelman, presi-
cause: The donor was versity at the Essex dent AFHU. Samuel
Julius Rosenwald.
House Hotel, at which the Rothberg, of Peoria,
When Billikopf asked organization
presented chairman of Hebrew Uni-
Rosenwald for a written its highest honor,
versity's board of gover-
note announcing that he Award, to Julian Scopus
nors, was chairman of the
Ven-
would give this huge sum ezky, a Peoria, Ill., la- dinner.
Rosenwald said: "Don't wyer, who is chairman of
you believe me?" To the board of directors of
The one who replies be-
which Billikopf answered: AFHU and deputy
fore he understands the
"Yes, Mr. Rosenwald, I
believe you, but they chairman of Hebrew Uni- question, looks foolish and
versity's board of gover- disgraced.
won't believe me."
nors.
—Proverbs 18.
The Council of Jewish
Federations and Welfare
Funds, a national agency,
was established in 1932
just as Hitler was about to
come to power in Germany How beautiful upon the mountains
and when this country was Art the feet of the messenger of good tidings,
in the throes of the de- That announceth. peace, the harbinger of good
tidings,
pression threatening
American Jewry's basic That announceth salvation;
Jewish communal institu- That saith unto Zion:
tions.
"Thy God reigneth!"
Hark, thy watchmen! They lift up the voice,
It was a union of a Together do they sing;
number of agencies and a
they shall see, eye to eye,
consolidation of their For
The
Lord returning to Zion.
several tasks. Since its
inception it has carried on Break forth into joy, sing together,
the national field work of Ye waste places of Jerusalem;
the Jewish charity work- For the Lord hath comforted His people,
ers: conducted surveys, He hath redeemed Jerusalem.
amassed research data, The Lord hath made bare His holy arm
supplied information In the eyes of all the nations;
about agencies at home And all the ends of the earth shall see
and abroad seeking The salvation of our Goa.
—Isaiah (Chapter 52, verses 7 10)
funds, and helped corn-
Hebrew U. Official Seeks
Jewish Education Funds
THE
JEWISH NEWS
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-
Editorial in NY Times
Dec. 11, 1976
Any progress toward
effective international
action against any aspect
of terrorism, however it
be called, deserves com-
mendation. The unusual
coming together of West-
ern nations, the Third
World and the Soviet bloc
behind a United Nations
proposal for an interna-
tional treaty against the
taking of hostages is a
cause for celebration.
The adoption by con-
sensus in the General
sembly's legal commit
of the resolution a
vanced by West Germany
and 37 other nations as-
sures passage by the As-
sembly itself.
In order to achieve this
rare UN unanimity, the
sponsors agreed to delete
a provision specifying
that the treaty should re-
quire the prohibition and
condemnation of the tak-
ing of hostages and the
prosecution, punishment
and extradition, where
necessary, of the perpet-
rators.
In return, Libya drop-
ped its demand that the
treaty apply only to "inno-
cent" hostages — a provi-
sion the United States and
others believed would be
used to exclude Jews and
white South Africans from
protection.
Even with the soften-
ing of the instructions to
the 35-nation commission
that will be established to
draft the treaty, the un-
animous resolution rep-
resented a step forward,
buttressing the opinion
expressed Dec. 10 by Sec-
retary General Kurt Wal-
dheim that there is now
"much more readiness"
for United Nations action
against terrorism.
If this will to cooperate
endures, the commission
may be ready to submit a
draft treaty to the 32d
General Assembly next
year.
Most of the credit for -
bypassing obstacles
raised particularly by the
Arab states to block pre-
vious United Nations in-
itiatives against ter-
rorism belongs to the
West German govern-
ment that was admitted
to the UN only three
years ago.
Bonn diplomats worked
assiduously to persuade
the Arabs that the care-
fully drafted resolution
against the taking of hos-
tages was not motivated
partisanship in
Mideast quarrel. They aL.
lobbied effectively for the
essential support of the
Soviet Union and all the
developing nations.
The hard work will re-
ally begin when the com-
mission assembles next
summer. But the unusual
unity displayed at Turtle
Bay Dec. 10 augurs well
for what would be the
first UN-sponsored, glob-
ally applicable measure
against terrorism, a
malady from which not
one of the 146 UN mem-
bers is immune.