National Jewish Welfare Board

Last updated
Jewish Welfare Board poster, New York, 1918. National Jewish Welfare Board WWI poster.jpg
Jewish Welfare Board poster, New York, 1918.

The National Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) was formed on April 9, 1917, three days after the United States declared war on Germany, in order to support Jewish soldiers in the U.S. military during World War I. [1] The impetus for creating the organization stemmed from Secretary of War, Newton Baker and Secretary of Navy, Josephus Daniels. [1] The organization was also charged with recruiting and training rabbis for military service, as well as providing support materials to these newly commissioned chaplains. The JWB also maintained oversight of Jewish chapel facilities at military installations. [2]

Contents

History

Postcard, 1919 PostcardNationalJewishWelfareBoardHelloJustGotBack1919.jpg
Postcard, 1919

In 1921, several organizations merged with the JWB to become a national association of Jewish community centers around the country in order to integrate social activities, education, and active recreation. These merged organizations included the YWHA, YMHA, and the National Council of Young Men's Hebrew and Kindred Association. [2] [3]

In 1941, the United Service Organizations for National Defense was brought into existence through Presidential order February 4. The USO was incorporated in New York state as a private, nonprofit organization, supported by private citizens and corporations. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted the morale of military personnel to remain high and believed that current service organizations would be better suited for the job than the Department of Defense. [4] The six private organizations were - the National Catholic Community Service (NCCS),Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, Young Women's Christian Association YWCA, the National Jewish Welfare Board (NJWB), the Traveler's Aid Association and the Salvation Army. These organizations were challenged to handle the on-leave morale and recreational needs for members of the Armed Forces. The six organizations pooled their resources and the United Service Organizations, which quickly became known as the USO, was incorporated in New York on February 4, 1941. [5]

In 1942 the NJWB established the National Jewish Music Council; a sub-organization of the NJWB whose purpose was to promote cultural programming, publish literature, and produce recordings on subjects related to music of the Jewish people. The organization presented an annual Jewish Music Festival in addition to sponsoring other events such as performances and lectures. The organization also produced recordings of Jewish music and published biographies, handbooks, and other scholarly materials. [6]

In the 1950s, during the Second Red Scare, the NJWB encouraged Jewish community centers to ban radical Jewish speakers from using their facilities. [7] [ undue weight? – discuss ][ failed verification ] [8] The Jewish Young Fraternalists, the youth arm of the communist Jewish People's Fraternal Order, was expelled in 1953 from the National Jewish Youth Conference, an organization sponsored by the NJWB. [9]

The organization is now the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, part of JCC Association of North America. [10] The Council sends religious artifacts and supplies for Jewish holidays, including Passover Seder kits, Hanukkah candles, four species for Tabernacles, and more. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaplain</span> Spiritual representative attached to a secular institution

A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric, or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution, or a private chapel. The term chaplaincy refers to the chapel, facility or department in which one or more chaplains carry out their role.

A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations, Israel-related programming, and other Jewish education. However, they are open to everyone in the community.

The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel, is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in its earliest form, by a group of 15 young Jews on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their goal was to make Orthodox Judaism more relevant to young Americanized Jews at a time when a significant Jewish education was rare, and most Orthodox institutions were Yiddish-speaking and oriented to an older, European Jewish demographic.

The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Jewish Americans</span> Aspect of American military history

Jewish Americans have served in the United States armed forces dating back to before the colonial era, when Jews had served in militias of the Thirteen Colonies. Jewish military personnel have served in all branches of the armed forces and in every major armed conflict to which the United States has been involved. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, as of 2006 there were currently 3,973 known Jewish servicemen and servicewomen on active duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua L. Goldberg</span>

Joshua Louis Goldberg was a Belarusian-born American rabbi, who was the first rabbi to be commissioned as a U.S. Navy chaplain in World War II, the first to reach the rank of Navy Captain, and the first to retire after a full active-duty career.

Arthur A. Goren was the Russell and Bettina Knapp Professor Emeritus of American Jewish History at Columbia University in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Board of Delegates of American Israelites</span>

The Board of Delegates of American Israelites was the first Jewish civil and political rights organization in the United States, modeled after the Board of Deputies of British Jews. The organization was established in 1859 with headquarters in New York City and was active as an independent entity for 19 years before merging with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1878. This merger came at the urging of Simon Wolf, leader of B'nei Brith of Washington, D.C. The Board of Delegates continued to exist and operate as a leg of the UAHC called the Board of Delegates of Civil and Religious Rights until its final dissolution in 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Lyon Cohen</span> Rabbi and musicologist (1862–1934)

Francis Lyon Cohen VD was an English Orthodox rabbi, author and expert on Hebrew music, being the music editor of The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–06). The Jewish Lads' Brigade was his brainchild. He was the first Jewish chaplain in the British Army, a position he held from 1892 to 1904 when he was succeeded by Rev Michael Adler. Cohen ended his career as Chief Minister of the Great Synagogue in Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Gertrude Affachiner</span> Active figure in Jewish public service

Rebecca Gertrude Affachiner was an active figure in Jewish public service in the United States until 1934 and in Israel from the time of her Aliyah to the mid-1950s.

Max James Kohler was a Jewish-American lawyer, immigration activist, and historian from New York.

Joshua Bloch was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi and librarian.

Henry Barnston was a British-born American rabbi.

Barnett Abraham Elzas was a German-born American rabbi and historian.

Solomon Marcuse Stroock was a Jewish-American lawyer from New York.

Frederick Marcus Warburg was a Jewish-American banker from New York.

Lee Max Friedman was a Jewish-American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Monsky</span>

Henry Monsky was a Jewish-American lawyer and communal leader from Omaha, Nebraska.

Barnett Robert Brickner was an American rabbi who ministered in Cleveland, Ohio for over thirty years.

Jacob Bosniak was a Russian-born American rabbi from Brooklyn, New York.

References

  1. 1 2 Bridger, David; Wolk, Samuel, eds. (1976). The New Jewish encyclopedia. New York: Behrman House. p. 339. ISBN   0874411203.
  2. 1 2 Bridger & Wolk 1976, p. 340.
  3. ↑ Borish, Linda J. (2002). "Women, sport, and American Jewish identity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries". In Timothy Chandler; Tara Magdalinski (eds.). With God on their Side: Sport in the Service of Religion. Routledge. ISBN   1134511663.
  4. ↑ "WW2 USO Preservation Association". ww2uso.org. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  5. ↑ Yelin, Emily (2010). Our Mothers' War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II. Simon and Schuster. p. 86. ISBN   978-1439103586.
  6. ↑ "National Jewish Music Council". Center for Jewish History . Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Julius and Ethel Rosenberg". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  8. ↑ Mendelsohn, Ezra (June 1997). Essential Papers on Jews and the Left. New York City: NYU Press. ISBN   9780814755716.
  9. ↑ Svonkin, Stuart (1997). Jews Against Prejudice: American Jews and the Fight for Civil Liberties. New York City: Columbia University Press. p. 168. ISBN   9780231106399.
  10. ↑ JWB Jewish Chaplains Council
  11. ↑ Rivera, John. "Amid war, a pause for faith". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.