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University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St, John's Road, Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 BHR 78-12,337 FROMMER, Morris, 1945- THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS: A HISTORY 1914-1950. (VOLUMES I AND II) The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1978 History, United States University Microfilms international, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48 ioe © Copyright by Morris Fromner 1978 THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS: A HISTORY, 1914-1950 Volume I DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Morris Frommer, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1978 Reading Committee: Approved By Dr. Marvin Zahniser '7 Dr. Robert Chazan Adviser Dr. Marc Raphael Department of Hi story / Once again, to Barbara 11 VITA October 1 1 , 1 945 ...................Born, Nev/ York, New York 1967 ............................................... B.A., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1967-1968 ................................. Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1969 ............................................... M.A., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1970-1973 ................................. Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: American History Studies in American Diplomatic History. Professor Marvin R. Zahniser Studies in European History. Professors Andreas Dorpalen and Michael Curran Studies in American Political History. Dr. K. Austin Kerr 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page VITA . ...................... iii INTRODUCTION........................................................ 1 Chapter I. THE FORMATION OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS.............................................. 51 II. THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS AT THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE............................ 113 I I I . JEWISH GOALS IN AMERICAN CONTEXT: THE MOVEMENT TOWARD A PERMANENT CONGRESS . 169 IV. AIDING OPPRESSED JEWRY IN ROÜMANIA AND POLAND, 1919 TO 1 933 204 V. AIDING OPPRESSED JEWRY IN THE SOVIET UNION, 1919-1933 ........ ................... 256 1 V INTRODUCTION Internal conflicts have been present in the Ameri­ can Jewish community ever since this community became heterogeneous--from the moment it came to include Jews who differed from each other in national origin, economic status, social orientation, political philosophy, and religious practice. The first Jews to set foot on American soil arrived in 1654. They were Sephardim, some of whom emigrated from Spain, Portugal, and Holland, and others who came by way of South America. The Sephardim were mostly petty trad­ ers, peddlers, and small shopkeepers.^ Some of the Sephar­ dim followed the frontier, some even becoming fur-traders who obtained their pelts from Indians in exchange for 2 trinkets, guns, and liquor. A few Jews became wealthy 1 Jacob R. Marcus, Early American Jewry: The Jews of Pennsylvania and the South, 1655-1790, volume 2, (Phila­ delphia, 1953), p. 400; Rufus Learsi, The Jews in America: A History, (Cleveland, 1954), pp. 34-35. p Learsi, The Jews in America, p. 35. 2 merchants in mercanti11stically minded colonial America. The Franks family and Aaron Lopez of Rhode Island were wealthy merchants who became official purveyors and agents for the British Crown. Before the advent of a quartermas­ ter corps, commercial purveyors "were vital to the success of any military undertaking. Army supply was a form of enterprise in which many Jews, particularly in Europe, 3 achieved wealth and influence. ." The Sephardim were chiefly orthodox in their Juda­ ism. In colonial America, the synagogue occupied a most important position in the Jewish community. Unlike Europe, the Jewish community in America was not a chartered corporation. It possessed no specific rights; it was not legally recognized by the State; and it had no power in relation to its component membership. Whereas a Jewish community in a European town could control the right of settlement and the right to establish a business, could collect taxes, and even had its own laws where rabbinic laws were authoritative, no such "kahal" or "gemeinde" 3jacob R. Marcus, Early American Jewry: The Jews of New England and Canada, 1549-1794, v. 1, (Philadelphia, 1951), p. 65. The Frankses were also engaged in the "tea trade," shipped lumber to the West Indies, dealt in bills of exchange, and outfitted ships for privateering. 3 (community) existed in America, The Jew belonged to the Jewish community "because he wanted to belong. Though there were few formal edifices that housed the Holy Ark (usually a rented room sufficed), the Jewish community created several institutions that served its constituency. The cemetery, or House of Life, was usually the first institution created by the Jewish community in a town; sometimes it would be almost a century before the synagogue would be erected. Philanthropy was an adjunct of the syna­ gogue. Alms were paid out of the congregational treasury and the amounts expended sometimes reached almost 25 per 5 cent of the Jewish community's budget. The president of the synagogue would dispense funds to "messengers" from Palestine, help poor itinerants through town, and make adequate provision for the local poor, sick, and aged,® Another adjunct of the synagogue was the religious school. The New York and Newport, Rfiode Island Jewish communities had buildings for schools. The curriculum consisted of Hebrew and religious training in the all-day 4jacob R. Marcus, Early American Jewry, volume 2 pp. 432-434. ®Ibid. , pp. 482-484. ®Ibid. schools; after 1755, Spanish and the traditional "three R's" were offered. By 1762, English was the language of instruction. Yet, despite the critical need for religious training and Jewish education, the Jewish community in colonial America did not do much about it. One historian of the American Jewish community surmises that the "syna­ gogue did not see it as one of its functions to educate the children; rather, the task was the responsibility of the parent."^ After 1725 most Jews coming to the colonies were from Central or Eastern Europe; these were the Ashkenazim. Though the entire Jewish population in the thirteen colo­ nies did not exceed a few hundred, the Ashkenazim and Sephardim quarreled amongst themselves. The Ashkenazim were forced to pray with the Sephardim. Family disputes, business jealousies, and private feuds were behind much of O the synagogue dissension. Religious "differences" played a part in the clashes of colonial days; one year the Ash­ kenazim in Philadelphia held separate High Holy Day ' iPid. , pp. 462-464; Learsi, The Jews in America, pp. 37-38. ®Jacob R. Marcus, Early American Jewry, volume 2, pp. 71-73. g services. The Sephardim retorted in a letter to a co­ religionist in England: "The new Jews are a plague. Pray prevent what is in your power to hinder any more of that sort to come. One minister who visited Savannah, Georgia wrote: Some Jews in Savannah complained to me the other day that the Spanish and Portuguese Jews persecute the German Jews in a way no Christian would persecute another Christian. They want to build a syna­ gogue, but the Spanish and German Jews can't come to terms. The Spanish and Portuguese are not strict insofar as eating is concerned. They eat, for instance, the beef that comes from the warehouse. The German Jews, on the other hand, would rather starve than eat meat they did not slaughter them- selves . ^ ^ A new wave of German-Jewish emigration to the United States began after the