The unexpected refusal of Temple de Hirsch, Seattle’s only reform congregation, to join in the proposed plan to bind together this city’s twenty-six Jewish men’s organizations, has caused postponement of a meeting scheduled for Monday at the Seattle Talmud Torah. Announcement of the temple’s refusal to cooperate in the projected Conference of Jewish Men’s Organizations, which was to have been established at the Monday meeting, was made in a letter to Otto S. Grunbaum, B’nai B’rith trustee, Temple Men’s Club secretary and a leader in the unification move.
Following a receipt of the letter, a special committee to discuss the temple’s action was appointed by the B’nai B’rith Past Presidents’ Club, sponsors of the plan. Members are Sol Esfeld, Sam Tonkon and Morris Robbins, all B’nai B’rith past presidents. At a conference with temple representatives Nathan Eckstein, Alfred Shemanski and Melville Monheimer, it was revealed that the temple’s refusal was based on the opinion of its board of trustees that the Seattle B’nai B’rith is a sufficiently all-inclusive group and is qualified to represent the local Jewish community.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
