Advisability of Accepting Aid of Non-jewish Committee in Boston’s $250,000 Jewish Philanthropies Dri

A dispute has arisen among Boston Jews as to the advisability of accepting the aid of a non-Jewish committee that has been formed to help the Associated Jewish Philanthropies of Boston raise the $250,000 needed to cover its deficit. A letter which appeared in the “Jewish Advocate” of April 25th, signed by Moses Mishel, expressed disapproval of this action. In answer to this Sidney Dreyfus, chairman of the $250,000 Emergency Campaign, in the “Advocate” of May 2, defends the solicitation of funds from non-Jews on the ground that the Jews of Boston have not done their duty towards the Jewish charities of that city.

The attitude of Mr. Dreyfus is shared by the “Advocate” in an editorial in the same issue. The “Advocate” also reprints editorials from the “Boston Herald” and “Boston Post,” which emphasize the fact that Boston Jews have always supported non-Jewish philanthropies and that it is the turn now of the Gentiles to give the Jews of Boston a helping hand.

“We Jews of America always prided ourselves upon the fact that we take care of our own needy ones, and Boston, to my knowledge, is the first big city in the country that broke the old tradition,” says Mr. Mishel in his letter. “It is indeed a disgrace to our community that our philanthropies are overlooked while we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on golf clubs and in other places where we feed our bodies and neglect our souls.

“It is a sad commentary upon the leadership of the Boston Jewish community, that instead of making an effort to reduce some of the cost of our institutions to save overlapping and to do away with unnecessary bureaus, etc., that they saw fit to appeal to our Gentile friends and were sordid enough to quote even percentages of non-Jews that were being treated in the clinics and the beds of the Beth Israel Hospital—as much as to say, we take care of so many of your people, now we want you to give us many dollars—regardless of our previous statements made to the community that with the building of the Beth Israel Hospital, we are paying an indebtedness to the non-Jewish community of Boston.”

In answer to this Mr. Dreyfus writes:

“Instead of criticizing what we are doing, let Mr. Mishel review and realize the facts which led up to the organization of such a non-Jewish committee. He knows that the campaign for this year’s expenses has been going on for months, and yet we have not been able to meet the quota—the irreducible minimum necessary for the maintenance of our present charities. Some of our institutions are among the finest in the country, and yet we must continuously beg for their proper maintenance!

“Charity knows no race, creed or color. My personal charity list contains no less than 79 organizations, embracing every kind of charity appeal for all people, regardless of their religion. Since 1917, no appeal has been made to the non-Jews of the city for any kind of contribution to Jewish charity. On the other hand, many Christian institutions are constantly appealing to us for help, and many of us are glad to respond.”

The “Advocate” editorial says among other things:

“In the first place, it must be made clear, in unmistakable language, that if Boston Jewry had shown the proper spirit of community service and had adequately supported its work in behalf of the poor and sick and the educational and recreational institutions needed for the spiritual growth of our people, it would not be at all necessary to ask any non-Jew for a contribution. But the sad fact is that until now, the Jews of Boston have neither given their time nor their money in any degree adequate to support the fine structure of social service which has been built up over a period of thirty-five years.

“In the second place, none of the officials associated with the Jewish philanthropies, nor any active leader in the Jewish community, asked that such a non-Jewish committee be formed. This was purely a voluntary offer on the part of a number of prominent Gentiles who, in sheer admiration for the splendid work done by our philanthropies, and by the Beth Israel Hospital in particular, volunteered to form a committee to solicit funds from non-Jews….It certainly would have been ungracious to rebuff these public-spirited men.”