Digest of Public Opinion on Jewish Matters

[The purpose of the Digest is informative. Preference is given to papers not generally accessible to our readers. Quotation does not indicate approval.-Editor.]

The belief that the East Side will not share the regret of the Neighborhood Theatre’s friends at the proposed removal of that institution to the uptown district, is voiced by the “Day” and the “Jewish Morning Journal” of yesterday.

Says the “Day” :

“The manner in which the Neighborhood Theatre was conducted made it an unnecessary institution and doomed it to failure. The theatre was founded by the wealthy Lewison sisters not only as an art theatre but also, as indicated by the name, as a theatre for the neighborhood in which it was located. That neighborhood is a Jewish one, Grand street is a Jewish street. Hence, the theatre should have been a Jewish theatre.

“The founders, however, soon forgot the true purpose of their theatre and the ‘neighborhood’ theatre became an institution which sought to serve the cause of art but lost all contact with the neighborhood. All manner of plays were presented there–Italian, French, Hindoo and Chinese-but plays with a Jewish content were a very rare exception. Such an exception was Ansky’s ‘Dybbuk.’

“The inevitable happened, therefore. The English theatre on the East Side lost its raison d’etre.”

The “Jewish Morning Journal” finds that the East Side especially resented the Neighborhood Theatre’s attitude, which was condescending. The paper explains the situation thus:

“The special ‘treatment’ accorded the East Side in matters of culture is now out of date and it was, in fact, never entirely justified. The intelligent East Sider never had any admiration for the settlements, the guild houses, and not even for the Educational Alliance, although each of these institutions in its day performed, and still performs, excellent work. The thought that we were being treated differently from any other parts of the population was never pleasant to us.”

The seventh annual convention of the New York state conference of the National Council of Jewish women was held in Schcnectady last week.

Mrs. Abraham H. Aarons, New York state president, outlined the work of the New York branch of the National Council, in her annual message.

A report was given on farm and rural work by Mrs. C. H. Kaletzki, national chairman for New York state.

Mrs. Daniel H. Meyers of Albany, state chairman, submitted a report on legislation.

Dr. Nathan Krass addressed the conference ou “Youth and Disenchantment.”

The United Palestine Appeal drive in Savannah, Georgia, was concluded with $7,700. This sum represents an increase of seventy-five percent over the amount subscribed last year. M. H. Bernstein was chairman of the campaign.