Failure to merge the Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities with the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York City, which embraces Manhattan and the Bronx, was announced after a final joint meeting of committees representing the two organizations on Thursday night. A gift of one million dollars for Jewish charities of Greater New York was offered a year ago by Ralph Jonas, provided the two Federations would merge.
No statements were forthcoming from the members of the two committees explaining the reason for the failure of the merger. The committee members representing the New York Federation, whose president is Dudley D. Sicher, were former Justice Joseph M. Proskauer; Leo Arnstein, first vice-president of Mt. Sinai Hospital; Dr. Harry G. Friedman, chairman of the distribution committee of the New York Federation, and Felix M. Warburg, chairman of the board and first president of the New York Federation. The committee members representing the Brooklyn Federation, whose president is Nathan D. Shapiro, were Justice Edward Lazansky; Nathan S. Jonas, founder and first president of the Brooklyn Federation; Justice Mitchell May, former president of the Brooklyn Federation; Benjamin H. Namm, former president of the Brooklyn Federation, and Walter N. Rothschild, first vice-president of the Brooklyn Federation.
When the merger was voted by both bodies last December it was agreed that Brooklyn has as many Jews as Manhattan and the Bronx together, but that while the Brooklyn Federation had during the past year been able to raise only about three-quarters of a million dollars, the New York Federation had during the same period raised nearly five million dollars.
It was also pointed out that the merger was necessary because the Jewish working population had during the past few years moved to Brooklyn in large numbers, while most of the wealthy Jews who could contribute to their relief as well as their employment had remained outside of Brooklyn. It was also pointed out that many of the contributors in Manhattan and the Bronx were under the impression that Brooklyn was also included in the New York Federation appeals.
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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.
