J.D.B. News Letter

Community Center Is Chief Need of Worcester Jews (By Our Worcester Correspondent)

Amalgamation of three of the four Hebrew schools in this city was effected recently. After six weeks of negotiation, inaugurated at the suggestion of the officers of the United Jewish Charities, the Hebrew National School Ivriah, the Hebrew Talmud Torah School, and the Hebrew Free School maintained by the Charities, are now operating as one unit in the quarters of the Charities. As soon as larger quarters can be obtained the fourth school in the city, the Hebrew School Tarbuth, will be included.

The new school is known as the Worcester Ivriah School. It has 300 pupils. All teachers of the separate schools have been retained in the new one. Provisions are made for the payment of the tuition of those pupils who are unable to meet the expenses of the school. Joseph Diamond is the principal. The system of instruction used is that known as the Ivrah b’Ivrah.

The school building has recently been renovated and is now comparable to the finest of the public schools in the city. A special feature of the new institution is to be the establishment of Junior Congregational services on Saturday mornings. The board of education of the school will have all management and control of the school affairs according to the new constitution. It includes Dr. Elias Pofcher, superintendent of the National School Ivriah, and a member of the board of directors of the Worcester Free Public Library, and Archibald T. Hillman, president of the United Jewish Charities.

The need of a Jewish community center is felt here. The Maccabee Y. M. H. A., an organization which went out of active existence several years ago, partially met this need. Recently old officers of the society met to decide what should be done with the property and house owned by the society. It was voted to sell them and to turn the proceeds into a trust fund for the erection of a Jewish community house. If such a house is not built within ten years the fund is to be turned over to some charity.

Efforts are now being made in Worcester to raise money for the Hillel Foundation. This movement sponsored here by the Worcester Lodge B’nai Brith, is under the direction of Dr. Haskell Talamo.

For the past two years the United Palestine Appeal has been attempting to inaugurate a drive in Worcester, and has each time been put off because of poor business conditions. Dr. Morris Hexter, executive director of the Federated Jewish Charities, announced that a group of young Jewish business and professional men of the city had met with him at luncheon and had promised to make every effort to put the drive through this spring.

Through the efforts of the Worcester Jewish Community Committee an English speaking rabbi for the Orthodox synagogues of the East Side has been obtained. He is Rabbi Joseph Shapiro of Brooklyn. The Rabbi lectures in English to the younger people and in Yiddish for the older. Arrangements have been made so that he speaks one Sabbath at one synagogue and one at another. Adam Corbin was chairman of the committee.

One of the most active Jewish groups in this city is that made up of the seven labor circles, numbering nearly 1,000 members. Less than half of them are now actually laborers, mose of them being small shop owners, tailors, master carpenters, and the like, although when they first came to Worcester, they were of the laboring group.

On March 4, the seven organizations are combining to open a $5,000 drive for the benefit of the workers in Palestine. Last year they raised $3,000. Dr. Chaim Arlosoroff, Palestinian labor leader, is scheduled to appear at the banquet at the Hotel Bancroft on that night, as the principal speaker.

Samuel Gurwitz heads the campaign committee.

One of the projects the combined group is contemplating, is a worker’s school.