J.D.B. News Letter

(By our El Paso correspondent)

With a population of less than five hundred Jewish families, El Paso has two large synagogues. Temple Mt. Sinai, Reform congregation, has a membership of two hundred and twenty-five and for more than twenty-seven years has been guided by Rabbi Martin Zielonka, who at the last annual meeting was appointed as Rabbi for life. Next October marks the thirteenth anniversary of the granting of the charter to Temple Mt. Sinai and plans are being made for a celebration on this occasion.

The present temple building is ten years old and was the first Jewish house of worship with a community center west of the Mississippi River. It has a seating capacity of seven hundred. There is a hall used for Sunday school assemblies and for group meetings. The third floor has seven class rooms for the one hundred and fifty children who are in charge of eleven teachers. The lower floor has a regulation size gymnasium with stage, a projecting room for moving pictures and library.

The auxiliary organizations to the Temple are the Sisterhood with a membership of about 200 of which Mrs. Harry Rosenberg is president. The Temple Brotherhood, with Harold Potash as president, carries out an educational program. The Temple League is composed of the young men and women of the junior and senior grades in high school and the college students.

The Council of Jewish Women here has a membership of 250.

The Independent Order B’nai Brith with a membership of 190 have held their meetings in Temple Mt. Sinai since its charter was granted.

Charity work here is of a different nature than in most cities. Being a border city with Juarez, Mexico, only about ten minutes ride from the heart of the city, many cases among Jewish immigrants come up. With a committee of Jewish women visiting Juarez daily, much suffering is relieved by them. Since most of the immigrants cannot enter the United States the El Paso Relief Society helps to establish the men in business, make the families comfortable in homes for themselves and look after the hospital and health needs of the women and children. The Council of Jewish Women is also active in this work.

The officers of the Temple are: President, A. Schwartz; Vice President, Harold Potash; Secretary, A. S. Jacobs; Asst. Secy., Abe A. Barnett; Treasurer, Haymon Krupp. The Board of Directors are Reuben Weinstein, A. S. Goldstein, Ben Swatt, Elias Sternglanz and Charles Given.

Congregation B’nai Zion, Orthodox congregation, with a membership of 185, just erected a new synagogue and Jewish Center at a cost of $160,000. The center contains facilities for education and recreation, having class rooms, club rooms, gymnasium. It also has a smaller hall with stage for entertainments. Although the building is being used it has not yet been dedicated. Rabbi Joseph M. Roth is rabbi of the congregation which conducts the only Talmud Torah in El Paso. The Talmud Torah has an attendance of 100 children. Samuel Perlmutter is chairman of the education committee.

The Daughters of Zion, the ladies auxiliary, is headed by Mrs. Sam Goodman and has a membership of 110. The Young Folks League is meeting the social and cultural needs of the Jewish youth. Harry Joseph is president. The Ladies Relief and Talmud Torah aids in expanding the scope of the Talmud Torah. The Free Loan Society grants free loans to those in need of assistance. The El Paso Zionist Organization and the Hadassah are very active.

At present the Daughters of Zion are making arrangements for their yearly Purim Ball. The Congregation is formulating plans for the dedication of the new synagogue to take place in the Spring.

The officers and Board of Directors of the Congregation are: President, Sam Bellman; Vice President, E. Klein; Secretary, John Cohen; Treasurer, Louis Stark; Abe Silberg, I. Erlich, Frank Gordon, Simon Kahn, Sol. Goldfarb, P. Bohn, and Jacob Rosner.

Jews are active in the civic life of the community.

Adolph Solomon and S. C. Schutz have served as mayors of El Paso; S. J. Freudenthal and Adolph Schwartz have been presidents of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce. Leon A. Rosenfeld is President of the Community Chest. Rabbi Martin Zielonka is a member of the City Planning Commission and Haymon Krupp and Rabbi Zielonka are members of the Robertson Committee to plan for the city improvements for the next ten years. Mrs. Olga Kohlberg was one of the founders and the first president of the El Paso Women’s Club. J. W. Levy and Sam Blumenthal have been members of the City Council.