Great enthusiasm was created at the Special Council of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations which met here yesterday, by the announcement of gifts of $50,000 each from Ben Selling of Portland, Ore., and Joseph Schonthal of Columbus, Ohio, for the library of the Hebrew Union College.
Other gifts are to be added to this sum it was said, for further purchases and for research. One of the objects of peculiar interest in connection with the library is a collection of manuscripts in the Chinese language showing that a community of Chinese Jews lived in China. The librarian, Dr. Adolph S. Oko, has expressed a willingness to go to China for further investigation. The manuscripts now in possession were found in London. Dr. Oko said the
theory had been advanced that these Chinese Jews were among the lost tribes, or were Jews who escaped at the destruction of Jerusalem.
Plans for the raising of funds for carrying on the activities of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations were discussed, and David Brown of Detroit was made Chairman of a committee of fifteen appointed to raise the money according to their best judgment. More than 300 delegates from various sections of the country were present as yesterday’s session.
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.
