Leaders and laymen in the Chicago Jewish Community have in recent weeks been giving some thought to the future of the Board of Jewish Education, a constituent of the Federation receiving its financial support from that body.
The Board of Directors of the Federation has been divided in its viewpoint on the subject, one faction asking that the Federation halt its contribution for Jewish educational purposes and another asking that the educational facilities be developed as part of the defensive mechanism of the charities organization.
Divisions of opinion on this subject have been present for a number of years, but until recently have not reached such an acute stage.
In an effort to canvass the attitude of those who supply the funds for the Federation, a communication has been addressed to all subscribers by a group calling itself “Committee on Jewish Education and a Jewish Welfare Federation” which puts the question squarely before the public.
The communication declares:
“Your advice is highly valued by the undersigned special committee of the Board of The Jewish Charties of Chicago. We hope that you will give some thought to the problem that we are presenting to you, and that you will let us have the benefit of your opinion soon after you receive this letter.
“Since the merger of the Federated Orthodox Jewish Charities and the Associated Jewish Charities in 1923, the Jewish Charities of Chicago has each year made an appropriation to the support of Jewish educational activities. At the beginning, the appropriation simply carried forward a subsidy of approximately $45,000 a year to certain schools which the Federated Orthodox Jewish Charities had previously maintained. With the organization of the Board of Jewish Education in 1925, and the consequent development of a wider program of Jewish education, an annual budget of $103,000 was voted, which was increased until in 1929 it reached $130,000. Since 1929, the annual appropriation to the Board of Jewish Education has been reduced to the present sum of approximately $95,000.
“The money given to the Board of Jewish Education is spent for the following purposes:
“Subsidies to four key-schools, conducting, largely in Hebrew, a four to five day a week program, and located in districts in which there reside a considerable number of poor children.
“Supervision of thirteen daily Hebrew
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.
