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Synagogue Council of America Records

 Collection
Identifier: I-68

Scope and Content Note

The collection documents the work and activities of the Synagogue Council of America (SCA), an organization devoted to uniting the various denominations of Judaism in order to develop joint policy, statements, and events.

Dates

  • Creation: undated, 1926-1982, 1990-1992

Language of Materials

The collection is in English, Yiddish, and French.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers, except items that may be restricted due to their fragility, or privacy.

Use Restrictions

No permission is required to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection, as long as the usage is scholarly, educational, and non-commercial. For inquiries about other usage, please contact the Director of Collections and Engagement at mmeyers@ajhs.org.

For reference questions, please email: inquiries@cjh.org

Biographical Note

Synagogue Council of America

(1926-1994)

The Synagogue Council of America was proposed at a meeting of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), held in St. Louis at the Twenty-Ninth Council of the UAHC, January 19-22, 1925.

Proposed by Dr. David Philipson and Dr. Abram Simon, they called for an organization to promote religious fellowship and cooperation "among the national Jewish congregational organizations" which was "eminently desirable for the advancement of Judaism and of Jewish education in the United States, and for co-operation with other national organizations interested essentially in religion and in religious education."

During deliberation, representatives from the Executive Committee of the UAHC invited members of the United Synagogue of America, the Union of Jewish Orthodox Congregations, the Central Council of American Rabbis, the Rabbinical Assembly of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada to meet with the UAHC to create the Council.

The resolution was approved on June 9, 1925. On November 9, 1926, the Council held its first delegates meeting at New York's Harmonie House. The aims and scope of the organization as determined at this meeting on the day of the meeting with the adoption of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Synagogue Council of America; the preamble of the Constitution identified the Synagogue as the heart of Jewish life, and thus it was necessary that the representatives of the Synagogue should work together to preserve and "foster" Judaism, and, thus, that the Council would be composed of rabbinical and national congregational representatives.

The membership consisted of representatives of the Central Conference of America Rabbis, the Rabbinical Assembly of the United Synagogue of America, the Rabbinical Council of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, and the United Synagogue of America. Other organizations were admitted from time to time, and each organization was entitled to have three members and three alternates, with the alternates allowed to attend all meetings.

Regular officer's (Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen, a Secretary and Treasurer, and an Executive Director) meetings were scheduled for November, February, and May of each year. According to the booklet, "The Synagogue Council of America: Its Origin and Activities," the Synagogue Council of America represented at least one million American Jews.

The SCA attempted to act as a facilitator of activities and dialogue between the branches of American Judaism, as well as to the world outside of Jewish concerns. In this regard, four activities of the SCA serve as a basic primer of action: 1. the repatriation of Jewish sacred objects after WWII; 2. the efforts of the SCA to defend the separation of church and state; 3. the awarding of the Peace and Judaism Award to dignitaries such as President Eisenhower, politician Edward Kennedy and civil rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr.; and 4. efforts to reconcile the African-American and Jewish communities, encompassing relations between black and white American Jewish populations, as well as Ethiopian Jewry.

During World War II, the SCA worked on behalf of Jewish naval personnel, 1942-1944, to establish the observance of High Holy Days for servicemen. The SCA's Emergency Intercession Committee worked on behalf of European Jews by writing letters, resolutions, and statements lobbying the U.S. government to help European Jews; these efforts were not successful.

After the war, the SCA worked on particular behalf of French Jewry through the Religious Rehabilitation Committee, which strove to adopt synagogues and persons in an effort to rebuild Jewish life in France. In 1845, the Religious Rehabilitation Committee worked to document destroyed or damaged French synagogues, with some photographs of a damaged synagogue in Bitche, France, in the Moselle Department.

In support of these activities, the SCA sent out questionnaires which examined the synagogue buildings, the artifacts within the building in need of new homes, and the number of worshippers still attending the synagogue. Religious objects from these synagogues were redistributed to synagogues throughout the United States, Canada, South Africa and a few South American countries. Articles that were found to be beyond repair were buried in a religious ceremony at Flushing Hills, NY.

In addition, the activities of the Aid to Religious Rehabilitation of French Jewry outlined the needs of the French community in regards to the restoration of Jewish life by working with the Central Consistory of French Jewry for Reestablishing Religious Life.

Between 1949 and 1950, the SCA worked in conjunction with the German Expert Consultants Program of the Office of Military Government for Germany (OMGUS). OMGUS, the military government of Germany led by the United States after WWII, established the Education Cultural Relations Division in conjunction with the American Express Company. The SCA worked with this division of the OMGUS to rehabilitate surviving German Jews. German expert representatives were recruited to plan for reorientation and cultural exchange, with the Religious Affairs Branch of OMGUS recruiting 80 religious experts of various Christian and Jewish affliations to come to the United States to travel and learn about American religious culture. The SCA participated by sponsoring several Jewish religious leaders from Germany.

In the early 1950s, SCA President Norman Salit visited Europe and led SCA-sponsored tour groups to the Continent, and became the first SCA president to visit Israel. In 1958, SCA president Gustave Stern traveled to Japan, where he and his wife met with Prince Mikasa of Japan, who was interested in the Jewish religion and culture.

From 1947-1974, the SCA worked with the National Community Relations Advisory Council (NCRAC) on the Joint Advisory Committee, which targeted uch area as: religion and public education, religious observances in public schools, the separation of church and state, shechita, and blue laws and the Sabbath.

The Joint Committee tackled issues such as: proposed changes to the Bill of Rights and Constitution regarding the codification of the Christian God as supreme in the United States; and issues regarding a United Postal Service release of a 1966 Christmas stamp portraying the Madonna and Child, stating that the image violated the separation of chuch and state, as did the Gideon Society's issuing of Bibles to children in the Detroit public school system.

The 1960s and 1970s brought about the SCA's involvement with the Civil Rights Movement. The Social Action Committee worked on early issues of desegregation, Civil Rights, and 1963 bombings in Birmingham, Alabama. The SCA also participated in the 1963 March on Washington, yet, the SCA's involvement with the Civil Rights Movement reached beyond those issues as the orgainzation worked to create new Jewish perspectives on the relationship of Jews and Blacks, particularly those African-Americans and Africans who claimed Jewish lineage or wanted to convert to Judaism. The Standing Committees, Commissions, and Task Forces (1966-1974) of the SCA tackled social issues such as: social policy, urban affairs and development, black-Jewish relations, and aging and poverty from a Jewish perspective.

For 68 years, the SCA attempted to act as an interpretive voice of the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox American Jewish communities, both within the three communities as well as to the larger population. Ultimately, the organization was overwhelmed by these communities, and disbanded in 1994.

According to the American Jewish Committee:

Relations between the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox movements have been deteriorating....The breakdown of relations has been marked by a new sharpness of rhetoric and an unwillingness to seek common ground...Symbolic of the collapse of dialogue was the demise of the Synagogue Council of America in 1994, the sole body that had, at least nominally, collectively represented all the Jewish religious movements.

A partial list of Presidents with materials in this collection is as follows by approximate date of serving:

  1. Rabbi David de Sola Pool, 1938 - 1940
  2. Rabbi Israel Goldstein, 1941 - 1944
  3. Rabbi Herbert Goldstein, 1944 - 1946
  4. Rabbi Isaac Landman, 1946 (Died September 3, 1946 of a heart attack.)
  5. Rabbi Robert Gordis, 1948 - 1949
  6. Rabbi Bernard J. Bamberger, 1949 - 1952
  7. Rabbi Simon G. Kramer, ? (was both VP and President)
  8. Rabbi Abraham J. Feldman, 1949 - 1952
  9. Rabbi Norman Salit, 1953 -
  10. Rabbi Theodore L. Adams, 1959 -
  11. Rabbi Max D. Davidson, 1959 - 1961
  12. Rabbi Julius Mark, 1961 - 1963
  13. Rabbi Uri Miller, 1963 - 1965
  14. Rabbi Seymour J. Cohen, 1965 -1966?
  15. Rabbi Jacob Phillip Rudin, 1968 - 1967

A partial list of Vice Presidents with materials in this collection is as follows by approximate date of serving:

  1. Rabbi Simon G. Kramer, 1949 - ?
  2. Rabbi Norman Salit, 1951?

Extent

28.65 Linear Feet (45 .5 manuscript boxes; 1 .25 manuscript box; 2 16x20 oversized boxes; 1 20x24 manuscript box)

Abstract

This Collection documents the lifespan (1926-1982, 1990-1992, 1994) and activities of the joint Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jewish communities' efforts in coordinating Jewish life and activities in America. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, and ephemera including photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., Edward Kennedy, and Presidents Eisenhower, Truman, and Johnson, along with Eleanor Roosevelt. Of particular interest is correspondence and photographs documenting the removal, reconsecration, or burial of ritual Synagogue items for repatriation from Europe to the U.S. and South America after WWII; also contains information on damaged synagogues in France.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two Subgroups: Organizational Materials, and Documentary Materials; each is further divided into Series and Subseries.

  1. Subgroup I: Organizational Materials, undated 1926-1976
  2. Series 1: Officers, undated, 1926-1976
  3. Subseries A: Presidents and Vice Presidents, undated, 1926-1968
  4. Subseries B: Executive Directors, undated, 1944-1961
  5. Subseries C: Officer's Summit, undated, 1956, 1964-1965
  6. Series 2: Administrative, undated, 1926-1968
  7. Subseries A: By-Laws, Constitutions, and Incorporation, undated, 1926- 1960
  8. Subseries B: Financials, undated, 1940-1968
  9. Subseries C: Fundraising/Annual Synagogue Statesmen Dinner, 1958-1968
  10. Subseries D: Memoranda, undated, 1946-1965
  11. Subseries E: Minutes, 1935-1952, 1958
  12. Series 3: Plenary Meetings and General Assemblies, undated, 1945-1967
  13. Subseries A: Delegates, undated, 1945-1964
  14. Subseries B: Plenary Meetings, undated, 1945-1965
  15. Subseries C: General Assemblies, 1953-1960
  16. Subseries D: Other, 1964, 1967
  17. Series 4: Committees, undated, 1930-1974
  18. Subseries A: Administrative Committee, 1938-1946
  19. Subseries B: Executive Committee, 1946-1969
  20. Subseries C: Budget Committee, 1955-1965
  21. Subseries D: Finance Committee, 1946-1967
  22. Subseries E: Constitution Committee (Committee on Scope), undated, 1946-1965
  23. Subseries F: Committee Lists, undated, 1939-1966
  24. Subseries G: Standing Committees, undated, 1930-1974
  25. Subseries H: Committees, Commissions, and Task Forces, 1966-1974
  26. Series 5: Activities, undated, 1930-1976
  27. Subgroup II: Documentary Materials, undated, 1926-1982, 1990-1992
  28. Series 1: Anniversaries, 1948-1966
  29. Series 2: Historical and Promotional Materials, undated, 1931-1964
  30. Series 3: Press Releases, Publications and Scrapbooks, undated, 1926-1980, 1990-1992
  31. Subseries A: Press Releases, undated, 1941-1975
  32. Subseries B: Publications, undated, 1926-1980, 1990-1992
  33. Subseries C: Scrapbooks, 1943-1945
  34. Series 4: Photographs, undated, 1946-1972
  35. Series 5: Ephemera, undated, 1931-1968
  36. Series 6: Oversized Materials, undated, 1935-1982

Provenance

The materials were created by the Synagogue Council of America and donated to the American Jewish Historical Society.

Publications, Various (SCA), A-Z, 1926-1929

"Exhibit of the Synagogue of America," Sesquicentennial Exposition, Philadelphia, 1926 (2 copies)
b42f8
Box 42, Folder 8

Publications, Various (SCA), A-Z, 1930-1939

"Talmudic Forgeries: A Case Study in Anti-Jewish Propaganda" by Ben Zion Bokser, 1939 (3 copies)
b42f9
Box 42, Folder 9

Publications, Various (SCA), A-Z, 1940-1949

"American and Jewish Destiny: A Semimillennial Experience" by Salo W. Baron, 1942
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10
"Contribution of the Synagogue to the Nation at War" by Rabbi Israel Goldstein, 1942 (3 copies)
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10
"Objectives of Good Will" by Dr. Bernard Heller, 1943 (2 copies)
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10
"Pattern for Economic Justice: A Catholic, Jewish and Protestant Declaration," 1946
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10
"The Synagogue in Israel and the Synagogue in America" 1949
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10
"The Synagogue in the American Jewish Scene" by Dr. Israel Goldstein, 1944 (2 copies)
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10
"With Malice Toward None" by Dr. Bernard Heller, 1943
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10
"To Believe -- and to Wait" by Arthur Hertzberg, reprinted from The Christian Century, September 16, 1959
b42f10
Box 42, Folder 10

Publications, Various (SCA), A-Z, 1950-1959

"Tercentenary Service Commemorating the 300th Anniversary of Jewish Settlement in North America," prepared by Rabbi Albert S. Goldstein
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
"Imitatio Dei": A Sermon by Rabbi Ely E. Pilchik
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
Proposed Projects of the Synagogue Council of America
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
"Safeguarding Religious Liberty" Joint Statement by SCA and NCRAC, 1957
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
"Religion and the Public School," 1956
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
The Second SCA Tour to Israel and Europe, June 27, 1954
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
Superior Court of New Jersey Brief of Amici Curiae, Lecoque and Tudor v. Board of Education of the Borough of Rutherford and State of NJ
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
"The Synagogue and the Jewish Home of Tomorrow" for National Family Week, 1950
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
"Address of the President," 1956-1957
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
"Two Sermons" Delivered by Rabbi D. Jessurun Cardozo, 1952
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11
"You Your Home Your Synagogue Your Country" for National Family Week, 1951
b42f11
Box 42, Folder 11

Publications, Various (SCA), A-P, 1960-1969

Address by Doctor Abraham Joshua Heschel delivered at the 1960 White House Conference on Children and Youth, March 27, 1960
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Judaism and World Peace: Focus Viet Nam," 1966
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Anti-Semitism in the USSR: Sources, Types, Consequences" by Zvi Gitelman
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"The Crisis in the Middle East," October 1967
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Religion and the Public School," June 1961
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Cultural Genocide in Russia" by Harold E. Fey, reprinted from The Christian Century
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Demands of the Black Economic Development Conference" ("The Black Manifesto," James Forman) SCA Statement, June 1969
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Judaism and the Interfaith Movement" by Walter S. Wurzburger and Eugene B. Borowitz
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Factual Supporting Material on Soviet Jewry Issued by Synagogue Council of America," 8/10/64
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Interfaith Statement on Sex Education" by the National Council of Churches, SCA, and United States Catholic Conference, June 8, 1968
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"The Negro Revolution and the Jewish Community," 1969
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
Labor Day Message 1968
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"Negro-Jewish Dialogue" by Dr. Seymour J. Cohen, 1963
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
Partial Listing of Jewish Institutions in Eastern Europe, 1968
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12
"The Place of Religion in American Life" by Msgr. Raymond J. Gallagher, Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum and Rev. Dr. William J. Villaume; reprinted from The Nation's Children, vol. 1: The Family and Social Change, 1960
b42f12
Box 42, Folder 12

Publications, Various (SCA), Q-Z, 1960-1969

"The Religious Dimensions of Israel: The Challenge of the Six-Day War" by Rabbi Henry Siegman, circa 1968
b42f13
Box 42, Folder 13
"Save the Bill of Rights: The Threat Posed by Proposals to Reverse the Supreme Court by Amending the Constitution," 1964
b42f13
Box 42, Folder 13
"Safeguarding Religious Liberty," 1962
b42f13
Box 42, Folder 13
Supreme Court of the United States Amici Curiae Brief, No. 1962; Adell H. Sherbert against Charlie V. Verner, et al, as Members of the South Carolina Employment Security Commission and Spartan Mills
b42f13
Box 42, Folder 13
"To Grow in Wisdom" by Abraham J. Heschel, 1961
b42f13
Box 42, Folder 13
Supreme Court of the United States, Oct. 1968, Amici Curiae Brief, No. 622, William L. Maxwell v. O.E. Bishop, Superintendent of Arkansas State Penitentiary (Capital Punishment)
b42f13
Box 42, Folder 13
"Statement of the Synagogue Council of America: On Race Relations," circa 1963
b42f13
Box 42, Folder 13

Publications, Various (SCA), A-Z, 1970-1979

"Assimilation, Acculturation, and National Consciousness Among Soviet Jews" by Zvi Gitelman, 1973
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"Soviet Immigrants in Israel" by Zvi Gitelman, 1972
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"Jewish Education in a Secular Society: A Symposium on Public Aid to Non-Public Education," 1971 In Memoriam: Judd L. Teller, 1973
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"American Policy in the Middle East" by Professor Marver H. Bernstein, October 7, 1970
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"Dialogue with Christians: A Jewish Dilemma" by Henry Siegman, 1971
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"The Jewish Day School: A Policy Statement of the Synagogue Council of America," November 4, 1971
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"The Peace of Jerusalem" by Henry Siegman, reprinted from The Christian Century, October 13, 1971
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"Safeguarding Religious Liberty," Revised January 1971
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14
"That Thy Days May Be Long in the Good Land: A Guide to Aging Programs for Synagogues," 1975
b42f14
Box 42, Folder 14

Publications, Various (SCA), A-Z, 1990-1992

"Patterns of Current Voter Registration Among American Jews Today: Implications for the 1992 Election," by Steven M. Cohen, June 1992
b42f15
Box 42, Folder 15

Publications, Various (SCA), A-Z, undated

"Service of Memorial for the Six Million Martyrs of Nazi Tyranny," prepared by Rabbi Ahron Opher, circa 1950
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"The Supremacy of the Torah: The Relation of Modern Knowledge to the Word of God," Sermon by Rabbi Benjamin Kreitman, undated
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"Service of Thanksgiving: The Fifth of Iyar, Celebrating the Establishment of the State of Israel," prepared by Rabbi Miton Steinberg
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"Prayer for Ten Days of Remembrance"
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"Synagogue Attendance and the Sabbath"
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"Constituent Organizations"
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"Three Prayers for the UN"
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"What Do You Expect of the Synagogue?" A sermon prepared by Rabbi Abraham J. Feldman
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"Preface to a Christian-Jewish Dialogue" by Robert Gordis
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16
"Report of Rabbi Simon G. Kramer"
b42f16
Box 42, Folder 16

Index of Collection Publications by the Synagogue Council of America

This index describes publications which appear in Subgroup II: Documentary Materials, Series III, Press Releases and Publications, n.d., 1926-1980, Subseries 2: Publications, n.d., 1926-1980, Box 42, Folders 8-16.
Title
Guide to the Records of the Synagogue Council of America (1926-1994), undated, 1926-1982, 1990-1992 I-68
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Tanya Elder
Date
2004.
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English.
Edition statement
This version was derived from SCA02.xml

Revision Statements

  • March 2005.: EAD updated by Tanya Elder.
  • February 2021: EHyman: post-ASpace migration cleanup.

Repository Details

Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States