Cornell University Library Digital Collections

Jewish Problems Lecture #4: The Jewish Fraternal Movement in America

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Title:
Jewish Problems Lecture #4: The Jewish Fraternal Movement in America
Title (Yiddish):
יידישע פּראָבלעמען פערטע לעקציע די יידישע פראטערנאלע באוועגונג אין אמעריקע
Romanized Title (Yiddish):
Yidishe problemen ferte lektsie di Yidishe fraternale bavegung in Amerike
Collection:
International Workers’ Order (IWO) and Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO)
Set:
Popular Front Years
Creator:
Unknown
Creator (Yiddish):
ידישן פאלקס־ארדן, אינטערנאציאנאלער ארבעטער ארדן
Date:
ca. 1940
Site:
New York, New York, United States
Address (Creator):
80 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York
Identifier:
5276b36f04_04
Organization:
Jewish-American Section, I.W.O.
Transcription:
Lect #4 Jewish Fraternal Organizations in America
Language:
Yiddish
Work Type:
manuscripts (document genre)
lecture notes
organization files
lectures
educating
historical figures
Subject:
Pedagogy- Ordn Schools (Shule), Worker's University, other Education
Fraternalism
Jewish Left
Membership- Benefits, Insurance, Health, Political Issues
Communism
Organizational History of IWO/JPFO
Jewish Lodges
Youth
The Jewish Question
Nazism and Fascism
Antisemitism
Political
Jewish Left
Intelligentsia
Soviet Union
Description:
3 pages in Yiddish. Number four in a series of five lectures on Jewish Problems. Headings: 1. Introduction; 2. The Modern Jewish Fraternal Movement; 3. The Birth of the Arbeter Ring; 4. National Workers Union; 5. Birth of the International Workers Order. This overview includes lodge based organizations such as Bnai B'rith and Brith Avraham. It details the 1892 advent of the Arbeter Ring (Workmen's Circle) and that of "nationalist" organizations such as Poale Zion. Cites growth of IWO's Jewish section from initial 4-5,000 members to 36,000 members. Refers to the organization as yidishe sektsiye (of IWO)
Note:
These lectures were given circa 1940, that is after the September 1937 founding of YKUF (IKUF) but prior to the June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi troops.
Note:
The Jewish People’s Fraternal Order was the largest ‘national’ section of the International Workers Order (IWO) which focused on cultural awareness and celebration, mutual support especially in health insurance coverage, and anti-fascist activities. The IWO also gave particular emphasis to supporting the rights and interests of African Americans. Documents include language and representations which comprise the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that Cornell University or its staff endorse or approve of negative representations or stereotypes presented.
Cite As:
International Workers Order (IWO) Records #5276. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University
Archival Collection:
International Workers Order (IWO) Records, 1915-2002 (KCL05276)
Box:
36
Folder:
4
Rights:
The copyright status and copyright owners of most of the images in the International Workers Order (IWO) Records Collection (Kheel Center #5276) are unknown. This material was digitized from physical holdings by Cornell University Library in 2016, with funding from an Arts and Sciences Grant to Jonathan Boyarin. Documents include language and representations which comprise the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that Cornell University or its staff endorse or approve of negative representations or stereotypes presented. Cornell is providing access to the materials as a digital aggregate under an assertion of fair use for non-commercial educational use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Cornell would like to learn more about items in the collection and to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information as to rights holders. Please contact the Kheel Center at kheel_center@cornell.edu

About the collection

This bilingual project conserves, digitizes, and curates a portion of Cornell's International Workers Order (IWO) archives and most especially those of its Jewish division, known as the Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO). The IWO was founded in 1930 as an immigrant fraternal order that provided high-quality, low-cost health and burial insurance and other benefits for members. The origins of the IWO / JPFO arise from a decade of splits (1920-1930) concerning the U.S.S.R., the Bolshevik Revolution and Communism that consumed the Jewish Federation of Socialists and the Arbeter Ring (Workmens' Circle) groups associated with Eugene V. Debs' Socialist Party. While the vast majority of the IWO's members--200,000 at its peak right after World War II--did not belong to the Communist Party of the United States of America, the IWO's politics and leadership were largely aligned with those of the Party. The IWO was legally disbanded in 1953 due to the Cold War "Red Scare." This closure followed on a famous and unprecedented court case: its insurance funds and records were seized by New York State's Insurance Department. The presence of a goodly portion of the IWO's archives in the Kheel Center's 5276 Catherwood Library collection at Cornell's Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) School is a direct result of that seizure.