The New Council

“Objections have been made because we are a women's organization. We have not intended to exclude men....We expect to include them whenever they clamor for admission. Up to the present time they have not clamored.”

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Members of the newly founded National Council of Jewish Women carried the energy and optimism of the World's Fair events back home. By the Council's first Triennial convention in 1896, NCJW was an organization of fifty sections and over 3300 members. Many sections had already founded permanent social service institutions as well as religious education schools for girls. Study Circles, where members discussed the Bible, Jewish culture and history, were flourishing with over half of NCJW's membership participating regularly.

The young Council's identity was still uncertain, but one question was already clear: would it become primarily a religious organization or a women's volunteer agency? For Solomon, philanthropy was an expression of Jewish faith, and an important area of work for NCJW. But she found no reason for a specifically Jewish organization to define itself through social work when non-sectarian charities were equally effective. On the other hand, she saw NCJW's goal of religious renewal as unique. As president, Solomon tried to steer Council towards Judaism as its defining principal.

Notes

Next—Radical Or Traditional?