The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland (f. 1903) evolved out of The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland which was established in November 1903. It was the fourth such organization to be established in the United States for the purpose of centralizing fundraising and thus more effectively meeting the social service needs of the Jewish community. The earliest leaders of The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland were merchants, manufacturers, and professionals who were typically Reform Jews who descended from German and Hungarian families who had immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. In 1926, in response to the large influx of the typically working-class, often Orthodox, East European immigrants which began during the last two decades of the 19th century, the first Orthodox service institutions were funded by the Federation. Also in 1926, The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland changed its name to The Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland to reflect its interest in serving as an agent for community cohesiveness and meeting a broader range of the Jewish community's needs. In addition to assisting those with health and family problems, recreation and Jewish education were seen as worthy of support. In 1930 The Jewish Welfare Fund of Cleveland was established to serve as the fundraising arm of The Jewish Welfare Federation to supplement the funds allotted by the Cleveland Community Fund and to raise money for those causes that were not covered by the Cleveland Community Fund, e.g., Jewish education and national and international Jewish needs. The Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland became, in 1932, one of the founding members of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc. In 1935, The Jewish Welfare Federation was instrumental in establishing The Jewish Community Council of Cleveland, an organization whose goals included giving more segments of the Jewish community a greater voice and addressing a greater variety of issues of concern to the Jewish community. Among the activities of the Jewish Community Council were the establishment of (1) a Community Relations Committee to provide a unified voice for the Jewish community in the community-at-large, including a considered response to anti-Semitism, and (2) a Conciliation and Arbitration Board, to work towards harmony within the Jewish community itself, a (3) a Kashruth Board to supervise the selling of kosher food, and (4) a Cultural Department to assist member groups with programming and to provide joint cultural programs including Yiddish theater and Jewish music events. In 1951, the Council and the Federation merged their functions to form The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. In 1965, the Federation erected a new office building at East 18th Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland. In 2011, the Federation changed its name to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and moved its headquarters to Beachwood, Ohio.
The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Photographs, ca. 1860s-2002 and undated, consist of approximately 6000 images, primarily black and white prints, but also slides, contact sheets, and negatives.
This collection is of value to researchers seeking illustrative material on nonprofit organizations in general, and Jewish nonprofit organizations in Cleveland, Ohio, specifically. The JCF documented its annual meetings, award ceremonies (in particular the Eisenman award), its beneficiary agencies, and events such as missions to Israel and annual "walkathons" supporting Soviet Jewry and Israel. There are images of Cleveland participation in the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds (today called the United Jewish Communities) General Assemblies. Also illustrated are special projects such as the Heights Area Project and the Glenville Tutoring Project. Women and their role in JCF fundraising are also well represented. Images of Cleveland area Jewish agencies and their activities are plentiful, including the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland, Council Gardens, and agencies serving the elderly. Educational institutions, such as the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, the Cleveland Hebrew Schools, the various day schools, and the Siegal College of Jewish Studies are well represented. Of note is a portrait of slain Olympic athlete David Berger, a native of Shaker Heights who represented Israel in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, as well as views of the memorial sculpture created by sculptor David Davis in his memory. There are individual and group portraits of JCF lay and professional leaders, such as Henry L. Zucker; Sidney Z. Vincent; Maurice Saltzman; David N. Myers; Max, Leonard and Charles Ratner; and Sam Miller; rabbis Abba Hillel Silver, Daniel Jeremy Silver, and Arthur J. Lelyveld; speakers at JCF functions, including John Glenn, Charles Vanik, Henry Kissinger, Hubert Humphrey, and Harry Truman; and women, including Sue Weiner, Irene Zehman, Golda Meir, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Fay Fine, all at Cleveland events, at national events, and in Israel with Israeli leaders. Photographs from the Joint Distribution Committee and the United Jewish Appeal illustrate Jews all over the world, including Europe, North Africa, the Arab Middle East, and Israel. There are also slides with general images from the Holocaust.
The collection is arranged in three series.
The researcher should also consult MS 4563 The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records; MS 4835 The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records, Series II; and PG 528 Judah Rubinstein Photographs.
Processed by Jane Avner and Evy Rosenblum in 2004.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 530 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gifts of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland in 1993, 1995, 2001, and 2003-2004.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.