The Board of Guardians for the Relief of the Jewish Poor or, as it is most generally known, the Jewish Board of Guardians, was a charity established by the upper class Jewish community in the East End of London in 1859. The board sought to provide relief for Jewish immigrants and soon became the central provider of relief for the Jewish poor in London.
After an amalgamation with other charities in the 1990s, the Jewish Board of Guardians became
Jewish Care
Jewish Care is a British charity, working mainly in London and South East England, providing health and social care support services for the Jewish community.
The charity runs over 70 centres and services which include care homes, community centr ...
, an organization that still exists today.
Early history and foundation
The Jewish Board of Guardians was a charity established in the
East End of London
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
by members of the Jewish community in 1859. The situation of the Jewish poor in London was increasingly problematic by the late 19th century. Christian missionaries and conversionists targeted the Jewish poor, which became a concern for their co-religionists. Members of the Jewish community deemed existing methods of relief for the Jewish poor in London as insufficient. The Board of Guardians was established to consolidate and effectively provide relief where other charities had failed. The Board of Guardians was established because of the introduction of the 1834 Poor Law amendments by secular authorities.Black, p. 71 These laws applied a workhouse test to qualify for poor relief; the workhouse was unsuitable for the Jewish community because of their special religious constraints and requirements. The three main Ashkenazi synagogues of London thus established the Board of Guardians. These were the Great Synagogue, the Hambro' Synagogue, and the New Synagogue. These establishments voted in 1858 to establish a conjoint committee to tackle the issue of the Jewish poor. The first meeting of the Jewish Board of Guardians was held at the Great Synagogue chambers on March 16, 1859. The board was initially led by Ephraim Alex, overseer of the poor for the Great Synagogue, who secured a grant of less than £500 from the three synagogues to assess the Jewish poor in London. The seventeen members who founded the Board were delegates of the Ashkenazi synagogues. They included financiers, businessmen and professionals.
Lionel Louis Cohen
Lionel Louis Cohen (1832 – 26 June 1887) was an English financier, politician, and communal worker. He married Esther Moses, daughter of Jacob Henry Moses, in 1856. He served as a trustee and later manager of the London Stock Exchange, and bec ...
was the
honorary secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the board until he succeeded Alex and became president of the Board in 1869.Rozin Baron
Ferdinand de Rothschild
Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (17 December 1839 – 17 December 1898), also known as Ferdinand James Anselm Freiherr von Rothschild, was a British Jewish banker, art collector and politician who was a member of the prominent Rothschild family of ...
began terms as Treasurer in 1868 and 1875. The headquarters were initially an extension on the Jewish Soup Kitchen, but later moved to Middlesex Street. On its foundation the board stated that,
“''the teachings of religion, the impulses of humanity and the doctrines of social sciences alike concur in recommending and consecrating an enlarged and expansive charity, and in distinguishing it from mere alms-giving''".
The board later became concerned with the poor from the
Netherlands
)
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, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
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,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and increasingly
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
.
In their 29th annual report, the board stated that
''"Organization such as possessed by the board is necessary from an economic point of view, so as to practically eradicate the great problem of relief in a manner which will do the largest amount of good with the means at disposal; and the fact must not be ignored that a larger expenditure is not a sure indication of an increase in pauperperism and nursing but may reflect a removal of poverty by a prompt wrestling with discovered suffering through the bestowal of an adequate and measured assistance."''
Work
Initial aims
The Board of Guardians was established to help the poor
Jewish community
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
in London. The board aimed to create a system that would help this community without creating a
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
dependent on it for survival. As Eugene C. Black states,''"the board strove to avoid any form of aid that might pauperise the recipient or crease passive dependency''".Black, p. 93
Unlike other
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
charities the Board could not rely on the
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
and had to create useful and novel practices to help their own community. The Board aimed to provide relief that would help others in the long term. ''"From the outset the Board found it hard to meet the needs of the ever-increasing poor
Jewish community
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
''".Black, p. 78 The board relied on donations from eminent Jewish families to fund their charitable work. However, the needs of the community soon expanded far past the resources available.Magnus, p. 40 As Laurie Magnus states in the volume to commemorate the first fifty years of the board, ''"from the very onset of its work the board found it difficult to maintain this equilibrium. They community required its services. And this fact, proved somewhat embarrassing when the fresh duties were thrust upon the board without the corresponding resources''".
Eligibility for relief
The board was particular about to whom charitable relief was provided. There was no relief without inquiry. Visiting officers made the appropriate checks to ensure that the Board's limited resources were not wasted. ''This meant they visited every applicant''. Black similarly states that ''"Home visits went hand in hand with relief and the Board reinvestigated any case lasting over six months''".
The relief provided by the board was also not available to new immigrants until after a six-month initial period.Magnus, p. 92 This allowed the Board to advertise in continental papers against migration to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in hope of receiving aid. In using this method, the Board of Guardians hoped to stem the tide of foreign migration.Magnus, p. 91 By 1896 the investigation of cases was assigned to an official committee, who brought legal action against those they deemed to be unworthy or misusing the Board's charity.
Applicants for relief
The application of relief from the Jewish Board of Guardians was from those, especially within the
Jewish community
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
who were in great need. The scope of people who applied for relief from the board was expansive but included groups such as: widows, children, orphans,
asylum seekers
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...
and people seeking medical or financial aid.
The 1905 Annual Report of the board shows that the highest group of people receiving temporary relief was those with illnesses and the lowest being those with husbands in prison. Deserted wives received little help. The board tried to help those they considered to be most in need, more so than deserted wives. However, because of a lack of alternative systems of relief the board decided they had to help them.
The Board not only attempted to identify those who should be helped by
categorisation
Categorization is the ability and activity of recognizing shared features or similarities between the elements of the experience of the world (such as objects, events, or ideas), organizing and classifying experience by associating them to a ...
such as orphans and widows, they also attempted to do it through
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
categorisation of the deserving and undeserving poor. "''The ''deserving'' were those in need who are unable to work because they are too old, disabled, or too sick.''" Hernist.org Hqwever, ''‘the ''undeserving'' were people who didn’t want to work but could, these were the people the Board tried to avoid helping. Furthermore, the number of applicants fluctuated, with "''the number of poor
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
including wives and children ranging annually from about 250-1,000 varying on the condition in other countries.''" "The Board focused on the
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
of the children ''as they were the future'' and would also prevent further generations of Jewish poor".Lipman, p. 111 As seen above, the main group of applicants were
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, said to be escaping
persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
. Lipman emphasises this majority by stating that, ''"native born applicants, from 1800-1900 were only 10% of all applicants.''"Lipman, p. 83
Although, this is not the figures of applicants that have recently arrived in the country, as "''earlier immigrants had become absorbed in the resident
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
and had become reliant on the Board for relief.''" From 1889 to 1914, the Jewish Board of Guardians was the primary organization that dealt with the foreign poor in a narrow area of the East End which suffered from a great deal of
overcrowding
Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural n ...
.
Controlling the Immigration of the Jewish Poor
Although the Board had been providing relief to the Jewish poor since 1859, it was not used to dealing with the vast numbers of Jews that began to settle in London, resulting in a number of issues. These issues included problems of overcrowding which caused increases in rent and poor living conditions. Bad living conditions and appalling sanitation resulted in the spread of illness and disease, meaning medical relief was limited. There was also higher competition for jobs and widespread unemployment. The Board were concerned with the number of Jews potentially arriving to seek relief temporarily instead of aiming for long-term self-improvement.
Therefore a six-month rule was devised, which was primarily a probation period for the Jewish immigrants. Relief was not given unless Jews had been in the country for at least six months. This rule was proposed by Ephraim Alex, the first president of the Board (1859–69), in, ''A Scheme for a Board of Guardians'', to be formed for the relief of the necessitious foreign poor. However, relief was distributed to the new immigrants in cases of emergency. In the 1880s it became apparent that the elite would be faced with an influx on
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
as immigrants left
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
either to start a new life in England, or to use England as a temporary stopping point as they aspired to reach America. The board initiated several methods to control immigration, as it became transparently impossible to limit it, such as transmigration, dispersion and
repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
. Jews were either emigrated on to countries such as America, Canada and Australia or repatriated back. From 1881-1914, the board helped 17,087 people to settle in London, however, it managed to reduce overcrowding by emigrating 8,152 and repatriating 7,574 people. Nathan S. Joseph, chairman of the Executive of the Conjoint Committee of the Russo-Jewish Committee and Board of Guardians 1893-1909, to differentiate the ‘industrial fitness’ of the Jewish immigrants. The classification was as follows: "''firstly, skilled artisans, who were vigorous, robust and healthy, secondly, those fit to transmigrate and thirdly, the poor and weak, the adventurer and mendicant.''" Generally, those who were put into the first category, mainly being young, fit and healthy were offered help to transmigrate. More immigrants, however were repatriated as it was the most cost efficient option. Historian Vivian D. Lipman, argued that it is
Jewish tradition
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
"''to give applicants enough to get them on to the next town and the next overseer''."
Systems of Relief
Loans
The board provided relief through the use of
loans
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...
. "''Money was almost never used and the Board considered cash relief an ultimate last resort.''" The board established a loans committee that oversaw the distributions by the charity. "''In its first 17 years the Board provided 1767 loans totaling £226322". Despite their wish to keep them low, loans given by the Board did increase. One of the initial reliefs given by the board was the loaning of
sewing machines
A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with Thread (yarn), thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. ...
. "''These machines were lent to deserving borrowers, who paid for them in installments.''" Magnus, p.27 The Board used the money gained from this to buy more machines and repeat the process. "''By 1864 they had managed to by 26 machines."'' This system of relief was later taken over by Messrs Singer themselves.
"''In 1866 the loans committee became a
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in itself, under the supervisions of David Benjamin, a benefactor of the committee."'' Under this new system the loans could be organized and controlled more closely. It also allowed the more respectable classes to apply for relief in private separately to the wider public. The security of the loans committee created a confidence, which encouraged
donations
A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provid ...
. The provisions attached to the loans also meant they were not misused. "''In 1887 the capital of the loans committee was increased and donations such as the 3,000,000
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
by Baronesse de Hirsch allowed the committee to expand."'' By 1907 it had an annual turnover of £13,000.
Education, Apprenticeships and Employment
The Jewish Board of Guardians main aim was to create a self-supporting class. They focused on education and
apprenticing
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
the
future generations
Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future ge ...
to stop them becoming
impoverished
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
. "''The work committee acted in conjunction with the loans committee and became the industrial committee in 1872."''Magnus, p.31 The board aimed to provide
apprenticeships
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
for boys and girls.
Laurie Magnus states that, ''"Following the loans of sewing machines the industrial committee used this money to accomplish 2 main purposes'':
#Loan of tools and implements to carpenters, cabinet makers, show-makers, printers, book-binders and other mechanics on the same basis as the on which the loans of sewing-machines to tailors and umbrella makers had hitherto conducted.
#Giving security for tailors and mechanics to enable them to obtain work from
warehouses
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, outs ...
and
workshops
Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...
."
In 1896 Helen Lucas became the President of the JBG workrooms where girls would be taught how to embroider and other types of needlework so that they would become employable.
"''In 1903 a ladies sub-committee was enacted which focused on the apprenticeship of girls"''. The board considered education one of its main aims, to create an educated class and to keep skilled workers in long-term employment.
Jewish Board of Guardians apprenticeships
Emigration, Transmigration and Repatriation
The board experienced the issues surrounding an increase Jewish
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
and
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
coming to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The board vowed to help this class of the ''strange'' poor which mainly came from Europe. "''In 1881 the problem of immigration was increased by the influx of immigrants seeking refuge from the
pogroms
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
...The Board of Guardians created a joint committee with the ''Mansion House Fund'' to tackle this issue."'' "''By 1885 the problem had further increased and the Board set up temporary shelters."''
The Board of Guardians also encouraged
repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
and transmigration. They sent many migrants back to their countries of origin, as well as on to other countries, especially the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. "''The Board denied
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
to those who had been in the country less than six months"''. The Jewish Board of Guardians did not want the new immigrants to become burdens on the preexisting community. Eugene C Black states,"''those who could not adapt and were poor prospects for emigration, Board leaders argued, should not remain burdens on the community"''. Those who came to England could not necessarily be transmigrated by the Board on to countries such as the United States. "''In 1886 authorities in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
denied entry to those who could not show they had the means of supporting themselves nor a benefactor to rely on."'' They faced similar problems in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and the board could not support these migrants. The Board paid for immigrates travel to Hamburg and on to other countries if they failed to find
employment
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. In September 1886, the Hamburg authorities stopped this policy. This thus increased the number staying in England and increased the Board's work.
Impact of aliens on Jewish Board of Guardians relief funds Jewish Board of Guardians Annual Reports, 1897
Jewish Board of Guardians repatriation and emigration, 1894-7
Health, Sanitation and Social Care
The living conditions of the Jewish community were of paramount importance for the Board.
Laurie Magnus
Laurie Magnus (5 August 1872 – 28 April 1933) was an English author, journalist, and publisher.
Biography
Magnus was born in London to Jewish parents Katie and Sir Philip Magnus. He was educated at St Paul's School, and graduated with a Mast ...
states that,"''The Board believed that the central problem of relief lay in the homes of the poor"''. The dwelling of the
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
population was considered to be inadequate and central to the problem of poverty. Magnus continued..."''The Board established Medical and Sanitary committees to tackle this problem. The medical Board was given medical officers and £293 and 18s to solve this issue...The issues faced by the Board included insufficient food and clothing, a neglect of proper standards of cleanliness, bad ventilation, overcrowded dwellings and deficient light...The visiting committee, which was established in 1862, dealt with housing'". Furthermore, they looked at the conditions of the Jewish quarters and reported their findings to The Jewish Board of Guardians. "''The medical Board provided nursing until 1906."''
"''The prescriptions distributed by the Board were fulfilled by the
Metropolitan Free Hospital
The Metropolitan Free Hospital was a London hospital, founded in 1836 and based for most of its existence in Kingsland Road, Hackney. It became part of the NHS in 1948, and closed in 1977, with its residual functions transferring to Barts Hospit ...
...By 1871 visits and applications for medical relief reached 41,000...By 1873 the medical committee was completely reorganized to stop a misuse of funds...The Board later disbanded the medical committee in favour of state organized relief. To ensure
sanitary
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems a ...
efficiency, as well as clean homes and water supplies, the Board established a sanitary committee. The Sanitary Committee visited 2,317 cases and visited 132 workshops"'' This committee was remodelled and became the Health Committee.
Partnerships
The Russo-Jewish Committee was established in 1882 to oversee all matters of Jewish immigrants. The Conjoint Committee an amalgamation of the Russo-Jewish Committee and the Jewish Board of Guardians, aimed to tackle all matters of immigration. This committee collaborated with the Board (between 1893 and 1909) and became the primary source of aid to the Jewish poor. "''The Conjoint Committee was the lineal descendent of the Mansion House Committee'' " Despite the fact that the two organizations were a partnership, the Board of Guardians continued to dominate the majority of decisions. Sir
Julian Goldsmid
Sir Julian Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet, DL, JP (8 October 1838 – 7 January 1896) was a British lawyer, businessman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Co ...
, chairman of the Russo-Jewish Committee, cooperated with Benjamin Cohen, who was the president of the Jewish Board of Guardians at this time. Any disagreements between the two leaders were settled by the interests of the elite as a whole. As a result of the six month rule, other charities developed in order to aid the immigrants."''In the process of adjustment those immigrants were helped by relatives, kinsmen, landsleit, and alternative smaller and more flexible institutions, such as Hevras''" Hevras, a charity also established in the
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
, offered help for immigrants to overcome the distress’ caused by the immigration process. This charity was less
hierarchical
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
and more democratic than the Board. For many, Hevras represented traditional Jewish morals within the charities policies. Many immigrants turned to Hevras because of the Board of Guardians restrictive policies, such as the six-month rule.
Public Opinion and the Aliens Act
Public opinion of the Jewish Poor in London is hugely significant in understanding why the Board was created, and in part, what the Board sought to achieve. Bad public opinion regarding foreign poor was due to the massive influx of immigration effecting London’s resources and the commonly held myth of "the ''
Dirty Jew
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
'' being reinforced by the foreign poor." Even Alfred Cohen a brother of
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
, who was a Board member, regarded alien Jews as "''dirty squalid and unpleasant.''" "''The foreign poor were accused of causing
overcrowding
Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural n ...
, increases in rents and demands for premiums."''
The Aliens Act of 1905 can be seen as responding to this negative public opinion of immigrants, non-specifically Jewish. However, the act "''is generally believed to have been chiefly a response to heavy
East European
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
Jewish immigration into Britain after 1880.''" This therefore shows correlation with Jewish immigration. The act was also created in part because of negative public view of the migrant Jewish community; with "''agitation to restrict Jewish immigration beginning in the 1880s and becoming more outspoken through the actions of a number of
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
groups and
activists
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
.''" The Aliens act was the "''first piece of immigration
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
in 20th century Britain"'' and the first "''to define some groups of migrants as undesirable."''
It is said that, "''The Act ensured that leave to land could be withheld if the immigrant was judged to be ''undesirable'' by falling into one of four categories: a) if he cannot show that he has in his possession ... the means of decently supporting himself and his dependents ...; 'b) if he is a
lunatic
Lunatic is an antiquated term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or crazy—conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from ''lunaticus'' meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck".
History
The ter ...
or an
idiot
An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person.
'Idiot' was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot ...
or owing to any disease of
infirmity
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ar ...
liable to become a charge upon the public rates ...; c) 'if he has been sentenced in a foreign country for a crime, not being an offence of a
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
character ...; or d) if an
expulsion
Expulsion or expelled may refer to:
General
* Deportation
* Ejection (sports)
* Eviction
* Exile
* Expeller pressing
* Expulsion (education)
* Expulsion from the United States Congress
* Extradition
* Forced migration
* Ostracism
* Persona non ...
order under this act has (already) been made.''"
The above statement can be seen to relate to the Board’s own category of defining applicants as deserving or undeserving but also represents the
stereotypes
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
immigrants may receive from the outburst of negative public opinion. "''The Board members were of a higher social stance than the Jewish immigrants and poor they were helping."''Rozin, Pp. 123-146 They used their
upper-class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
status to gain funds from friends and colleagues which allowed the Board to function as well as it did. Rozin supported this by stating that the "''Cohens were supported morally and financially by the wealthy class as a whole."'' Furthermore, the work of the Board, therefore, may have been more for preservation of the existing Jewish community and identity in as far as it sought to help the poor altruistically.
The Board in the 20th Century
The work of the Board of Guardians diminished in the 20th Century. The medical committee had been disbanded in favour of relief provided by the official state authorities, and later more committees reduced their work in favour of state funded
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. The Board had been at the forefront of innovation, but a lack of change meant it began less prevalent. Eugene C Black argues that, "''for its first thirty years the Board had been in the forefront of innovation in social work, for the next thirty, it fell further and further behind."''Black, p.99
"''The Board slowly adapted its
administrative
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
attitudes, arrangements and commitments."''
"''The
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
government increased social welfare
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
in 1905, and further increased it after the December 1910 election"''.Black, p.100 The introduction of old age
pensions
A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
in 1908,
national insurance
National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...
in 1911 affected the Board's work. The 1905 Aliens Act similarly worked in the Board's favour by decreasing the number of immigrants allowed to enter Britain. "''However, some of these reforms were not fully applicable, especially of many of the Board's recipients were not British
citizens
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
and therefore could not qualify."''
By 1920 a broader scope of unemployment laws meant that they began to help the
Jewish community
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. "''Much of the Board's work shifted to the public sphere, with most relief being provided by the state apparatus."''
In the 1990s the Jewish Board of Guardians merged with other Jewish charities to become
Jewish Care
Jewish Care is a British charity, working mainly in London and South East England, providing health and social care support services for the Jewish community.
The charity runs over 70 centres and services which include care homes, community centr ...
, an organization that still exists today.
Criticisms of the Board
Despite the Board being a charity, they did receive criticisms from ex-members and the general public. Some of the main criticisms of the Jewish Board of Guardians come from those within the
Jewish community
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
itself. The general organization of the Board was criticized, with some claiming "''the private donor was uninformed and misdirected, so often gave to the wrong people, the wrong amount and in the wrong way."'' Lipman went as far as to state that, "''there was no attempt at budgetary control."''
However, despite the need to be critical of how the Board could have improved efficiency, it cannot be ignored that the reasons for these mistakes were the Board trying to deal with an increasing number of cases. This meant that "''the time staff could spend on one case and money they had to give was decreased."''Lipman, p.109
The process of checking if an applicant was worthy for relief was also analyzed. People "''criticized the Board for a lack of sympathy in the
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
of relief, claiming the applicants were interviewed standing up behind a brass rail."'' The Board was also accused of losing sight of the applicant’s real needs and failing to provide constructive help in the early 20th century.
However, the main criticism the Board faced was regarding
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
and
repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
. Many felt that the Board’s great work encouraged people who were not suffering
persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
to come to England purely for a better standard of living, giving the impression that the Board were encouraging
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
. However, the Board’s way of dealing with this has also been highly criticized. They created the six-month rule to refuse relief to those that had been in the country less than six months. But this rule "''meant the new immigrants in the greatest distress were denied relief...However this was counteracted by the fact that discretionary power relieved those in need despite the amount of time they were in the country for...
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
as a whole was criticized. As many believed it was "endangering the lives of the repatriates as took them back into
discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
and awful conditions.''" However, in 1905 after the
Pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
the Board stopped
repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
completely but was persuaded to bring it back due to a mass of requests from applicants. "''The Board was also generally under scrutiny from other organizations. The "
American-Jewish
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...
establishment suggested that the Board were not making as much effort as they could."''
Additionally, old Board members such as Asher I Myers published "''sustained criticism in the
Jewish Chronicle
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
."'' Nevertheless, this was an organization experiencing increasing pressure on their resources and relying almost entirely on
donations
A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provid ...
. The Board was also "''always hampered by the fact that if they developed their services too far they might be encouraging immigrants."''Lipman, p. 109
Notes
{{Reflist, 30em
References
*Black, Eugene. C ''The Social Politics Of Anglo-Jewry, 1880-1920'' (Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell, 1988)
*Jbooks.com, 'Jbooks.Com - Interviews And Profiles: A Literary History Of The Dirty Jew', 2015 accessed 6 May 2015
*Jewishvirtuallibrary.org, 'Aliens Act , Jewish Virtual Library', 2015 ccessed 6 May 2015
*Englander, David, ''A Documentary History of Jewish Immigrants in Britain, 1840-1920,'' Leicester: Leicester University Press (1994)
*Herinst.org, 'Business-Managed Culture - Work And Welfare - Deserving Vs Undeserving Poor', 2015, accessed 6 May 2015
*Hartley Library, University of Southampton, MS 173/3/11/2 Archives of Jewish Care, 1894-1901, 39th Annual Report of the Board of Guardians for the Relief of the Jewish Poor 1890-1901
*Lipman, Vivian D., ''A Century of Social Service, 1859-1959: The Jewish Board of Guardians,'' Routledge and K. Paul, 1959, p. 54
* Magnus, Laurie,''The Jewish Board of Guardians and the Men who Made it'', 1859-1909, London: The Jewish Board of Guardians (1909)
*Rozin, Mordechai, ''The Rich and the Poor, Jewish Philanthropy and Social Control in Nineteenth-Century London'', Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 1999
*20thcenturylondon.org.uk, 'Aliens Acts 1905 And 1919, Explore 20Th Century London', 2015 20th-century London ccessed 6 May 2015
* Hartley Library, University of Southampton, MS 173/2/12/4 Archives of Jewish Care, 1757-1889, 29th Annual Report of the Board of Guardians for the Relief of the Jewish Poor 1887-1893
Jewish English historyJewish charities based in the United Kingdom19th century in LondonOrganizations established in 18591859 establishments in England