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Collection Guide: United Jewish Appeal - Federation of New York

Overview of the individual archival collections and library materials found at the Center relating to the UJA organization and its activities.

Ringing the crisis bell, 1950s (I-433, AJHS)

Organization Timeline

1909

  • Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities is formed; YM-YWHA of the Bronx is founded; YM-YWHA of Williamsburg is organized.

1911

  • Bronx House is founded; YM-YWHA of Mount Vernon is founded; New York Society for the Deaf is created.

1912

  • YM-YWHA of Boro Park is founded.

1913

  • Altro Health and Rehabilitation Services is founded.

1916

  • June 6, 1916 – “Plan adopted by the Committee on Federation” for a “Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York City”
  • Camp Wildwood is organized; Jewish Board of Guardians is founded.

1917

  • Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York is formed; Felix M. Warburg becomes the first president of Federation (1917-1921);
  • Dr. I. Edwin Goldwasser begins as Executive Director of Federation (1917-1920).
  • Incorporation of the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York (January 1)
  • Federation bylaws finalized and officers elected (January 8)
  • Federation formally chartered by the state of New York.  The charter  officially became law, with approval from the Governor (January 10)
  • Washington Heights YM-YWHA is founded

1920

  • Dr. Solomon B. Lowenstein begins his tenure as Executive Vice-President (1920-1942)
  • Beth Abraham Hospital founded
  • Vocational Advisory Service is founded.

1921

  • Arthur Lehman becomes Federation's second president (1921-1924)
  • Camps Mikan and Recro are organized

1922

  • Jewish Board of Guardians becomes a Federation-affiliated agency.

1924

  • Joseph L. Buttenwieser becomes the third president of Federation (1924-1926)

1926

  • Sol M. Stroock becomes Federation's fourth President (1926-1929)
  • Jewish Community Center of Staten Island is organized

1927

  • Camp Rainbow is founded.

1929

  • Dudley D. Sicher becomes the fifth president of the Federation (1929-1931).

1931

  • Judge Joseph M. Proskauer becomes the sixth president of the Federation (1931-1935).

1932

  • The new main building of the Hillside Hospital is completed.

1934

  • Federation organizes a campaign for the relief of German Jews in conjunction with the Joint Distribution Committee
  • Federation Employment Service (later FEGS) and Hebrew Association for the Deaf become Federation-affiliated agencies.

1935

  • Samuel D. Leidesdorf becomes Federation's seventh President (1935-1937).

1937

  • Felix M. Warburg (1871-1937), Federation's first president, dies
  • Lawrence Marx becomes the eighth President of the Federation (1937-1938).

1938

  • Madeleine Borg becomes the ninth President of Federation (1938-1939)
  • East New York YM-YWHA is organized.

1939

  • Benjamin J. Buttenwieser becomes Federation's tenth president (1939-1941)
  • Jewish Education Committee of New York is created.

1939

  • William Rosenwald, Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver and Rabbi Jonah B. Wise sign the document which created the United Jewish Appeal.

1940

  • New York Association for Jewish Children is formed
  • Camp Hebrew Educational Society is founded
  • Henry C. Bernstein begins his long tenure as Executive Vice-President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1940-1970).

1941

  • George Z. Medalie is elected the eleventh President of Federation (1941-1945)
  • United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York is officially incorporated (December 22, 1941).

1942

  • Jewish Community Services of Long Island is established
  • Joseph Willen and Dr. Maurice B. Hexter begin their long tenure as Executive Vice-Presidents (1942-1967)
  • Camp Louemma is founded
  • Sylvan Gotshal becomes the first President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1942-1947).

1943

  • Westchester Jewish Community Services is founded.

1944

  • Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities merges with the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York to form the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York
  • East Flatbush-Rugby YM-YWHA is founded
  • Moshulu-Montefiore Community Center is founded
  • Bronx River YM-YWHA is established.

1945

  • New York Association for Jewish Children becomes the Jewish Child Care Association
  • Building Fund Campaign for Expansion and Modernization is begun
  • Norman S. Goetz becomes the twelth President of Federation (1945-1948)
  • Inwood YM-YWHA is founded
  • The Williamsburg YM-YWHA begins sponsoring Camp Hatikvah
  • The Central Bureau for the Jewish Aged (CBJA) was founded as an umbrella agency of other agencies that offered services to the elderly by the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.

1946

  • Jewish Social Service Association and Jewish Welfare Society of of Brooklyn merge and become a part of Jewish Family Service of the City of New York.

1947

  • Maimonides Hospital is formed as a result of a merger between Israel Zion Hospital of Boro Park and Beth Moses Hospital of Williamsburg
  • Altro Health and Rehabilitation Services expands services to include persons suffering from cardiovascular disabilities.

1948

  • Establishment of the State of Israel; Jewish Education Committee becomes a Federation-affiliated agency
  • Ralph E. Samuel becomes Federation's lucky thirteenth President (1948-1951)
  • Monroe Goldwater becomes the second President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1948-1951).

1949

  • Operation "Magic Carpet" airlifts begin (National UJA) from Yemen to Israel
  • Gustave Hartman YM-YWHA is founded.

1950

  • Operation "Ezra" airlifts begin (National UJA) from Iraq to Israel
  • Bronx House and Emanuel supported camps merge to become the Bronx House-Emanuel Camps
  • Ella Fohs Camp for Children is founded.

1951

  • Milton Weill is elected the fourteenth President of Federation (1951-1954)
  • Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds are founded.

1952

  • Louis Broido becomes the third President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1952-1953).

1953

  • Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds are opened; the Free Synagogue Child Adoption Committee changes its agency charter to become non-sectarian and begins accepting children for adoption from all races and religions
  • Altro Health and Rehabilitation Services expands services to include persons recovering from mental illness
  • Shorefront YM-YWHAs of Brooklyn is founded.

1954

  • Long Island Jewish Hospital is opened; Salim L. Lewis becomes the fifteenth President of Federation (1954-1957)
  • Samuel Field YM-YWHA is founded
  • Monroe Goldwater assumes the Presidency of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York for a second term (1954-1966).

1955

  • After many years as the Free Synagogue Child Adoption Committee, the committee is reorganized and renamed Louise Wise Services
  • YM-YWHA of Mid-Westchester is founded
  • Washington Heights YM-YWHA and Inwood YM-YWHA merge to become the YM-YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood.

1956

  • Federation initiates and finances "Jewish Orientation and Training Seminars" in cooperation with Jewish Welfare Board and Jewish Education Committee; Mid-Island YM-YWHA is founded
  • After several camp mergers, Camp Ramapo-Anchorage is organized from Camps Bluebird, Anchorage, and Ramapo.

1957

  • Gustave L. Levy becomes Federation's sixteenth President (1957-1960)
  • Associated YM-YWHAs of Greater New York was formed by the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies to evaluate needs for community centers, to raise funds and to construct and operate these centers.

1959

  • Camp Edward Isaacs of the East New York YM-YWHA is established
  • East New York YM-YWHA Country Camp is founded.

1960

  • Lawrence A. Wien becomes the seventeenth President of Federation (1960-1963).
  • Stuyvesant Jewish Community Center and Emanu-El Brotherhood merge to become the Emanu-El Midtown YM-YWHA
  • Central Nassau YM-YWHA is created; YM-YWHA of the Bronx merges with the West Bronx Community Center to become the West Bronx YM-YWHA
  • Associated YM-YWHA begins operation of Camp Poyntelle-Ray Hill.

1961

  • City of Life Campaign (a capital fund drive) begins; Home and Hospital of the Daughters of Jacob becomes a Federation-affiliated agency
  • Williamsburg YM-YWHA begins sponsoring Camp Mogen Avraham; South Shore YM-YWHA is incorporated.

1962

  • Bronx Hospital and Lebanon Hospital merge to become Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center
  • East Bronx YM-YWHA opens the Hortense Libman Center.

1963

  • Irving Mitchell Felt is elected the eighteenth President of the Federation (1963-1966)
  • Association of Jewish Sponsored Camps is established.

1964

  • The Federation-affliated agency Home for the Aged and Infirm Hebrews becomes the Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged
  • Henrietta and Stuard Hirschman YM-YWHA of Coney Island becomes an independent branch of the Associated YM-YWHA
  • Ella Fohs Adult Camp is established.

1965

  • The Williamsburg YM-YWHA opens the Dr. H. Melmuth Sternberg Camp for Girls.

1966

  • Mount Sinai Medical School is created
  • Samuel J. Silberman becomes the nineteenth President of Federation (1966-1969).

1967

  • David G. Salten becomes the Executive Vice-President (1967-1969) of Federation
  • Federation celebrates its fiftieth anniversary as a philanthropic organization
  • Family Location Service merges with Jewish Family Service
  • Edward M.M. Warburg becomes the fifth President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1967).

1968

  • Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA) is established to better meet the needs of the Jewish elderly in New York area
  • Albert Parker becomes the sixth President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1968).

1969

  • Morris L. Levinson becomes the seventh President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1969-1971).
  • George H. Heyman, Jr. becomes Federation's twentieth President (1969-1971)

1970

  • Ernest W. Michel becomes Executive Vice-President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1970-1986).
  • Sanford Solender begins his tenure as Executive Vice-President of Federation (1970-1981)

1971

  • Lawrence B. Buttenwieser is elected the twenty-first President of Federation (1971-1974).

1972

  • Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty is established
  • Herbert Tenzer becomes the eighth President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1972).

1973

  • United Jewish Ys of Long Island is founded
  • Federation and United Jewish Appeal discuss emergency fund raising efforts in wake of Yom Kippur War
  • Lawrence A. Tisch becomes the ninth President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1973-1974).

1974

  • United Jewish Appeal and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies create a Joint Campaign
  • Frederick P. Rose becomes the twenty-second President of Federation (1974-1977).
  • The new UJA-Federation Board of Directors gets down to business.

1975

  • William J. Levitt becomes the tenth President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1975).
  • Moshe Dayan briefs UJA-Federation leaders readying a new campaign.

1976

  • James L. Weinberg becomes the eleventh President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1976-1978).

1977

  • Harry R. Mancher becomes Federation's twenty-third President (1977-1980).
  • Joint Campaign theme in approximately 1977 is "Don't Wait for Miracles"

1978

  • The Fund for Jewish Education is created to match a challenge grant from Joseph S. and Caroline Gruss
  • Jewish Board of Guardians merges with Jewish Family Service to become the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.

1979

  • Stephen Shalom becomes the twelfth President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1979-1981).

1980

  • United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York moves to Federation headquarters at 130 E. 59th St.
  • Wilma (Billie) S. Tisch is elected the twenty-fourth President (and first female President) of Federation (1980-1983).

1981

  • William Kahn begins his tenure as Executive Vice-President (1981-1986).

1982

  • Elaine K. Winik is elected the thirteenth President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1982-1984).

1983

  • Daniel S. Shapiro becomes the twenty-fifth President of Federation.

1985

  • UJA-Federation Joint Campaign funds assist Israel with absorption of Ethiopian Jews brought as part of Operation "Moses" and other efforts
  • Morton A. Kornreich becomes the fourteenth and final President of United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (1985-1986).

1986

  • Morton A. Kornreich becomes the first chair of the board of directors for UJA-Federation (1986-1988).
  • United Jewish Appeal and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies merge on July 1, 1986 to form United Jewish Appeal - Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York
  • Peggy Tishman becomes the first President of the merged organization (1986-1989)
  • Stephen D. Solender (1986-1999) and Ernest W. Michel (1986-1989) begin their shared tenure as Executive Vice-Presidents of the merged organization.

1988

  • Joseph Gurwin elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (1988-1991).
  • From 1988 – 1994, UJA-Federation’s AIDS initiative provided care, home hospice and education for nearly one quarter of the AIDS patients in the New York area.

1989

  • David G. Sacks is elected the second President of UJA-Federation (1989-1992).

1991

  • Operation Solomon: 14,000 Ethiopian Jews evaluated to Israel in 36 hours
  • New York Jewish Population Study finds 1,420,000 "core" Jewish persons live in 638,000 Jewish households in the eight-county New York area served by UJA-Federation of New York in the five boroughs of New York City and the adjacent suburban counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester.
  • Irwin Hochberg elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (1991-1994).

1992

  • Alan S. Jaffe becomes the third President of UJA-Federation (1992-1995).

1993

  • UJA-Federation of NY in partnership with network agencies, raised $2 million and successfully developed the first of many NORCs supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

1994

  • Larry A. Silverstein elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (1994-1997).

1995

  • With the collapse of the Soviet Union, UJA-Federation supports Operation Exodus and Passage to Freedom, helping 130,000 Jews immigrate to America and 700,000 resettle in Israel.
  • Louise B. Greilsheimer becomes UJA-Federation's fourth President (1995-1998).

1996

  • "Guiding Organizational Change: The New York UJA-Federation (1986-1996)" is published.

1997

  • Judith Stern Peck elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (1997-2000).

1998

  • James S. Tisch becomes the fifth President of UJA-Federation (1998-2001).

1999

  • John S. Ruskay becomes the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice-President of UJA-Federation (1999-2014).

2000

  • UJA-Federation of New York is restructured. The Jewish Continuity Commission becomes the Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal and two additional thematic commissions are created—the Caring Commission and the Commission on the Jewish People—to carry out UJA-Federation’s mission of caring for those in need, rescuing those in harm’s way, and renewing Jewish life in New York, Israel and around the world.

2000

  • Larry Zicklin elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (2000-2001).

2001

  • Morris W. Offit elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (2001-2004).
  • In partnership with JDC, UJA launched Birth-to-Bagrut initiative, a multi-year holistic intervention for Ethiopian-Israeli school children and youth, aged birth to 18.
  • Larry Zicklin is elected the sixth President of UJA-Federation (2001-2004).
  • UJA-Federation creates the Israel Trauma Coalition in response to the Intifada.
  • UJA-Federation agencies are among first responders, providing crucial support for families and survivors, and forming the 9/11 United Services Group, a partnership of local social-service agencies (September 11)
  • Made it possible for NY young adults to travel to Israel for free on Birthright.

2002

  • COJECO is founded. (Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations): Creation of an umbrella for organizations working with the RSJ (Russian Speaking Jewish) community in New York.

2004

  • Morris W. Offit becomes the seventh president of UJA-Federation.
  • Susan K. Stern elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (2004-2007).
  • Jewish Community Study of New York: 2002, UJA-Federation of New York is published, Major findings include:
  • 1,667,000 people in Jewish Households.
  • The size of the Jewish population stabilized after decades of decline.
  • Over 200,000 Russian-speaking Jews live in the New York area. The Russian-speaking community is about one-fifth of New York City’s Jewish community, though only 4% of Jewish Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester.
  • Intermarriage rates remain relatively low, especially in comparison with the rest of the country.
  • Jewish poverty doubled from poverty levels reported in 1991. One in six Jewish households is poor.
  • Launch of CINVS—Community Initiative for Nazi Victim Services.

2005

  • Following Hurricane Katrina, UJA-Federation raises $5 million for crisis intervention, health care and redevelopment for the Gulf Coast’s Jewish community.
  • Mollie and Jack Zicklin Jewish Hospice Residence of MJHS was established as a partnership of UJA-Federation and Continuum Hospice Care- later and presently with MJHS- to address the significant needs of Jewish Hospice patients who could not be cared for at home.

2006

  • The Board of Jewish Education merges with the Suffolk Association for Jewish Educational Services and restructures to become The Jewish Education Project.

2007

  • John M. Shapiro becomes the eighth president of UJA-Federation (2007-2010).
  • Jerry W. Levin elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (2007-2010).

2009

  • In response to the recession, UJA-Federation launches Connect to Care, offering economic, legal, employment counseling, helping 87,000 middle class people get back on their feet.

2010

  • Alisa R. Doctoroff elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (2010-2013).

2011

  • Jerry W. Levin becomes the ninth president of UJA-Federation (2010-2013).
  • The UJA-Federation of New York Archives Project begins, a four-year project to document the philanthropic organization and its historic impact on health and human services, vulnerable populations, education, and disaster relief in metropolitan New York and in Israel.

2012

  • Jewish Community Study of New York: 2011 is released. Major findings included:
    • 1,769,000  people in Jewish Households.
    • The eight-county New York area is home to the greatest concentration of Jews in the United States, and the population is growing; New York City’s Jewish population returns to over 1 million.
    • The New York Jewish population is highly diverse in many dimensions, including national origin, types of Jewish identification, social class, gender, sexual orientation, and race. (Nearly a half million Jews live in Orthodox households. About 220,000 people in Russian-speaking households. About 12% of Jewish households are multiracial or nonwhite.)
    • About a third of all Jewish households (32%) in the eight-county area are poor or near poor.
  • Within days of Hurricane Sandy devastating New York region, UJA-Federation releases $10 million to aid recovery efforts.

2013

  • Alisa R. Doctoroff becomes the tenth president of UJA-Federation (2013-2016).
  • Linda Mirels elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (2013-2016).

2014

  • Day School Challenge Fund launched
  • UJA-Federation of NY is the co-funder, catalyst, and visionary partner that co-created JCC Global’s "Amitim - Fellows—A Global Leadership Network" program which built a strong network of global Jewish leaders among JCCs worldwide; in North America, Israel, Latin America, Europe and FSU, reaching at least 10,000 Jews worldwide through Jewish Peoplehood programs.
  • Eric S. Goldstein becomes CEO (2014-Present).
  • As Israel launches Operation Protective Edge, UJA-Federation offers critical support for medical equipment, psychological trauma relief, recovery and rebuilding.

2015

  • UJA-Federation creates a national evaluation network.

2016

  • Robert S. Kapito elected chair of UJA-Federation's board of directors (2016-Present).
  • Over 2,000 attend the largest Wall St. Dinner.
  • Jeffrey A. Schoenfeld becomes the eleventh president of UJA-Federation (2016-Present).
  • Celebrate Israel Parade marks fiftieth anniversary.