The Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity, active between 1904 and 1970 with a predominantly Jewish membership, was established in New York City and eventually opened at least 48 chapters on college campuses across the U.S. and one in Canada. The bulk of the records in this collection were generated, received and collected by the national fraternity officers between 1912 and the late 1950s. Topics represented include black-Jewish relations, military service in WWI and WWII, educational, housing and occupational discrimination, and WWII refugee aid. Materials consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, clippings, serial publications, photographs, pins, financi al records, floor plans, manuals, and directories.

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The records of the American Jewish Congress, a national Jewish agency, concerned primarily with Jewish and other minority civil rights, include the constitution, by-laws, and minutes of the Administrative and Executive Committees and Governing Council of the Congress. The collection has materials generated by the National Biennial Conventions, Executive Directors, including Phil Baum and Henry Siegman, and the General Counsel files of Will Maslow, Commissions and the Jerusalem Conferences of Mayors, Regional Chapters, National Women's Division, Business and Professional Chapters, Public Relations, and miscellaneous activities conducted by American Jewish Congress.

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Includes over 200 taped oral history interviews, written transcripts, and corresponding microfiche that were performed by historians at the United Jewish Appeal, Federation of New York. The Oral History Project began in 1981 to record the experiences of those who influenced or were influenced by the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York. The oral histories encompass the Federation’s early history beginning in 1917 through its merger with the United Jewish Appeal in 1986 to the present. Memoirs concern interviewee’s biographical background and organizational involvements, providing insight into personal motivations, attitudes, Jewish history in New York, and American and Jewish social organizations. Occupations of interviewees include accountants, attorneys, artists, civic leaders, congressmen, editors, executives, fundraising professionals, historians, physicians, rabbis, radio/TV producers, realtors, social workers, and volunteers. Detailed catalogs listing individuals interviewed and interview summaries, published by the UJA Federation of New York, are available in Box 1 of the collection.

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Founded in 1969, the American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) was instrumental in the international effort to promote recognition of the Beta Israel (known among non-Jewish Ethiopians as "Falashas") by Israeli authorities, and to assist Jewish emigration from Ethiopia to Israel. The extensive files of the AAEJ include case work files, research materials and Jewish artifacts collected in Ethiopia by AAEJ workers. In the wake of the successful evacuation of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel in 1993, the AAEJ decided to disband and voted to deposit its records at the American Jewish Historical Society. Included are correspondence, office files, photographs, slides, videotapes, audiocassettes and other materials which pertain to AAEJ's efforts to raise the consciousness of the American Jewish community about this unique Jewish subculture. The organization's papers supplement those of its founder, Graenum Berger, which are also held at the American Jewish Historical Society.

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The AMIT records contain correspondence, periodicals, program, project, and subject files, films, reports, convention and chapter material and photographs that document the organizational activities, educational and humanitarian achievements in Israel, and fundraising efforts of this American Jewish Zionist volunteer organization from 1933-2005. The AMIT Records were donated to the American Jewish Historical Society in 2010. The donation, while incomplete, represents the most complete set of documents, to date, related to the projects and achievements of AMIT and its history as the American Mizrachi Women's Organization.

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This collection contains information about the Leo N. Levi Memorial Hospital located in Hot Springs, Ark. The collection also includes Board Meetings, the Constitution and By-Laws of the Hospital Annual Reports and the Hospital Newsletter.

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Contains records on the formation, mission, vision, and activities of the National Center for the Hebrew Language, as reflected in organizational documents (including minutes), event programs and announcements, publications (including the NCHL newsletter, Ivrit Now), photographs, promotional literature (including press releases), media coverage, and the NCHL website.

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Contains records on the formation, purpose, and activities of the American Jewish League for Israel, as reflected in organizational documents (including minutes), event literature, publications (including the AJLI newsletter, AJLI Bulletin, later called the AJLI News Bulletin and other titles), scholarship material, financial information, membership appeals, correspondence, media coverage, and photographs.

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The collection reflects the role of B'nai B'rith and other organizations in the movement to liberate Soviet Jews. The materials in the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum Soviet Jewry collection include articles, a flier and posters.

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The records of Chicago Action for Soviet Jewry (CASJ, after 1991 known as Chicago Action for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, CAJFSU), a grassroots volunteer organization dedicated to helping Soviet Jews emigrate from the Soviet Union and protecting the Refuseniks. CASJ was founded in the early 1970s as a result of the formation of the national organization, the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews, which included approximately 50 other local councils. The collection documents the CASJs activities from its inception until it closed in 2010. The collection also features materials related to the activities of CASJ?s umbrella organization, Union of Councils for Soviet Jews and its legal arm Soviet Jewry Legal Advocacy Center. The materials include correspondence, memoranda, case files, trip reports, publications, photographs, posters, audio, video, and three-dimensional artifacts.

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The Mordecai Sheftall collection consists of family papers and business records of the American Revolution patriot, Mordecai Sheftall and the Sheftall family of Savannah, Georgia from 1761-1873 and a large collection of American Revolution provision returns (1777-1778) and some correspondence for the Continental Army and Navy of Georgia and South Carolina. The collection includes an original Works Progress Administration Guide to the materials.

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The collection documents Rabbi Philip Goodman’s involvement with the American Jewish Historical Society, the early years of the Orthodox Union, the Institutional Synagogue in Harlem and its day camp, the Army and Navy commission of the Jewish Welfare Board during World War II, a fraternal club originating in the Uptown Talmud Torah, The Jewish Book Council of America, The Townsend Harris High School and its Hatikvah Society, Yeshiva University, Jewish scouting, and more. The collection contains addresses, articles, bulletins, correspondence, commencement book, guest book, newsclippings, newsletters, photographs, radio broadcast transcripts, souvenir journal, and yearbook.

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This collection contains the papers of Sallyann Amdur Sack, “The Godmother” of Jewish Genealogy. In 1980, Sack founded the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW); in 1984, she organized the First International Seminar on Jewish Genealogy in Jerusalem, Israel; and in 1985, she co-founded AVOTAYNU: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, known as “The Voice” of Jewish Genealogy research. These papers chronicle Dr. Sack’s groundbreaking work, which ranges from the early 1980s through 2007. The collection contains correspondence, conference and seminar materials, planning and research papers, as well as photographs and audio/visual material.

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Papers of the Soviet Jewry movement activist Dolores Wilkenfeld of Houston, TX. The materials reflect the Women?s Plea for Human Rights for Soviet Jewry--an interreligious event to promote Soviet Jewry movement, organized by Mrs. Wilkenfeld on December 6, 1971 in Houston, TX. The materials include correspondence, memos, petitions, proclamations, programs (documents), transcripts, pamphlets and clippings.

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The papers of Sylvia Weinberg reflect her work on behalf of Jews in the U.S.S.R. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Mrs. Weinberg was active in The 35's—The Women’s Campaign for Soviet Jewry, an international organization with members throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. The materials include notes, clippings, publications, buttons, badges, banners and photographs.

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This collection contains the papers of Samuel J. Citron, dramatist and educator.

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Shirley T. Joseph was a feminist Jewish activist involved in a number of advocacy groups and community organizations working locally (in Buffalo, New York), nationally, and internationally. She attended three of the United Nations? World Conferences on Women (in 1980, 1985, and 1995), and the bulk of the collection documents these events in the records of various planning committees, personal correspondence, official UN documentation, collections of news clippings, and Joseph?s own notes, speeches, and articles.

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The papers of Colonel Seymour Jacob Pomrenze (1916-2011) contain materials relating to his role as the first director of the Offenbach Archival Depot (OAD) in early 1946, as well as documentation of his career as a records management and archives consultant for the American Jewish cultural sector. It also includes a small amount of biographical material.

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The collection documents the trip to the Soviet Union that Dr. Irwin H. Krasna, a pediatric surgeon, and his twin brother, Dr. Alvin I. Krasna, a Professor of Biochemistry at Columbia University, took in September-October 1971, traveling under the auspices of Arye Kroll, a prominent Israeli Zionist and representative of Lishkat Hakesher (commonly known as Nativ), the Israeli liaison Bureau that carried out clandestine activities to establish contact with Jews in Eastern Europe during the Cold War to encourage them to immigrate to Israel. Materials include a manuscript, an audiocassette and photographs.

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The papers of the Soviet Jewry movement activist Constance S. Kreshtool of Wilmington, DE, who was active in the Delaware Committee on Soviet Jewry contain her correspondence with the Refuseniks in the Soviet Union and postal return receipts, a newspaper article describing her trip to the USSR in 1978, and a letter to the Jewish Family Services on behalf of a Soviet Jewish family.

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The Papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activist Betty Golomb represent one collection housed within the Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement (AASJM). Ms. Golomb was a board member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, served as the chair of the task force on Soviet Jewry for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and in the executive committee of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and led Women's Plea for Human Rights for Soviet Jews, sponsored by the Leadership Conference of National Jewish Women's Organizations. The papers of Betty Golomb contain documents of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Leadership Conference of National Jewish Women?s Organizations? Committee on Soviet Jewry, Women?s Plea for Human Rights for Soviet Jewry, National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry, National Conference on Soviet Jewry and National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council. The materials include correspondence, memos, agenda, organizational guidelines, manuals and proposals, publications, photographs.

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Israel Bernstein was born in Portland, Maine. He graduated from Harvard College in 1912 and Harvard Law School in 1915. After graduating, he served as a Regimental-Sergeant-Major in the 12th division U.S. Army during World War I. Bernstein co-established the Casco Bank and Trust Co. He played a prominent role in the Jewish Federation of Portland, Maine. In 1948, he was elected President of the Jewish Federation of Portland, Maine and was President and founder of the Jewish Historical Society of Portland, Maine in 1953.

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Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond, or "Ziggy" as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born in Denver, Colorado on March 5, 1904. Rabbi Zigmond taught Anthropology at Yale from 1948-1961, but he began his career as a counselor for Jewish college students in 1935, and was a staunch advocate of Hillel establishing and directing several Hillels throughout his professional career. In 1941, he established the Hillel Foundations at both Yale and the University of Connecticut, and from 1955-1956 he served as the Director of the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. From 1947-1968 he was the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe, and in 1950-1969, he was the New England Regional Director of B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundations. This collection contains correspondence, program and financial reports, and information pertaining to the activities of a variety of organizations and Hillel foundations. The bulk of the material reflects Rabbi Zigmond's tenure as the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe (1947-1969) and the New England Regional Director of the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundations (1950-1969).

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Born in Kovno, Lithuania, Abraham Alpert immigrated to the United States, and in 1886 settled in Boston, Massachusetts. He learned English while attending night school and would later become an internationally known writer. Outside of his writing, he also rose to become a prominent Jewish figure and leader, not just in Boston but nationally, as well. One newspaper wrote that there was not a synagogue on the Atlantic Coast that had not heard Alpert talk. He helped organize the Boston branch of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), and was active there for over 40 years, aiding over 2000 immigrants in receiving citizenship. This collection contains materials pertaining to Abraham Alpert?s role as a public figure in Boston?s Jewish community, including correspondence, news clippings, a scrapbook and programs.

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Jennie Loitman Barron was a judge and suffragist. She earned her law degree and master of law at Boston University. As the first president of the Boston University Equal Suffrage League, JLB advocated for equal rights for women. In 1934 she was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts as a special Justice of the Western Norfolk District. JLB was the first mother on the Boston School Committee, and the first female United States delegate to the United Nations Congress on Crime and Juvenile Delinquency. In 1957, JLB became the first woman who was an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. This collection contains notes for her judicial cases, ?Guest of Honor? award and photograph of the event, campaign flyer supporting JLB as the first mother of the Boston School Committee, and award letter for Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Andelman.

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Leopold (Leo) Shapiro was born in Paris, France, in 1907 and emigrated with his parents and brother, Jacques, to Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, when he was 8 years old. Shapiro began his career with the Boston Globe as a copy boy on the night shift. By 1928, Shapiro was reporting on education topics in Boston. Through much of his career, from the 1940s through the 1970s, Shapiro wrote about the Jewish community in Boston and abroad. Although he covered many other topics, most of the articles were about Israel, Jewish life in Boston and abroad, and the local Jewish community. Between 1946 and 1969, Shapiro wrote the column "Local Lines," which documented and publicized the activities of and programs within the Boston Jewish community. This collection contains newspaper articles written by Leo Shapiro from much of his 52-year career with the Boston Globe. The collection of articles contains works on education, politics, sports, civil right, Boston life, the arts, and the Jewish community in Boston, Israel, and abroad.

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Abraham Bornstein was a well known publisher and collector of art and art books. In 1923, Bornstein founded the Boston Book and Art Shop, which distributed art books from leading publishers of Europe, as well as published books, portfolios and monographs. Abraham and his wife, Rachel, used their publishing house to help encourage and promote many Jewish artists and writers in the United States, among them, Chaim Grade, a Yiddish poet. This collection contains materials from the Boston Book and Art Shop, including financial records and inventory, inventory and sample of collection donated to YIVO, inventory and sample of collection donated to the Jewish National and Hebrew University, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and work of Chaim Grade. Also included in this collection are original photographs and certificates.

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The New England Jewish Free Press (NEJFP) started as a project by students at the Harvard Hillel Graduate Society, and it soon expanded and collaborated with other universities and organizations. Despite its expansion, it remained an independent student facilitated organization. NEJFP produced two main publications: Jewish Boston: a Guide and New England Jewry. I. This collection contains the original statement of purpose, correspondence, meeting notes, volunteer applications, financial records, and various ephemera (button, bumper stickers.) Please note that the volunteer applications are restricted.

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Mosaic was an academic journal of literature, art, politics and opinion, published by students of the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel Society of the B'nai B'rith. Its contributing authors consisted of both students and faculty. The exact founding date of the journal is unknown, possibly 1959 or 1960, but it is certain that its last publication was spring of 1971. This collection contains correspondence, financial records and two ledgers, reviews of the publication, and copies of subscription forms, a packing slip and fliers. One of the financial ledgers is fragile and should be handled with care.

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The Boston Meretz Relief Association (Boston MRA) was founded by the Jewish immigrants of the town of Meretz, Lithuania, Russia. Officially incorporated in 1893, the Boston MRA was an association that celebrated their Meretz identity and heritage, as well as a humanitarian association dedicated to assist all Meretzers in need, whether in Boston or in Israel. This collection contains constitutions, meeting minutes, financial reports, correspondence, photographs (including photos of the Lithuanian town of Meretz and its inhabitants between the two World Wars), and miscellaneous historical information.

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The Women’s Scholarship Association was founded in 1907 with the mission to “further higher education among women in general and among Jewish young women in particular by granting them scholarships and loans for study toward a degree at accredited schools and colleges.” It dissolved in 1993. This collection contains financial records, correspondence, event materials, a constitution, and by-laws. Restricted scholarship applications are also included.

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