B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International (English pronunciation: /bəˌneɪ ˈbrɪθ/; Hebrew: בני ברית, "Sons of the Covenant") is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on October 13, 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others.
B'nai B'rith is engaged in a wide variety of community service and welfare activities, including the promotion of Jewish rights and the state of Israel, assisting hospitals and victims of natural disasters, awarding scholarships to Jewish college students, sponsoring low-income senior housing, and opposing anti-Semitism through its Center for Human Rights and Public Policy.[1] With nearly 100,000 members and supporters, B'nai B'rith International reaches more than 50 countries around the world to increase the welfare of resident Jews.
Until 2001, B'nai B'rith sponsored the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO), which is now BBYO, Inc.
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[edit] History
Independent Order of B'nai B'rith was founded in New York City by Henry Jones and 11 others on October 13, 1843[2] as a Jewish counterpart of fraternal orders then flourishing in America.[3] B'nai B'rith essentially began as a social and mutual-aid association for men; a parallel women's group, the Order of True Sisters, was established in New York some years later.[4] The new group's purpose, as described in its constitution, called for the traditional functions performed by Jewish societies in Europe: "Visiting and attending the sick" and "protecting and assisting the widow and the orphan." Its founders had hoped that it soon would encompass all Jews in the United States, but this did not happen, since other Jewish organizations also were forming around the same time.[3] Despite its fraternal beginnings, B'nai B'rith spoke out for Jewish rights early in its history and used its national chain of lodges as a way to exercise political influence on behalf of world Jewry. In 1851, for example, it circulated petitions urging Secretary of State Daniel Webster to demand the end of Jewish disabilities in Switzerland, during on-going trade negotiations. Into the 1920s the B'nai B'rith continued in its political work by joining in Jewish delegations and lobbying efforts through which American Jews sought to influence public policy, both domestic and foreign. B'nai B'rith also played a crucial role in transnational Jewish politics. The spread of the organization around the world, first to Germany in 1882 and then to Palestine, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, France, England and elsewhere, made it a nerve center of intra-Jewish communication and mutual endeavor.[5]
In 1913 it founded the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in direct response to the recent trial and lynching of Leo Frank, a B'nai Brith member. The ADL's original mission statement was "to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. Its ultimate purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens."[6]
Following the establishment of the Hillel Foundation in 1923, B'nai Brith, provided sponsorship for the foundation, and served as its sponsoring organization until the 1990s.
B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO), an organization for high school-age Jewish teens, was founded in 1923, and comprises the boys' order, Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA), and the girls' order, B'nai B'rith Girls (BBG).[7] In 2001 BBYO was spun off as BBYO, Inc.
The B'nai B'rith building in Washington D.C. was one of three buildings taken over in the 1977 Hanafi Siege.
[edit] Awards
B'nai B'rith International bestows various recognitions and awards, including its Presidential Gold Medal awarded every few years to honor the recipient's commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Recipients have included David Ben Gurion, John F. Kennedy, George H. W. Bush, Stephen Harper, and Golda Meir. In November 2005, the Gold Medal was given to former Austrian chancellor Franz Vranitzky,[8][9] and in May 2006, it was awarded to Australian Prime Minister John Howard.[10][11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The History of B'nai B'rith
- ^ Materials for historical research: The Western Jewish History Center, of the Judah L. Magnes Museum, in Berkeley, California has a large collection of historical records and papers, membership ledgers, correspondence, reports, and photographs that document the history of B'nai B'rith's Grand District Number Four (which included the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, as well as the Canadian Province of British Columbia) for the years 1963–92.
The Jewish Historical Society of San Diego houses over 10 collections of materials about San Diego B'nai B'rith Men's Lodges and Women's Chapters, which date back to 1887. - ^ a b Alfred M. Lilienthal, The Changing Role of B'nai B'rith's Anti-Defamation League], WRMEA, June 1993, p.18
- ^ New York Jewish History, New York State Archives, Jewish History Resources
- ^ Hasia R. Diner, The Jews of the United States, 1654 to 2000, p.191
- ^ "About ADL". ADL. http://www.adl.org/about.asp. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
- ^ BBYO.org
- ^ oe1.ORF.at / News
- ^ oe1.ORF.at / Bnai B´rith-Medaille für Altkanzler Vranitzky
- ^ B'nai B'rith Australia / NZ
- ^ B'nai B'rith Award Ceremony Honors Australian Prime Minister John Howard
[edit] External links
- B'nai B'rith International
- B'nai B'rith Center for Human Rights and Public Policy
- BBYO, Inc.
- Western Jewish History Center
