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-Savannah Jewish (^ommunity (^ouncifrs S~irst <2)ecade
Because of tfie importance ol the Jewish C ommimity
C ouncil in tin* emerging form ol our communal lile,
Iiii Sor riii RN Israi i.iti devotes more than ordi
nal) space to a profile from this coastal city. On
page* 20. we present highlights year to year.
By PAUL KULICK
Executive Director
It is my pleasant task to review the his
tory of the Savannah Jewish Council, in
the first decade of its existence. It is my
good fortune to have been associated, in a
professional capacity, with the work of the
Council for approximately three-fourths of
this decade of service to the Jewish com
munity.
I will attempt to describe the nature and
character of our work, illustrating our
growth in various fields with reference to
specific projects undertaken and carried
out.
It might be well to first state the objects
and purposes of the Savannah Jewish
Council, by quoting from article II of its
Constitution and By-Laws:
The objects and purposes of this or
ganization shall be to provide an ad
visory, supervisory and responsible
body representative of the Savannah
Jewish Community with power to han
dle matters of general Jewish interest
or affecting the welfare of Jewish resi
dents of Savannah; to centralize and
coordinate funds raising activities for
the benefit of causes, institutions and
agencies selected by it, to sponsor fund
raising campaigns for this purpose, and
to allot funds and to make contribu
tions to the causes, institutions and
agencies selected by it either before
any such campaign or thereafter.
I hope to be able to show you how the
Council has given meaning and substance
to these objectives.
The records show that on Wednesday,
March 31, 1943, representatives of twenty-
two Savannah Jewish organizations came
together to start the Savannah Jewish
Council. Every organization which had
been invited to affiliate with the Council
accepted this invitation. The representa
tives from the organizations elected twelve
members-at-large and these two groups,
comprising thirty-four individuals made up
the membership of the first Council. Eleven
of those original thirty-four members of
the Council are still serving on that body
and are rendering yeoman service.
The history of the Council parallels the
dynamic and formidable events of world
history. Conceived in the midst of the most
terrifying global conflict, the Council took
its place among those service agencies
which helped to ease the aftermaths of that
war. Through the Council, the Jewish com
munity of Savannah made its modest con
tribution to the rehabilitation of the sur
vivors of the war.
In my view, the Council, in its planning
and operation, has three distinct charac
teristics. First, the Council serves as the
medium for demonstrating the unity of the
Jewish community. Just as in the larger
American community, this unity is not to
be confused with uniformity. There is
a distinct place in the framework of the
Council for the expression of divergent
points of view, on all matters. The Council
serves as the medium for the orchestration
of these differences, into a symphony of
opinion and action. The Council epitomizes
the concept of democracy in action. The
Council is representative in character, giv
ing due weight to the various Jewish or
ganizations, which make up our family of
organized groups in our community, and
also draws on the outstanding leadership
of the community, through the system of
members-at-large.
The second outstanding characteristic of
the Council is its flexibility. Jewish life,
like all society, is not static. It is affected
by events in the world about us. With this
characteristic of flexibility, the Council,
acting as the instrument of a united com
munity, is enabled to respond to the needs
of the Jewish community, both the indi
viduals and the total group. Later on, I
will try to spell out for you with specific
examples, how this flexibility has operated
to the advantage of the Jewish community
and the individuals who make up our
group. (Please turn to next page)
PAST PRESIDENTS OE SAVANNAH JEWISH COUNCIE
Edmund H. B. I. Friedman Morris Slotin Sidney Rosenzweig Jack M. Levy Albert Tenenbaum
Abrahams 1944-1945 1946 1947 1948 1949-1950-1951
1943
The Southern Israelite
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