Columbia Religious and Industrial School for Jewish Girls
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| Columbia Religious and Industrial School for Jewish Girls | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Jewish |
| Established | 1888 |
| Closed | Circa 1944 |
| Gender | Female |
Columbia Religious and Industrial School for Jewish Girls was a Jewish school for girls located in the East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1888 in response to the many Christian missionaries who worked on the Lower East Side of New York.[1] The school intended to promote Jewish culture, prevent students from becoming converts to Christianity,[1] offer Jewish education to students, prevent students from delinquency, and "raise up respectable and religious Jewish women."[2] The school became defunct around 1944.[1]
In 1907, Mathilde Schecter, who served on the school's Board of Directors, wrote that the school's goals were to "keep sacred and alive every little flame of Jewish home life, the holiness, the reverence for authority and religion, and harmonize the old and the new elements in [the children's] lives."[1]
History
Adolph Benjamin and Adolphus Solomons established the school in 1888.[1] It was initially located at 120 Columbia Street but relocated several times to East 3rd Street, East 5th Street, and Eldridge Street.[1]
In 1907, the school's principal was Rebecca Affachiner.[3] She grew up on the East Side of New York, having immigrated from Poland, and was described by the Atlanta Jewish Times as the "Betsy Ross of Israel."[3] Rosalie Solomons Phillips, who was eminent in the Jewish-American community and a founding member and co-chair of Hadassah, served as president of the Columbia School.[4]
In the mid-1930s and 1940s, the Columbia School struggled through "serious" financial challenges.[1] This was due to the Great Depression and due to the view that American Jews should "keep quiet and take care of themselves without asking for outside help."[1] A rough draft of a letter found in the school's files dated 1943 stated that the school would be forced to close on May 31, 1944 unless it acquired funds.[1] However, in 1944, Rose Kaye, the school's president, wrote in a note, "Thank God the school will live."[1] The school's last files were dated July 1944.[1]