MEMORANDUM ON THE JEWISH UNIVERSITY THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE APRIL 3, 1947

THg JEWISH UNIVffiSITY The proposal to establish a Jewish University is motivated by three major desires: first, to make a positive Jewish contribution to American civil-izationj second,

M E M O R A N D U M

ON " T H E J E W I S H U N I V E R S I T Y "

Prepared for Subcommittee on the Jewish University־

of the Conference on Higher Education for Jews

by ' , y Edward NJ Saveth

The American Jewish Committee

April 3, 194-7 (Revised May 20, 1947) (Revised December 9, 1947)

INTRODUCTION

This memorandum on "The Jewish University" was prepared

at the request of the Administrative Committee of the American Jewish

Committee, as expressed at its meeting of January 7, 194-7 It was

\ written by Dr Edward N Saveth of the staff of the American Jewish

Committee, and submitted to the Subcommittee on the Jewish University

of The Conference on Higher Education for Jews, which considered it at

a meeting held on April 9, 194-7 It was approved, with certain

amend-ments which are incorporated in the present draft

Members of the Subcommittee are William Haber, chairman, and Messrs Elliot Cohen, Sidney Hook, Horace Iff Kallen, Milton R KonVitz, Lionel Trilling and Louis Wirth Dr Trilling and Dr Wirth were not

present at the meeting to which reference has been made

THg JEWISH UNIVffiSITY

The proposal to establish a Jewish University is motivated by three major desires: first, to make a positive Jewish contribution to American civil-izationj second, to emulate the achievements of other groups in the field of higher education; and finally, to lessen the impact of discrimination against Jews in colleges, universities and professional schools

Earlier Ideas of a Jewish University

There has been no continuous demand for a Jewish University On at least one other occasion, however, the idea of a Jewish Universith has been

discussed While there is no direct continuity between the plan for a Jewish University of the early 1920'$ and the contemporary endeavour to establish

Brandeis, certain aspects of the earlier project are of some interest•

In a speech before the Menorah Society of Clark College in 1917,

G Stanley Hall, the noted educator, expressed the belief that the time was

ripe for "some kind of a central institution for higher learning which shall represent the besVthings in Jewish culture A strong Semitic department with

a number of professors in an existing university might do, or perhaps a learned academy like the other great academies of the world devoted to the cultivation

of Hebrew learning But better yet would be a Jewish university, splendidly installed and organized on a large plan,"

It was Dr Hall's contention that, while Jewish students should attend all kinds of universities, there should be one of their own in America for the purpose of advancing Jewish culture in all its branches He felt that "great cultural effects have been wrought in only a quarter of a century by the Catholic University at Washington, which added on a higher story of culture to Catholicism and has done very much• to commend the traditions of that church to modern and

Western culture." A Jewish university could make a similar contribution

Finally, he argued, the "chauvinistic patriotism" likely to prevail after

the first World War made it "important to impress upon mankind the obligations

of a world-wide fraternity," Jewish writers and philosophers, always in thy "with everything that is wisely international," should take the lead in effecting this "Thus the Hebrew university I have in mind would be a new school of the prophets this very year should be marked by the inception

sympa-of some such great institution which should grow in successive decades and generations and be a monument of the Jewish race, of its past and future, a repository of its learning, and a conservator of its loftiest spirit,"

Dr Hall further states, "If some such ideal does not have in it the possibility of being so put as to make an irresistible appeal to the sagacious, wealthy leaders of your race in this country and abroad then I for one do not know them aright."־'־

Even before Dr Hall proposed the founding of a Jewish University, the subject was broached by Professor Abram S Isaacs and by Dr Julius

Hochfelder However, the man who did most toward crystallizing the idea

was Rabbi Louis X, Newman A Jewish University, he said, would enable

Jewish intellect and ideals to contribute more fully to American life

According to Rabbi Newman's plan, the funds would come principally from Jewish sources (endowments and public subscriptions) "American

Jewry has sufficient resources to found and maintain an institution of

high order and standards without undue financial strain." The curriculum

would be "universal" and liberal, embracing the arts, humanities and

professions. ,.Thile courses in Judaics might be included, no attempts

would be made to "Judaize" the students or their studies The faculty

would not be all-Jewishj in fact, Gentile instructors would be welcome

and desirable But the "Jewish university would make room for new Jewish

educators The new university would not be a •safe refuge' for all

1 Menorah־Journal April 1917

unhappy or misfit Jewish professors But its establishment would stimulate yet more the intellectual activities of Jewish thinkers throughout the

entire l a n d / a n d would offer to the aspiring college Jew, wider vistas

in the career of teaching." The student body would have no restrictions

as to race, color or religion, but "the bulk of the students would come

from the Jewish masses ," It would be composed of those "very types

excluded today from fashionable colleges because of their dress, accent,

manners or poverty "

If situated in a New York suburb, within commuting distance, the

Jewish university would be able to "furnish in time the proper dormitory

accommodations, sufficient leisure for extra-curricular activities to develop physique and personality, and the environment suitable for bona fide college training*" Rabbi Newman felt that such a university would enable the students

to develop physically as well as intellectually, and would ultimately make them better integrated citizens

At the time, the Jewish University was the subject of considerable debate The opinions expressed below were collected by Newman and published

in the pamphlet, "A Jewish University in America?"־'• These are reproduced here, at some length, because the debate over a Jewish university today re- volves about very much the same issues

Arguments Pre

A University such as Rabbi Newman visions, rising orgsnicaily from the enlightened energy of American Jews, would be a natural expression of their life, and insofar as they are part of America, would prove an expressive element of American life Such a Univer- sity would function beyond Judaism just as Harvard has long functioned beyond Unitarianism (Waldo Frank) If a group of Jewish philanthropists would found and

endow a first-class university under Jewish auspices and Jewish influence, admitting, however, such students of other faiths as would apply for matriculation, I am

% i t h a symposium of opinion by Educators, Editors and Publicists, and a

bibliography on the Jewish question in American colleges (New York, 1923)•

It seems that many of them /who are opposed to the creation of a Jewish University? f®ar it will only aggravate the already atgfcSj&fcixg existing anti-Semitism and create a segregation which would tend to perpetuate

a diversification of classes and beliefs, To my mind this is absurd, for surely this would not be any sort

of a segregation if it should be open to any sect irrespective of race, color or creed Such a policy would reveal the Jew in his true aspects of magnanimity for justioe and freedom, (Murray Manesse)

The University would be a beacon light for the Jewish students who somehow have to shroud their religion in order to be able to cater to powers above for certain educational and social privileges which would otherwise

be denied to them A University would end all this and

in reality prove to the people and to our country that

we are true Americans (Murray Manosse)

The Jewish University would make room for new Jewish Jewish members on college teaching staffs is not destined

to become more palatable (Rabbi Louis I Newman) Academic anti-Semitism has come to stayj the limitation

to Jewish enrollment to a fixed percentage will become

as firmly established a policy in our great private universities as it is in our private preparatory schools (Rabbi Louis I Newman)

Though the city and state colleges may provide facilities for many Jewish collegians, nevertheless this does not preclude the advisability of founding an auxiliary Jewish University which may relieve, in a measure, the pressure

in public institutions (Rabbi L.I Newman, He argued that although there was no discrimination currently practiced in public universities, tajcpayers might become resentful if the student body were to be eventually com-posed chiefly of Jews)

1 deeply deplore divisions among mankind upon any ground, whether social, religious or racial (George S, Davis, President, Hunter College)

Opinions Con

I do not believe in a univeristy designed primarily for one race, and for one race only I think we ought to establish universities, like all great institutions, for humanity (Charles F Thwing, President, Western Reserve University This opinion was also held by Harry Pratt Judson, President Emeritus, The University

of Chicago)

There could hardly be anything more thoroughly adequate

to perpetuate the isolation which the Jews have brought themselves than the establishment of a Jewish University There could hardly be anything better calculated to con-vince the American people that the Jews want to remain

an alien group and not become a part of our American Nation Such an attitude will go further than anything else to make the Americans of Jewish faith, whose

ancestors have been in this country for several generations, quietly slip out of their Church into others by marriage

or otherwise The effect in this direction, due to Zionism, is marked and increasing (Stephen G Rich, New York Times, December 10, 1922)

It would be a far higher thing for the Jew to seek such universities from which he is not excluded, and in the meanwhile work for the establishment of State universities

in the communities where the private colleges exclude him (Editorial in Ohio Jewish Chronicle December 22, 1922)

The solidification of the minority cannot but serve to increase the friction between the groups (Editorial

in the Freeman January 3, 1923)

Our quarrel with the restrictions /made upon Jewish registration in colleges/ is not that they are anti-Jewish, but that they are un-American The creation of a Jewish University in America would not be a solution but a surrender .,.It would create Ghettos where they never existed before

in the world of learning (Editorial in the Jewish Tribune October 27, 1922)

It should be added that the extreme Zionist point of view was

opposed to the establishment of a Jewish University in America, which is, after all, the Diaspora According to this point of view, the only academic

center which has a.rightful claim upon the allegiance of Jews is the

,••'׳.*י ז ״ "* • 1י י י » , • , י - ״ _.׳«.י

Hebrew University in Palestine

The Jewish University of the Twenties as a Reflection of the

Contemporary Culture Pattern

Before taking up the most recent effort to establish a Jewish

University, it is advisable to discuss the Jewish University issue, as

it developed during the early nineteen twenties, in its relationship to the broader American culture pattern

The decade of the •twenties, which brought unprecedented

pros-parity to the East European Jewish element in the American population,

was also a period of acute tension among various American groups and

classes The Ku Klux Klan grew in numbers and power; the "Americanism" movement was in full stride; Madison Grant, Lothrop Stoddard and others were rewriting American history in such a way as to ascribe all that was good in American life to the "Nordic" element in the population, and all that was bad to the "lesser breeds" from Ireland, the South and East of

Europe, Africa and Asia The pros and cons of immigration restriction

were debated, and toward the end of the decade restrictive immigration

legislation was enacted which discriminated against peoples from the

South and East of Europe

Frequently, the chauvinism of "one hundred percenters" was

countered by the equally misguided jingoism of minority spokesmen They worshipped the symbol of the melting-pot or else clung with some stubborness

to their separate ethnic cultures The terms "cultural pluralism,"

"cultur-al democracy," "trans-nation"cultur-alism" were invented to describe what was ing to American culture under the impact of successive waves of immigration

-7-The Jewish University, which Newman and others were advocating, was

a part of this intellectual ferment It is not accidental that Waldo Frank,

a cultural pluralist after a fashion, looked with favor upon the idea of a Jewish University as consonant with his conception of the nature of American life Moreover, as long as the flow af European immigration was unrestricted, the roots of European ethnic oultures in the American environment were un-severed and there was hope of creating a Jewish ethnic culture in the United States; within that framework the Jewish University would play a vital role

Moreover, in 1922, President Lowell admitted limitation upon the number

of Jews at Harvard This pronouncement had no little effect upon the Jewish community Some of the children of the East European Jewish immigrants of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries desired to go to college They were encouraged in this ambition by their parents, many of whom had

achieved a measure of economic success and were anxious that their children enjoy a cultural status commensurate with their own economic position The attitude of Harvard's President and the support it found among th© university administrators had to be reckoned with in some way Thus, the movement for

a Jewish University, during the 'twenties, was both a positive attempt to create a Jewish cultural institution and a reaction to discrimination

Background of the Recent Effort to Establish a Jewish University

Very little that was tangible emerged from the discussion of the Jewish University during the 'twenties Until recently, the issue appeared to be

dormant There are, however, certain factors in the contemporary situation which create a favorable atmosphere for a Jewish University, although the pre-else role of each is difficult to ascertain The prevalence of discrimination, the return of the veteran eager for educational opportunity made available under th© G.I Bill of Rights, and the current lack of educational facilities —

guarantee followers for any movement to establish a new institution of higher learning Under the circumstances, the project for a Jewish University was bound to find adherents

In addition, the war-induced prosperity coupled with the provisions of the tax laws made funds available to the Jewish University movement in amounts that would previously have been unattainable The European situation tended

to increase in-group feeling among American Jews and enhanced the desire for

a cultural institution of some significance Increased awareness of the

Palestine issue stimulated this sentiment in so far as nationalist aspirations were stirred in American Jews

•״9-Middlesex

The story of Brandeis University begins with certain developments

at Middlesex Medical School, chartered in 1849 After a period of

in-activity, this sohool was reopened in 1914 Because it did not have the approval of the American Medical Association, its graduates were never

allowed to take examinations for licenses in any state except Massachusetts Consequently, although coming from every part of the country, they remained

in Massachusetts to practice This Influx of outsiders caused considerable resentment among Massachusetts physicians, graduates of approved schools! and this feeling was aggravated by the fact that the outsiders were, to a considerable extent, Jews, Catholics and Negroes

In 1936 the Massachusetts legislature set up an Approving Authority, which was to pass upon the qualifications of medical schools in that State The following year Middlesex Medical School was granted a new charter and reorganized, with Dr Stephen Rushmore as Dean

In 1943 the school applied for approval by the Approving Authority, which decided that still further improvements would have to be made These included more clinical facilities, a more competent faculty, and a greater endowment to insure continued operation The American Medical Association also insisted that theso improvements be made before it would even consider granting the school a grade "A" status

In the middle of 1944• the situation became acute when the State

Approving 'uthority ruled that Middlesex graduates should no longer be

alowed to take licensing examination in Massachusetts The Authority claimed that Middlesex was not sufficiently improved to warrant its graduates being licensed by the State of Massachusetts This, in effect, brought about the discontinuance of the school, because, as already pointed out, there was no other state in which Middlesex graduates could practice The ruling was

appealed to the legislature and to the courts, but the finding was upheld, and in 1945 the school ceased to function

Other reasons than those stated by the Approving Authority for the closing of Middlesex were alleged by the faculty, student body and liberal press in New York City It was claimed that the American Medical Association, and the affiliated Medical Society of Massachusetts, had exercised no little pressure to rid the State of a school whose student body was largely composed

of minority groups The cause of Middlesex was a bleeding one in the pages

of PM and the Post

Although the school closed its doors in June, 1945, it was not until

April, 1946, that th$re were hearings before the Legislative Committee on

Education, on a bill to revoke the college charter Appearing in opposition

to the revocation of the charter, were Dr Israel Goldstein and George

Alpert of Boston, chairman and member, respectively, of the recently

re-organized Board of Trustees of Middlesex University Goldstein, in his

testimony, stated his plan to establish a Jewish-sponsored university

Shortly thereafter, the bill to revoke the Middlesex charter was withdrawn

Rabbi Goldstein's Conception of a Jewish University

The chief advocate of the proposal to establish a Jewish university

on the site of defunct Middlesex College was Rabbi!Israel Goldstein He

-11-became interested in this project through one of the non-Jewish trustees

of Middlesex, who originally thought the site of Middlesex might be used

to establish a labor college After several unsuccessful approaches to

labor leaders, this trustee was referred to Rabbi Goldstein who proposed

a Jewish university

Before the Chicago meeting of the National Community Relations Advisory

Council, June 15, 194-6, Rabbi Goldstein advanced his conception of what the

Jewish university should be The institution, he asserted, "will be thing between the Yeshiva College and the non-sectarian university in theojy

some-It will not go as far as the Yeshiva College in making Jewish studies pulsory It will have a complete gamut of Jewish studies for those who

com-desire them." While Goldstein did not plan a rabbinical training school

as part of his Jewish university, he was reluctant to abandon the tional label Instead, he contended that "denominational" means something more to Jews than to Christians His probable meaning was that the Jews

denomina-have a cultural (perhaps national) as well as a religious heritage to serve The "gamut of Jewish studies for those who desire them," as well

pre-as the frankly Jewish atmosphere of a Jewish university would, Goldstein

believed, contribute to the preservation of the Jewish heritage in America

Goldstein hoped for non-Jewish support for his school and for a

student body composed in part of non-Jews He stressed that the admission policy would be non-sectarian and in accordance with the principle that educa- tion "should be made available to all who seek it regardless of race, color

or creed." At the same time, he would have the trustees, students and faculty for the most part Jewish — a "non-quota university supported mainly by

Jewish funds and administered by predominantly Jewish organizations."