Jewish Board of Guardians (United Kingdom) facts for kids

A plaque for the Jewish Board of Guardians.

The Jewish Board of Guardians was a special charity started in 1859 by wealthy Jewish people in the East End of London. Its main goal was to help Jewish immigrants and poor families in London. Over time, it became the most important group helping Jewish people in need across the city.

In the 1990s, the Jewish Board of Guardians joined with other charities. It then became part of an organization called Jewish Care, which still helps people today.

Helping Jewish Families in London

The Jewish Board of Guardians was set up in the East End of London in 1859. At that time, many Jewish people in London were struggling. Some Christian groups were trying to convert poor Jewish people, which worried the Jewish community. Existing charities weren't doing enough to help.

The Board of Guardians was created to bring all the help together and make it work better. It was also formed because of new laws called the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. These laws made people go to a workhouse to get help. Workhouses were not suitable for Jewish people because of their religious rules and needs.

So, three main synagogues in London – the Great Synagogue, the Hambro' Synagogue, and the New Synagogue – decided to create this new board. Their first meeting was on March 16, 1859.

Who Started It?

Ephraim Alex, who looked after the poor for the Great Synagogue, was the first leader. He got money from the synagogues to start helping. Seventeen people, including bankers, business owners, and professionals, founded the Board.

Lionel Louis Cohen was the secretary and later became the president in 1869. Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild also helped as a treasurer. The Board's first office was next to the Jewish Soup Kitchen, but it later moved to Middlesex Street.

The Board believed in a "large and generous charity" that was more than just giving out money. They wanted to truly help people. They also became concerned about poor people coming from the Netherlands, Germany, and especially Eastern Europe.

How the Board Worked

Their Main Goals

The Board of Guardians wanted to help the poor Jewish community in London. They aimed to create a system that would help people become independent, not just rely on charity forever. They tried to avoid giving aid that would make people too dependent.

Unlike other charities during the Victorian era, the Board couldn't use workhouses. So, they had to find new and helpful ways to support their community. They wanted to provide long-term help.

The Board relied on donations from important Jewish families. However, the needs of the community grew very quickly, often more than the money they had.

Who Could Get Help?

The Board was very careful about who received help. They always checked each person's situation. Officers would visit every applicant's home to make sure the Board's limited money was used wisely. If a case lasted more than six months, they would check again.

New immigrants could not get help right away. They had to be in England for at least six months first. This rule was meant to discourage too many people from coming to England just for aid. By 1896, a special committee checked cases and even took legal action against those who misused the charity.

Who Asked for Help?

Many different people in the Jewish community who were in great need applied for help. These included:

• Widows
• Children
• Orphans
• Asylum seekers (people seeking safety)
• People needing medical or financial help

In 1905, most people getting temporary help were sick. The Board focused on helping those most in need. They also paid special attention to children, believing they were "the future" and helping them would prevent future poverty.

Most applicants were immigrants escaping difficult situations. From 1889 to 1914, the Jewish Board of Guardians was the main group helping foreign poor people in the crowded East End.

Managing Jewish Immigration

The Board had been helping poor Jewish people since 1859. But they weren't ready for the huge number of Jews who started arriving in London. This led to many problems like:

• Overcrowding
• High rents and poor living conditions
• Spread of illness and disease
• More competition for jobs and unemployment

The Board worried that some Jews were coming just for temporary help, not to build a new life.

The Six-Month Rule

To manage this, they created the "six-month rule." New Jewish immigrants would not get regular help unless they had been in the country for at least six months. This rule was suggested by Ephraim Alex, the first president. However, in emergencies, new immigrants could still get some help.

In the 1880s, even more immigrants arrived from Eastern Europe, escaping hardship. They either wanted to start a new life in England or use it as a temporary stop before going to America. The Board tried different ways to control immigration, as stopping it completely was impossible.

Helping People Move On

They used methods like:

• Transmigration: Helping people move to other countries like America, Canada, or Australia.
• Dispersion: Encouraging people to settle in different parts of England, not just London.
• Repatriation: Sending people back to their home countries.

From 1881 to 1914, the Board helped 17,087 people settle in London. But they also helped reduce overcrowding by sending 8,152 people to other countries and 7,574 people back home.

Nathan S. Joseph, a leader of the Board, helped classify immigrants. He looked at whether they were skilled workers, fit to move to another country, or poor and weak. Generally, young, healthy, skilled workers were helped to move on. Sending people back home was often the cheapest option.

Ways the Board Provided Help

Loans for a Fresh Start

The Board often gave help through loans instead of just giving cash. They rarely gave out money directly, seeing it as a last resort.

They had a special loans committee. In its first 17 years, the Board gave out 1,767 loans totaling over £226,000. Loans increased over time. One of the first things they loaned was sewing machines.

They lent these machines to people who deserved them, and borrowers paid them back in small amounts. The money from these payments was used to buy more machines. By 1864, they had 26 machines. Later, a company called Messrs Singer took over this system.

In 1866, the loans committee became its own department. This allowed loans to be managed more carefully. It also meant that more respected people could apply for help privately. The success of the loans committee encouraged more donations. The rules for loans also helped make sure the money was used properly.

By 1907, the loans committee handled £13,000 each year.

Education and Job Training

A main goal of the Jewish Board of Guardians was to help people become self-supporting. They focused on education and training the future generations to prevent them from becoming poor.

The "work committee" later became the "industrial committee" in 1872. This committee aimed to provide apprenticeships (training for a skilled job) for both boys and girls.

They loaned tools to carpenters, cabinet makers, shoemakers, printers, and other skilled workers. They also helped tailors and mechanics get work from warehouses and workshops.

In 1896, Helen Lucas became the head of the JBG workrooms. Here, girls learned embroidery and other needlework skills to help them find jobs. By 1903, a ladies' sub-committee focused on training girls. The Board saw education as key to creating a skilled workforce and keeping people employed long-term.

Helping People Move or Return Home

The Board faced challenges with the increasing number of Jewish immigrants and refugees coming to London. Many came from Europe, especially after 1881, seeking safety from attacks (pogroms) in Russia. The Board worked with another group called the Mansion House Fund to help. By 1885, they even set up temporary shelters.

The Board also encouraged repatriation (sending people back home) and transmigration (helping people move to other countries). They sent many migrants back to their home countries or on to places like the United States.

The Board did not want new immigrants to become a burden on the existing community. They believed that those who couldn't adapt or find work should not stay and rely on the community.

Sometimes, authorities in places like New York or Hamburg would not let immigrants in if they couldn't show they could support themselves. This meant more people stayed in England, increasing the Board's work.

Health and Social Care

The Board cared deeply about the living conditions of the Jewish community. They believed that poor homes were a big part of the poverty problem.

They set up Medical and Sanitary committees to deal with issues like:

• Not enough food and clothing
• Lack of cleanliness
• Bad air circulation
• Overcrowded homes
• Not enough light

A "visiting committee" started in 1862 to check on housing conditions in Jewish areas and report back to the Board. The medical Board also provided nursing care until 1906.

Medicines prescribed by the Board were given out by the Metropolitan Free Hospital. By 1871, there were 41,000 visits and requests for medical help. Later, the Board stopped its medical committee as the government started providing more state-organized health care.

To ensure good hygiene and clean homes, the Board also had a sanitary committee. This committee visited many homes and workshops. It was later renamed the Health Committee.

Working with Other Groups

The Russo-Jewish Committee was formed in 1882 to handle all matters related to Jewish immigrants. This committee then joined with the Jewish Board of Guardians to form the "Conjoint Committee." This combined group became the main source of help for the Jewish poor between 1893 and 1909.

Even though they were partners, the Board of Guardians usually made most of the decisions. Leaders from both groups worked together.

Because of the Board's strict rules, like the six-month rule, other smaller charities also started up to help immigrants. One such charity was Hevras, also in the East End. Hevras was less strict and more democratic, and many immigrants turned to it for help.

The Board in the 20th Century

The work of the Board of Guardians changed in the 20th century. As the government started providing more help, like state-funded welfare, the Board's medical committee and other groups reduced their work.

The Board had been very innovative in its early years, but it didn't always adapt quickly enough to new ways of social work.

The government introduced more social welfare legislation (laws) after 1905. This included old age pensions in 1908 and national insurance in 1911. The Aliens Act 1905 also helped the Board by reducing the number of immigrants allowed into Britain.

However, some of these new government programs didn't fully apply to many of the Board's recipients because they weren't British citizens. By 1920, new unemployment laws began to help the Jewish community more broadly.

Much of the Board's work shifted to the public sector, with the government providing most of the relief. In the 1990s, the Jewish Board of Guardians merged with other Jewish charities to become Jewish Care, which continues its work today.

What People Said About the Board

Even though the Board was a charity, it faced some criticism, even from within the Jewish community.

Some people said the Board's organization wasn't perfect. They felt that private donors sometimes gave money to the wrong people or in the wrong way. Some even said there was no real budget control. However, these issues often arose because the Board was trying to handle a growing number of cases with limited staff and money.

People also criticized how the Board treated applicants. Some claimed that applicants were interviewed standing up behind a brass rail, which seemed unsympathetic. In the early 20th century, some felt the Board lost sight of people's real needs and didn't offer enough helpful solutions.

The biggest criticism was about emigration and repatriation. Many felt that the Board's good work encouraged people to come to England just for a better life, not because they were truly suffering. However, the Board's way of dealing with this was also criticized. The six-month rule meant that new immigrants who were in the most distress were denied immediate help. But the Board did have the power to help those in urgent need, even if they hadn't been in the country for six months.

Sending people back home (repatriation) was also criticized. Many believed it was "endangering the lives of the repatriates" by sending them back to discrimination and terrible conditions. After a series of attacks (pogroms) in 1905, the Board stopped repatriation completely. However, they were later asked to bring it back due to many requests from applicants.

Other organizations, like the American-Jewish establishment, suggested the Board wasn't doing enough. An old board member, Asher I. Myers, also wrote strong criticisms in the Jewish Chronicle.

Despite these criticisms, the Board was an organization under huge pressure. It relied almost entirely on donations and was always careful not to encourage too much immigration by offering too many services.