Collections : [Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford]

Zionism, 1912-1997, bulk Bulk, 1940-1960

Zionist Organization of America, 1919-1970

Abstract Or Scope

The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1898, probably welcomed its Hartford chapter, known as the Hartford Zionist District, in 1917. Although the exact date is not recorded here, it is known that the Balfour Declaration prompted a group of Hartford businessmen to begin active fundraising, and those same names are part of the Hartford District minutes a few years later. Two years later, the ZOA appointed Abraham Goldstein as the paid director of the Connecticut Zionist Region or Bureau. Goldstein, intelligent and highly gifted as an orator, led the local ZOA activities to stunning success. According to Making a Life, Building a Community by David G. Dalin and Jonathan Rosenbaum, Goldstein was largely responsible for organizing Hartford into one of the most active and influential local districts in the United States. After Goldstein left the employment of the ZOA for a job in insurance, he continued to volunteer for the ZOA, becoming a national leader. One of the highlights in local ZOA history was the visit to Hartford in 1921 by Chaim Weizmann, later President of Israel, and Albert Einstein. The purpose of the visit was to raise funds for the Keren Hayesod (Palestine Restoration Fund) that Weizmann, as head of the World Zionist Organization, championed in opposition to the leaders of the national ZOA, who felt that Palestine should be developed through private investment, not public philanthropy. Local ZOA leaders supported Weizmann's view, however, and gave to the Keren Hayesod wholeheartedly. The Hartford ZOA purchased a house at 621 Albany Avenue in 1926 and used it as their office until selling it in 1933.

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