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The Cleveland Monkey Trial |
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The Cleveland Jewish Center Mixed Seating Dispute of the 1920s by Ira Robinson PhD Introduction |
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The 2017 issue of The American Jewish Archives Journal includes Professor Ira Robinson's study of what students of Cleveland's Jewish history may know as the Cleveland Jewish Center dispute over mixed seating of the 1920s. We show a brief summary, followed by a link to read the entire essay on the AJA website, and some Learn More links. In the years of disagreement, which concluded with litigation at several levels, that are discussed in Professor Robinson's essay, "Cleveland Jewish Center" was the generally used name for the Anshe Emeth Beth Tefilo Congregation. It was then on East 105th Street in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood. Since its 1950 move to the site of the Park School on Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights the congregation has used the English name Park Synagogue. Arnold Berger September 6, 2017 |
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"A “Jewish Monkey Trial”: The
Cleveland Jewish Center and the Emerging
Borderline between Orthodox and
Conservative Judaism in 1920s North
America
In the 1920s, the world of Orthodox
Judaism was shaken by a movement that
challenged traditional synagogues to
“modernize” themselves by abolishing the
separate seating of men and women. This
article will analyze one of the most
prominent cases—that of the Jewish
Center of Cleveland, Ohio, which adopted
mixed seating in 1925. A dissenting
minority within the congregation refused
to concede and brought the case to
court. This article brings to bear
extensive archival documentation
preserved by the
family of Abraham A. Katz, one of the
prime instigators of the lawsuit. It
also contains the complete transcript of
the expert testimony of some of the most
prominent American Orthodox leaders of
the era, whose testimony and
cross-examination yields much
information of importance." |
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