Jewish Community Center Inc history

The Y, hotly declared one of its detractors in 1881, is “Hebrew only in name and because its members are all of Jewish birth.”

The “young Israelite of today lives in an atmosphere of restless inquiry,” observed Rabbi Gustav Gottheil in 1886.

Many of these organizations had women’s auxiliaries, but the first independent Young Women’s Hebrew Association was founded in New York City in 1902.

The Council of Young Men’s Hebrew and Kindred Associations was founded in 1913 to coordinate and promote the efforts of these independent centers.

In 1928, a new structure was built at the same location.

By 1939, JWB began preparing for the United State possibly entering the war in Europe.

The idea for a multipurpose Jewish center began in 1946 when a small group of Jewish men and women living in Marin first gathered.

On September 11, 1955 groundbreaking began at the JCC's current home at the corner of Tilghman and 22nd Streets in Allentown and the center opened three years later.

With the heightened pride in Israel and Judaism in the aftermath of the Six Day War of 1967, JCCs flourished with Jewish celebrations and cultural events, including book fairs, film festivals, communal Hanukkah parties, rallies for Soviet Jewry, and Israel Independence Day extravaganzas.

In 1980 a partnership of the Osher Marin JCC, Congregation Rodef Sholom, and Brandeis Marin Day School was created to develop a Marin Jewish Community Campus, one of the first of its kind in North America.

In order to explore our role in Jewish education, the Committee on Maximizing Jewish Education and Effectiveness (COMJEE) was initiated by JWB in 1982, under the leadership of the Mandel Commission.

In 1990, JWB changed its name to Jewish Community Centers Association of North America to better reflect the agency’s evolved scope and mission.

The new campus opened in 1991 with a 60,000 square foot state-of-the-art JCC.