Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- List of Tables
- Introduction
- 1 A Brief History of the Acculturation of a Jewish Community: London, 1880–1939
- 2 Public Health in London's Jewish East End, 1880–1939
- 3 Communal Networks: Taking Care of their Own and Efforts to Secure the Community's Reputation
- 4 The Impact of Education: Anglicization of Jewish East Enders Begins with Schooling
- 5 Religious Education: Conflicting Educational Views within the Jewish Community
- 6 Jewish Clubs and Settlement Houses: The Impact of Recreational Programmes on the Anglicization of East Enders
- 7 Women's and Children's Moral Health in London's East End, 1880–1939: The Making and Unmaking of Jews and ‘Jewesses’
- 8 Becoming English in the Workplace
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
6 - Jewish Clubs and Settlement Houses: The Impact of Recreational Programmes on the Anglicization of East Enders
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- List of Tables
- Introduction
- 1 A Brief History of the Acculturation of a Jewish Community: London, 1880–1939
- 2 Public Health in London's Jewish East End, 1880–1939
- 3 Communal Networks: Taking Care of their Own and Efforts to Secure the Community's Reputation
- 4 The Impact of Education: Anglicization of Jewish East Enders Begins with Schooling
- 5 Religious Education: Conflicting Educational Views within the Jewish Community
- 6 Jewish Clubs and Settlement Houses: The Impact of Recreational Programmes on the Anglicization of East Enders
- 7 Women's and Children's Moral Health in London's East End, 1880–1939: The Making and Unmaking of Jews and ‘Jewesses’
- 8 Becoming English in the Workplace
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
In addition to material assistance, Anglo-Jewry combined science, sympathy and tzedakah to sustain the spirit and occupy the body of Jewish immigrants. Reformers and philanthropists developed cultural, athletic, educational and recreational activities to redress the disadvantages of slum life. Youth organizations – Scouts, Guides and Lads' Brigades – Christian, secular and Jewish – reveal contemporary apprehension over the weak physical condition of Britons, declining birth rates, inadequate military readiness and imperial decline. As club records and the Jewish press indicate, Jews felt additional pressure to demonstrate the health and vigour of its immigrant community. Club programmes and membership peaked during the interwar years, many developing into multi-service settlement houses.
Jewish Clubs and Settlement Houses
Typically, clubs functioned as stand-alone organizations for boys or girls of a particular age group or one of many groups within a settlement house. Jewish clubs varied in size, but most capped membership at 100 and catered to boys and girls ages thirteen to sixteen. Generally limited to Jews, a few, such as the Victoria Boys' Club included several non-Jews, hoping that the mixing of Jews and Christians would benefit the members. Settlements served East Enders from cradle to grave. The 1927–8 Oxford and St George's Jewish Settlement Annual Report explained that settlement work ‘is more comprehensive and goes deeper than “Club” work’. Settlements operate ‘behind the scenes’, assist with domestic problems and aid ‘the physically weak and mentally infirm’.
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- Information
- Jewish Immigrants in London, 1880–1939 , pp. 109 - 130Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014