THE BUREAUS AND THE DENOMINATIONS

Diversity and special interest have historically been the great builders of American Jewish communal life. Jewish hospitals, Jewish childcare services, Jewish schools in this country were all created by private “ideologues” — religious, Zionistic, or other — which special passions alone empowered them to create meaningful, workable institutions. Federations were formed to supply the infrastructure necessary to perpetuate these institutions: to systematize and coordinate the grant diversity of communal fund-raising efforts spanning the nation.