It was early 1944; I was married with two children. We were at war! I received a letter from President Roosevelt inviting me to report to the New York armory for induction into the US Army.
I was duly classified 4F—unfit for military service. Thus I spent the war years as a civilian. Many of my peers, single and married, were already serving, including my younger brothers, Joe and dear Ezra (since deceased), in combat in Anzio and southern France, and Ralph in the Pacific. I maintained active correspondence with my brothers, cousins and friends in the military with cheerful news from the home front.
At this time, more than a half-century ago, a group of community-minded men, all immigrants from the ancient city of Aleppo, Syria, gathered together at a luncheon in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The purpose: to raise seed funds toward the ambitious plan to build a community center.
Approximately 100 men, all heads of families, many with sons in the army, attended. I was privileged to be invited. All prosperous merchants, they were importers, manufacturers, and retailers of ladies’ ready to wear, infants and children’s wear and textile home furnishings (electronics were just on the horizon). More than $150,000 was pledged at that luncheon.
Under the inspiring leadership of an unforgettable Isaac Shalom, plans went forward. A general committee was formed, of 15 self-appointed volunteers; I was one. Sub-committees were formed to deal with fundraising (immensely successful), architectural plans, construction, etc.
A prime matter, the resolution of which was vigorously debated, was the choice of location of the community center. Would it be in Bensonhurst, where more than 95% of our community resided, or the Ocean Parkway area, where the more prosperous families had settled and were being joined by many more families? (All 15 members of the general committee and their families already resided in the Ocean Parkway area.)
The final and official vote was 13-2 in favor of Bensonhurst. Thus, with enthusiasm and zeal we constructed our Magen David Community Center on Avenue P near Bay Parkway.
With great fanfare and ceremony, we opened the doors and entered. Great were our expectations. Even before we dedicated the building, the migration of our families from Bensonhurst to the Ocean Parkway area was practically complete. Bensonhurst was abandoned.
It turned out, the location was inconvenient. The young community lost interest and shunned the center. We had achieved a “noble failure!” But all was not lost! At this time there was a growing need for an elementary grade yeshivah.
Again, Isaac Shalom took charge. Under his inspired leadership, the center building was remodeled to accommodate the structural requirements of a school, and Magen David Yeshivah was established.
This enterprise was a great success! It was followed in subsequent years by the construction of the Magen David Yeshivah High School nearby and both institutions are thriving.
For more than three decades the concept of our own Community Center languished, as the demands of our two yeshivahs engaged the full energy of our community leaders.
About 25 years ago, a new generation emerged undaunted by the failure of their grandparents’ generation. They were probably unaware of that long past “noble failure.” They conceived and constructed our Sephardic Community Center on Ocean Parkway, finally fulfilling the unrealized dreams of their grandfathers.
Morris Bailey, first president, and his successor, the late, dear Eddie Catton, were elected (very likely by self-appointed volunteer committee members as in the distant past).
Each succeeding president has made his mark in the achievement of excellence in all activities of this vibrant center.
Recently, among old papers I came across a yellowed typewritten transcript of a speech I gave on February 25, 1945, to our community at the Magen David Talmud Torah on 67th Street in Brooklyn, in my capacity as a member of the General Committee, seeking to rally support of our plans to build the community center. Here are a few paragraphs from that speech:
There are two vital and urgent forces in our community today: one which feels the danger of lessening religious ardor in the youth of the community, and which is earnestly attempting to arrest this dangerous development; and the other force, not too deeply concerned about the religious aspect, but which recognizes the need in this new society of educating and preparing their children for the tasks of citizenship in their adult life.
To support just one of these forces will not result in the fulfillment of the needs of our children as we have seen that the accomplishments of either force working separately have been negligible. The answer lies, I believe, in combining both forces and in planning a center embracing the best features of each force. To ensure the successful operation of such a center, the active participation of all our rabbis will enable them to understand their people better and bring about a more intimate relationship between them, which will be good for both.
The need for a community center to serve the several Syrian communities is urgent now. It will be designed to integrate and unify the spiritual and educational needs of its members. It is the focal point for a stable and organic congregational life of worship, religious education, community service, group play and recreational and social activities.
Let us take this step forward now. Let us make a reality the long-cherished vision of our people. Let it be a tribute to our returning boys and girls in the armed services. Let us take this step for the sure and careful guidance of our children during their youthful development.
Our community center will create: better facilities for religious education, better facilities for the development of our children, better facilities for club meetings, better facilities for recreational activities and apropos of that, today we all know that a favorable environment is necessary for the wise use of leisure, and recreation can build character and teach adults and children to live and act as a group. Finally, the community center will be a great step forward to enrich the congregational life of the Magen David community.
I wish to say in conclusion: there is no misunderstanding as to what the community center means to our sons on the war fronts nor can we misunderstand what they expect of us on the home front. When they return, they will expect to find that their community has not stood still, but that it has grown in its capacity for service and in its readiness to give what men have a right to expect from their community.
Isaac Matalon, Bert Levy and I were commissioned by your retiring committee to draft the constitution and bylaws for the center, which we hope soon, to present to you for ratification. Let me read to you the preamble of the bylaws of the Magen David Community Center:
Preamble
We, the members of the Syrian Jewish Community of the United States of America, in order to provide for the general welfare of each individual in the community, to provide fitting and suitable quarters for the cultivation and development of all spiritual, cultural, social, educational and recreational activities, to conduct and administer these same for the best interests of the community, to inculcate and teach the ideals of Judaism and Americanism do form this association and do ordain, adopt and establish these bylaws.
