The Council of Jewish Women, now called the National Council of Jewish Women, was founded in 1893 by Hannah G. Solomon of Chicago.
Solomon had been asked to encourage and organize the participation of Jewish women in the Chicago World Parliament of Religions, but when she discovered that the women would be serving only as hostesses and pouring coffee she and the other women quickly withdrew from the fair. She then organized a Jewish Women's Congress which met at the time of the Parliament. During the Congress meeting the Council of Jewish Women was established. Solomon served as the president of the council from 1893 until 1905.
The Council of Jewish Women has a long history of community service. In the early years of the organization, the group was involved in the settlement house movement and worked with Jane Adam’s Hull House. They also establishes Sabbath schools in communities without synagogues, provided health and educational services to their communities and food and other materials for servicemen during the dispute between the US and Spain.
The National Council of Jewish Women of today continues to dedicate itself to community service with a focus on child welfare, women’s rights and family issues.
For more information about the National Council of Jewish Women please see
their web site at http://www.ncjw.org/.
http://www.ncjw.org/