To the Hebrew Congregations of the United States.

Notes

English and German text. The trustees of several Jewish congregations in New York convened on June 16, 1859, and authorized a committee to draft a plan for organizing a national Board of Representatives to defend Jewish interests. The new Jewish defense organization, prompted, in part, by the Mortara affair (1858), is the Board of Delegates of American Israelites, in existence from 1859 to 1878. See Raynors’ Limited Edition Historical Collectible Auctions ... Thursday, March 14, 2002), lot 246 (facsimile).