Union of Sephardic Congregations

Founded 1929 to "promote religious interests of Sephardic Jews."

The Union of Sephardic Congregations was established in 1929 by leaders of Sephardic communities in America to promote the religious interests of Sephardic Jews. Its primary aim was to give cohesion and the strength of union to the scattered and comparatively weak congregational units of the Sephardim. It also assisted Sephardic communities outside of the United States.

The main activity of the Union was the preparation and publication of Sephardic prayer books with English translations by the Union’s first President, Dr. David de Sola Pool. These books were distributed to Sephardic communities throughout the world, including South America, Europe, Africa, India, Canada, Rhodesia, and Iraq. It also assisted American Sephardic communities in finding and bringing to the United States trained Sephardic rabbis, cantors, and scholars, as well as provided scholarships for religious training for promising Sephardim in Yeshivas in the United States. During the 1930s and 1940s it assisted in the rescue of Sephardic scholars and religious leaders from Europe, was involved with the Sephardic refugees interred at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York, and collected financial support for the Marranos in Portugal. Additionally, the Union supported the adoption of Sephardic Hebrew for use in Israel.