Hubbard, Adolph, 1884-1971

Adolph Hubbard was born in Kutno, Poland on December 24, 1884 to Nathan and Rose Hubbard. The family came to the United States in 1888 and settled in Boston. Adolph attended Boston English High School and Bowdoin College. Around 1910, he lived in Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania where he worked as a superintendent at a bottle factory. He was also an associative editor of a weekly Boston publication alongside prominent Zionist leader Jacob de Haas. In 1912, Adolph Hubbard was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.

Hubbard was an early Zionist member and was one of the founding members of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). In 1918, he went to Palestine as secretary of the first medical unit sent to Palestine by a special committee, the Restoration Fund, organized under the Chairmanship of Justice Louis D. Brandeis, on behalf of the Federation of Zionist America. For the American Zionist Medical Unit, he was appointed to help establish the American Jewish Hospital in Palestine and oversee equipment, medical supplies, physicians and personnel. Adolph Hubbard was also the librarian of the Palestine Emergency Council in New York; executive director of New England Region, ZOA in the 1930s; field secretary of the ZOA in New York from 1939-1941; and a member of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He retired from the American Zionist Council in 1955.

He died on March 7, 1971 at Beth Israel Hospital. In 1972, his sister Anne subscribed $10,000 for the establishment of a Nahala in her brother’s memory. “Nahala” is Hebrew for inheritance; in this particular instance it refers to land purchased for a moshav, or agricultural settlement. The Nahala of Adolph Hubbard is located in the Judean Hills and leased for cultivation to settlers of nearby Mevo Beitar.

• 1884: Born in Kutno, Poland on December 24th.
• 1888: Immigrated to the United States with his family.
• 1902: Attended Bowdoin College on scholarship.
• 1912: Admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
• 1918: Part of the first medical unit sent to Palestine; helped establish the American Jewish Hospital.
• 1930s - 1955 : Active member and leader for Zionist organizations.
• 1971: Died at Beth Israel Hospital on March 7th.
• 1972: $10,000 given for the Nahala of Adolph Hubbard on a tract of land in the Judean Hills.

From the guide to the Adolph Hubbard Papers, undated, 1918-1972, [bulk 1918], (American Jewish Historical Society)