Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America. Cleveland Central Chapter.

Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Central Chapter, grew out of the Zionist Brotherhood, a group founded in 1928 by young Jewish men in Cleveland, Ohio. The Brotherhood's purpose was twofold; to interest young men in Zionism, and to encourage and enhance Jewish culture in America. The first president was J. Martin Kohn. Other presidents included Joseph M. Papo, Bernard Gutow, and Myron S. Stanford. The Brotherhood was affiliated with the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). In 1929, the group assumed the name Masada, and in 1930, the ZOA recognized Masada as part of its movement and supported the formation of chapters throughout the country. In 1939, the organization in Cleveland was renamed Migdal Zion, continuing until 1957.

From the description of Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Central Chapter records, 1937-1939. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 42216007

Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Central Chapter (1929-1939), was a unit of the Zionist Organization of America. Its purposes were to disseminate the Zionist idea among Jewish youth, give support to the building of a Jewish national homeland, promote the study of the Hebrew language, and make monetary contributions to the United Palestine Appeal and the Jewish National Fund.

The origins of Masada can be traced to April 1928 with the formation of the Zionist Brotherhood Club, a group of young adult Cleveland Jewish males whose first president was J. Martin Kohn. In July of that year, Bernard Gutow, a member, attended the Zionist Organization of America convention in Pittsburgh where he promoted the idea of nationwide young adult male Zionist clubs sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America. In November 1929 the Zionist Brotherhood Club changed its name to Masada Young Men's Zionist Organization, and in June 1933, the 33rd Zionist Organization of America convention recognized Masada as the Young Men's Zionist Organization of America.

In December 1931 the Cleveland Central Chapter of Masada began leasing space at Chibath Jerusalem synagogue (887 Parkwood Drive). By 1936 this chapter was the largest chapter in the United States and in 1938 it hosted the fifth national Masada convention. A year later, for reasons that have not been identified, the Cleveland Central Chapter dissolved with the nucleus of its former members forming a new organization, the Migdal Zion Society, with Myron S. Stanford, Masada's last president, as its chairman.

From the guide to the Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Central Chapter Records, 1937-1939, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Central Chapter (f. 1929) grew out of the Zionist Brotherhood which was founded in April 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Brotherhood's two purposes were to interest young Jewish men in Zionism and the building of a Jewish homeland and to encourage and enhance Jewish culture in America. To meet these goals, the Brotherhood conducted fundraising for various Zionist causes and promoted debates and recreational activities within the Cleveland community. The Brotherhood was affiliated with the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), and met weekly first at The Temple-Tifereth Israel, and later at other locations. Its first officers were J. Martin Kohn, Morris Wiedder, Joseph Seide and Joseph Gelman.

At the end of 1929, the group decided to assume a new name, Masada, in memory of the mountain fortress which resisted the Romans in the first century C.E. The members were surely influenced in their choice of name by the poem "Masada," published in Tel Aviv in 1927 by the Hebrew poet Itzhak Lamden, a copy of which is included in this collection.

By July of 1930, the ZOA recognized Masada as part of its movement and supported the formation of chapters throughout the country. The movement grew, in spite of disagreements about leadership between the various youth arms of Zionist organizations. In 1933, when Masada had its first national convention, there were forty chapters, and it was still functioning in 1997.

It was assumed that when Masada members reached the age of thirty, they would join a senior branch of ZOA, but in Cleveland, the Masada members were unwilling to disband their group. In 1939 they renamed themselves Migdal Zion, and this fellowship continued until 1957.

Joseph M. Papo (d. 1995) was Masada's second president. He was born in Jerusalem and educated in Cairo before he came to Cleveland, Ohio, to study at Cleveland College. After his graduation in 1933, he received a graduate degree at Western Reserve University. He worked as a social worker in Cleveland in the 1930s and in Minnesota and New York in the 1940s. In 1950 he settled in California, where he headed the Jewish Community Council of Sacramento, the predecessor of the Sacramento Jewish Federation. He then spent eighteen years with the State of California Department of Social Services. After he retired, he researched both Masada and Sephardic Jewish communities, and in 1994 wrote A Journal of the Early Years of Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America, 1928-1933, Cleveland, Ohio.

From the guide to the Masada, Young Men's Zionist Organization of America, Cleveland Central Chapter Records, Series II, 1928-1994, (Western Reserve Historical Society)