On Oct. 10, 1930, the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent reported on a conference coming to the city on Nov. 2 that was intended to spur action by the United Synagogue of America and its regional Philadelphia branch so that “more intensive religious work might be done throughout the region.”
The two organizations met at the conference to combine their efforts into that of a single entity that represented more than two dozen Jewish communities that consisted of around 300,000 people.
The conference featured Rabbi Simon Greenberg, president of the Philadelphia branch of the United Synagogue of America, as well as the unnamed wife of Robert S. Ginns, who was vice president of the Philadelphia branch and who served as chairman of the Arrangements Committee of the so-called “Committee of 1,000.”
The event consisted of three sessions, the first of which took place at 10 a.m. at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel. There was then a luncheon at noon at the Jewish Students’ House, and finally an afternoon session at which “definite recommendations [were] made and adopted,” according to the article.
The article also reported that similar conferences were scheduled to take place across the country over the next few months, beginning a wave of Jewish activity as the American Jewish community looked to unite and become a stronger combined group.
The conference also included special conversations around “the religious needs” of Jewish university students in the Philadelphia area, of which there were many then and still many today.