Partook in initiation
ceremony at the Pride
of Israel Camp.
Brownsville
I certainly knew my part
well.
——————
The “Pride of Israel” camp most likely refers to a chapter of B’nai Zion (a.k.a. Order Sons of Zion) the fraternal order and mutual support society to which Papa belonged. (Along with its Zionist activities, B’nai Zion provided its members such essentials as affordable life insurance, burial services, and a credit union, all of which would have been hard to come by for immigrants of Papa’s means.)
As we discussed yesterday, Papa’s own camp had only been around since January and went by the nickname “The Maccabean.” The Pride of Israel camp must have been relatively new as well, or at least less than four years old since it doesn’t appear in the 1917-1918 Jewish Communal Register. (I can’t find the 1924-1925 volume of this book anywhere, so please drop me a note if you’ve seen one in the wild). Perhaps Pride of Israel was so new, and had so few members, that they needed Papa, who oversaw initiations as the Maccabean’s Master of Ceremonies, to round out their ceremonial quorum.