International Order of B’nai B’rith

The International Order of B’nai B’rith (Sons of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization founded in New York in 1843 by German Jewish immigrants. Modeled on the fraternal lodges that played a major role in American male life, it sought to provide both a space for Jewish male conviviality and to organize aid to the most vulnerable members of Jewish communities—widows, orphans, and the sick. At the outset, German was the primary language, but it was soon replaced by English. The organization had member chapters across the United States and later all over the world. In the 1850s and 1860s, B’nai B’rith established hospitals, orphanages, and homes for the elderly. Starting in the 1880s, the organization also funded integration classes for new Jewish immigrants, vocational schools, and relief programs. In the twenty-first century, B’nai B’rith still facilitates a broad variety of humanitarian aid programs and continues to combat antisemitism and help Jewish communities internationally.