Zeta Beta Tau () is a Greek-letter social fraternity based in North America. It was founded on December 29, 1898. Originally a Zionist youth society, its purpose changed from the Zionism of the fraternity's early years when in 1954 the fraternity become nonsectarian and opened to non-Jewish members, changing its membership policy to include "All Men of Good Character" regardless of religious or ethnic background, while still being recognized as the first Jewish Fraternity. History Founding The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was led until his death by Richard J. H. Gottheil, a professor of languages at Columbia University and a Zionist. On December 29, 1898, he formed a Zionist youth society with a group of students from several New York City universities. Fifteen young men — among them Herman Abramowitz, Aaron Levy, Bernhard Bloch, David Liknaitz, Isidore Delson, Louis S Posner, Aaron Drucker, Bernhard Saxe, Bernard Ehrenreich, Herman Sheffield, Menachem Eichler, David Swick, Aaron Eiseman, Maurice Zellermayer and David Levine — gathered at the Jewish Theological Seminary on that date to found the organization. The society was called Z.B.T., which referred to the first letters in the transliteration of the Hebrew phrase "Zion Be-mishpat Tipadeh", which translated means "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment". This is taken from Isaiah 1:27 — "Zion be-mishpat tipadeh ve-shaveha be-tzedakah" (Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and they that return of her, with righteousness"). The word "judgment" is sometimes translated as "justice". The meaning of Z.B.T. was listed in the American Jewish Committee's annual report as early as 1900–1901. In 1903, Z.B.T. formally became Zeta Beta Tau, and its purpose shifted away from that of a Zionist youth organization as other Zionist organizations grew in prominence. The original Hebrew meaning of Z.B.T. is not esoteric. However, it was publicly revealed in the official written history of Zeta Beta Tau, Here's to Our Fraternity: One Hundred Years of Zeta Beta Tau, 1898–1998, by Marianne Rachel Sanua. Zeta Beta Tau expanded rapidly. By 1909, it had established 13 chapters in the Northeastern United States and a 14th at Tulane University in New Orleans. In 1913, it established its first Canadian chapter at McGill University in Montreal and, in the same year, Zeta Beta Tau was first represented at the National Interfraternity Conference. Five years later, it founded its first West Coast chapter at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. At the 1954 National Convention,