Later president of the CCAR , Lefkowitz was also anti-Zionist . He was one of the prominent Jewish signatories of a petition presented in 1919 by United States Congressman Julius Kahn to President of the United States Woodrow Wilson who " asserted their wish not to see Palestine ' either now or at any time in the future ' become a Jewish state . " In 1942 , he was one of the founders of the American Council for Judaism , " the only American Jewish organization ever formed for the specific purpose of fighting Zionism and opposing the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine . " During Lefkowitz 's tenure , the synagogue building was severely damaged by the Great Dayton Flood of 1913 . Lefkowitz was " in charge of one of the districts outside the flooded area " . There he assisted around 28,000 refugees in finding shelter , and " established a bread line to feed them " . However , his suggestion that the congregation move to a larger building in a new location outside downtown Dayton , while taken seriously , was not acted on
Great Dayton Flood
Great Dayton Flood
Temple Israel (Dayton, Ohio)