Immigrants waiting to be processed in Galveston, Texas, ca. 1910. Henry Cohen (1863-1952) is shown in the forefront.

Galveston Movement

The Galveston movement (1907-1914) had offices in several cities across the U.S. and worldwide. Rabbi Henry Cohen (1863-1952) ran much of the process from within Galveston, where he also served as the rabbi of local congregation B'nai Israel from 1888 until his death. Cohen worked to secure employment for new immigrants, to find communities willing to take them in, and to continue to encourage the ongoing settlement of Jews through Galveston and into the heartland of America. In spite of Cohen's efforts, it was often harder to gain admission to the U.S. through Galveston than it was through Ellis Island, where the overwhelming majority of immigrants were entering. There were restrictions on the number of shochets (ritual slaughterers) and Hebrew teachers who could enter, because they were thought to be less likely to assimilate. The U.S. also entered a period of economic downturn during this time, so it was sometimes difficult to find jobs for new immigrants once they arrived, and there were communities who refused to employ new immigrants who, for religious reasons, refused to work on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath.