Jewish National Institute

The Jewish National Movement Committee took a major initiative in May 1916 when it decided to rent the former building of the Hutchesons' Girls Grammar School which had moved to larger premises nearby in Kingarth Street. The former school building in Elgin Street, at the southern edge of the Gorbals, had been considered by other Jewish organisations such as the Talmud Torah but it seemed at the time to be outwith their financial ability. The building, renamed the Jewish National Institute and rented for the annual sum of £170, contained a full range of classrooms and meeting rooms as well as a hall and library facilities. It was therefore ideal for use by the Zionist organisations and gave them the opportunity of setting up their own literary section and Bet Sepher, or Hebrew language school.