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A kehillah means a community. It also meant the official
political voice of a community, watched over by the Polish government. It consisted of a
simple laymen's board, for less than 5000 people, and a board plus a council for places
with more than 5000 Jews. Jews over 25 voted for the Board, while candidates had to be 30.
The age limits already tilted the elections towards Agudat Israel, who typically dominated
the Kehillah polls. On February 9, 1919, Poland granted the kehillot (plural) status of
"legitimate religious communal organizations. The Bundists and the Zionists pushed
throughout the period for democratization and broadening of the kehillot into universal
communal organizations, to help create the national autonomy both of those organizations
want. However, both the government and conservative Agudat Israel opposed such a measure,
and in '27, the matter was basically declared dead when the kehillot were made 'Jewish
religious communities.' The kehillot ran the religious facilities like the synagogue,
mikva, and assisted in charitable donation and help. Ignoring the Minority Treaty which
called for the government paying for this with revenue, the Polish government made a
double tax on the Jewish community. The Jews ended up receiving less than one percent of
minority appropriations. WIth economic conditions getting worse as the years went by, less
and less were able to pay the taxes. For 50% of Jews, even the minimal kehilla fees were
too much. 33% did pay the minimum fees, while 13% were able to pay the full tax.
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