The word "confraternity " is defined in dictionaries as "a Christian community of brothers devoted to charity" or "a fraternity, brotherhood". In this case, the confraternity was "israelite ", i.e. Jewish.
The statutes of the society described the scope of its activities as "to cultivate fraternity among the members and to promote their material and moral interests by counsel and deed, to provide support for Jewish widows and orphans of regular members." In the days before the existence of universal social security, the existence of similar associations, which acquired property from the contributions of members, the proceeds of which were then used for social work, was quite common.
The Confraternity rebuilt the house in 1926-28, adding a new floor with a large hall, clubrooms and facilities, and another smaller hall was built over the former malthouse. The great hall in its stucco decoration proudly bore the symbol of the fraternity, the chequered tree of life with the initials IC. Thanks to the new use and redevelopment, the house escaped demolition, its previous owners repeatedly attempting to replace the dilapidated historic house with a new building.
The symbol of the Israelite Confraternity / Israelitische Confraternität, founded in 1898, and its letterheads from the 1920s.
Archives of the City of Prague.