The Rubenstein home was marked by constant strife and the parents were reported to have occasionally struck each other.[A16-40] Between 1915 and 1921, Joseph Rubenstein was frequently arrested because of disorderly conduct and assault and battery charges, some filed by his wife.[A16-41] In the spring of 1921, Jack Ruby’s parents separated.[A16-42] In 1937 Mrs. Rubenstein reported that she had desired a divorce 15 years earlier, but her husband had been opposed to it.[A16-43] The predominant causes of the separation were apparently Joseph Rubenstein’s excessive drinking and Fannie Rubenstein’s uncontrollable temper. She resented her numerous pregnancies, believed her husband to be unfaithful, and nagged him because he failed to make enough money.[A16-44]
Psychiatric Report
Young Jack soon showed the effects of parental discord. On June 6, 1922, at the age of 11, he was referred to the Institute for Juvenile Research by the Jewish Social Service Bureau. The reason for the referral was “truancy and incorrigible at home.”[A16-45] On July 10, 1922, the institute recommended to the bureau that Jack be placed in a new environment where his characteristics might be understood and where he might be afforded the supervision and recreation that would end his interest in street gangs.[A16-46] In March 1923, the institute advised the bureau that “placement in a home, where intelligent supervision and discipline can be given” was appropriate.[A16-47]
The institute’s psychiatric examination, which served as a basis for these recommendations, took place in 1922, prior to the advent of many techniques and theories of modern psychiatry,[A16-48] but it is the most objective evidence of Jack Ruby’s childhood character. According to the psychiatric report, Jack was “quick tempered” and “disobedient.”[A16-49] He frequently disagreed openly with his mother, whom he considered an inferior person with whose rules he did not have to comply.[A16-50] Jack told the institute’s interviewer that he ran away from home because his mother lied to him and beat him.[A16-51] Although Mrs. Rubenstein was severe with her children, she was described as totally incapable of coping with them “because of their delinquencies, i.e., principally their destructive tendencies and disregard for other people’s property.”[A16-52] His mother’s “extreme temperament” and quarrelsomeness were cited as possible causes of Jack’s “bad behavior.”[A16-53]
Self-administered questionnaires revealed that Jack felt his classmates were “picking” on him and that he could not get along with his friends.[A16-54] They also indicated that, although Jack described himself as a good ballplayer, he did not belong to any clubs and was not a member of any athletic teams.[A16-55] Jack’s psychiatric interviewer reported:
He could give no other good reason for running away from school except that he went to amusement parks. He has some sex knowledge and is greatly interested in sex matters. He stated that the boys in the street tell him about these things. He also claims that he can lick everyone and anybody in anything he wants to do.[A16-56]
The interviewer noted that during “mental tests” he reacted quickly, often carelessly, and his attention was apt to wander so that he had to be reprimanded.[A16-57]
A letter recommending the boy’s placement in a more wholesome environment stated:
He is egocentric and expects much attention, but is unable to get it as there are many children at home. His behavior is further colored by his early sex experiences, his great interest [in sex] and the gang situation in the street. From a superficial examination of his mother who was here with him, it is apparent that she has no insight into his problem, and she is thoroughly inadequate in the further training of this boy.[A16-58]
Recognizing that the sketchiness of the case record precluded complete diagnosis, Dr. Raymond E. Robertson, currently the superintendent of the institute, reported nonetheless that it seems “firmly established * * * [that] his unstable and disorganized home could not provide Jack with the necessary controls and discipline.”[A16-59]