The Jewish Community of Chicago

Chicago

City in Northeastern Illinois, USA.

Early History

Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 and had at the time a population of some 5,000 inhabitants. Between 1840 and 1844 about twenty Jews settled in the city, most of them immigrants from the German regions of Bavaria and the Palatinate. On October 3, 1846, fifteen Jews founded the first Jewish congregation in the city, Kehilat Anshe Maarav (The Congregation of the People of the West), subsequently referred as K.A.M. They practiced the traditional Minhag Ashkenaz and worshiped in a room above a clothing store. By the middle of the century, ten additional community organizations came into being, which operated until WW2. In 1861 the Reform congregation Sinai was founded. At this time Russian and Lithuanian immigrants from Eastern Europe began to arrive in the city. They spoke Yiddish and peddling was their chief occupation. As early as the autumn of 1862 the Eastern European Jews organized congregation B’nai Jacob, and a year later, Beth Hamedrash Hagodol . In 1867 both congregations merged under the name Beth Hamedrash Ub’nai Jacob .

When the American Civil War hostilities began, the Jewish community in Chicago had increased to the extent that it was able to recruit a complete company of a hundred Jewish volunteers to join the 82nd Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. The Jewish community of Chicago quickly recovered from the great fire of 1871, which affected the neighborhood of the German Jews, and from the fire of 1874, which affected mostly East European Jews. The neighborhood of the Russian and Polish Jews received the cognomen “The Ghetto” and that of the German Jews “The Golden Ghetto”.
In the 1860s German Jews began to enter the medical and legal professions, some also went into banking, even founding Jewish banking houses. The new Russian immigrants of the 1880s preferred factory work and small business. The greatest number of them, 4,000 by 1900, entered the tobacco industry, primarily the cigar trade. The growth of sweat shops in the needle trade in the 1880s with their unsanitary conditions and excessive hours were the determining factors in the development of the Jewish Socialist movement and the Jewish trade-union movement. The Chicago cloak-makers union, predominantly Jewish, was the first to protest against child labor, which persisted despite compulsory education. They succeeded only in establishing a 14-year old age limit and limiting any sweatshop to the members of one family. It was the strike in 1911 that established collective bargaining in the clothing industry. It laid the foundations for a new and lasting union, the amalgamated clothing workers of America. An alternative to sweat shops and peddling was provided for a few by the Jewish Agriculturists Aid Society of America , founded in Chicago in 1888. From the 1880s to the 1920s the Jewish Population Grew from 10,000 to 225,000, or from 2% to 8% of the general population.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, Jews relocated their residences to the northern part of the city and in the suburbs to its north. In 1969 West Rogers Park and suburban Skokie were the largest Jewish communities, each with a Jewish population of 50,000, constituting about 70% of the total population of the area. To a considerable extent the development of these new communities with religious, educational, cultural, and social service facilities was the result of a conscious effort to perpetuate Jewish group cohesion. Community leaders held the opinion that a modicum of Jewish education and voluntary segregation in a high-status residential area would forestall assimilation.


The Community in the 1960s

In 1961 Chicago had 43 Orthodox synagogues, 25 Conservative, 16 Reform, and five traditional. The Chicago Board of Rabbis , supported by the Jewish Federation and Jewish Welfare Fund, sponsored all programs of Jewish content on radio and television, and the Chaplaincy Committee , which served hospital and penal institutions. During the 1960s there were also three mikvaot , two Battei-Din (Rabbinical courts) – one Orthodox and one Conservative. The Battei-Din were concerned primarily with issuing religious divorces (gittin) and conversions. In 1969 it was estimated that about 15% of the Chicago Jewish Community was foreign-born and about 5% still used Yiddish as their vernacular. About 3% to 5% were strict Shabbath observers, but synagogue affiliation was less than 50% in the city and about 60% in the suburbs.

In 1968 the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Welfare Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, including the United Jewish Appeal, united as the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago. In addition to national and overseas aid, the Jewish United Fund served many communal Institutions, such as the Family Community Service, child development and day-care centers, and medical centers. There have been two Jewish hospitals dedicated in 1881, and Mount Sinai, founded in 1918 as a successor to Maimonides hospital, which had been incorporated in 1910.
Many Jews have occupied high government positions, both locally and nationally, among them Arthur Goldberg, former Justice of the United States and ambassador to the United Nations. The social and cultural integration of Chicago Jews into the life of the city is best illustrated by the fact that the presidents of three institutions of higher learning in 1970 were Jewish.

Cultural life

A bibliography of Hebrew and Yiddish publications published in Chicago between 1877 and 1950 shows 492 titles. The Yiddish press in Chicago was most prolific. The Hebrew press in Chicago was not as successful as the Yiddish press. It made its debut in 1877 with the weekly Heikhal Ha-Ivriyyah, which was a supplement to the Israelitishe Press and was published until 1879. Keren Or, a monthly followed in 1889. In 1897 the weekly Ha-Pisgah made its appearance, and was replaced in 1899 by the Ha-Techiyyah. The first Jewish periodical to appear in Chicago was the weekly Occident in 1873, which continued publication until 1895. In 1969 there was one Anglo-Jewish weekly, The Sentinel , founded in 1911, A Chicago edition of The Jewish Post and Opinion, The Chicago Forum, a quarterly, founded in 1942, and The Jewish Way, appearing before every major Jewish holiday, founded in 1948.

Jewish Population in Greater Chicago Area

In 1999 the Jewish population of Greater Chicago Area (all of Cook and DuPage counties and a portion of Lake County) was estimated at 261,000 inhabitants being the forth largest Jewish center in the USA. There are numerous agencies, organizations, institutions taking care of every aspect of Jewish life, from family and community support and senior assistance through religious needs, health care, cultural activities, and education, up to volunteer work and charity. The community is deeply involved in the life of the American Jewry and indeed its impact is felt far beyond all over the Jewish world, including Israel.
Some 30,000 Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union choose to settle in Metropolitan Chicago during the last 25 years. Many received the assistance of the Jewish Federation at the start of their new life in the USA.

Education

Strengthening the Jewish identity, assuring its continuity while preserving its rich heritage is one of the main concerns of the Jewish Federation. The Jewish Federation’s total allocations on education amounted to more than 20% of the total thus emphasizing its important role in maintaining Jewish life during the coming generations.
Jewish education in Greater Chicago area is advanced by a large number of schools and non formal educational institutions providing various courses and programs for children of all ages as well for youngsters and families. They all have in common a desire to promote Jewish values and heritage, to stimulate new Jewish creativity and to help preserve a distinct Jewish identity while preparing the younger generations towards the challenges posed by a constantly changing society.
The various educational options are provided by many Hebrew, Sunday and day schools, and also numerous informal institutions for adults and families encompassing programs as diverse as day care programs, higher education, and camps and summer schools.
Chicago is the home of the Hebrew Theological College , Yeshiva High School and Teachers Institute, The College of Jewish Studies , a branch of the Telz yeshivah, The Chicago Jewish Academy.
Primary day schools include the Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School, the Kinderland/Hebrew Academy , the Sephardic Hebrew Day School, and Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School, and of the secondary day schools a mention should be made of Ida Crown Jewish Academy and Bais Yaakov High School of Chicago, among others. Sachs-Skora Community Hebrew School, Consolidated Traditional Hebrew School are only two of the many primary Hebrew Sunday schools that function in the Greater Chicago area.
Family education is promoted by a number of institutions, among them the various Jewish community Centers of Chicago, the Marvin N. Stone Centre for Jewish Arts & Letters , the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies – a liberal arts college. Spertus also houses the Zell Holocaust Memorial whose resources help children and adults to better comprehend the Holocaust.

Jewish Periodicals

The Jewish periodicals published in Chicago include the weekly Chicago Jewish News, with an online edition, the fortnightly Chicago Jewish Star distributed free of charge - both based in Skokie, the quarterly Jewish Community News that started publication in 1941, and the annual JUF News & Guide to Jewish Living in Chicago published jointly by the Jewish United Fund and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Jewish Image is a monthly family magazine based in Chicago and is distributed free of charge all over United States. Kosher Consumer is published by the Chicago Rabbinical Council six times a year and contains information on kosher products.

Radio, TV and e-media

Jerusalem Online – WCFC-TV 38, is a half-hour magazine broadcast from Jerusalem on Fridays at 20:00 and rebroadcast on Sundays at 13:00. Sanctuary - WLS-TV7, is a talk-show focused on Jewish issues and produced by the Jewish Television Commission – a joint venture of the Jewish Federation and of the Chicago Board of Rabbis.
The Torah Radio Network broadcasts an array of programs on Jewish issues.
Israel News by Phone – 847-679-9374, offers daily updates Sunday through Friday, in English, from the Israeli Arutz-7 radio station.
The Moshe and Esther Brandman Memorial Tape Library makes possible to listen to edifying and informative lectures by Torah scholars.

Religious life

The religious needs of the Jews living in the Greater Chicago are served by numerous of institutions, organizations, and synagogues belonging to all Jewish movements. All other aspects of Jewish life, like kosher food, mikveh , Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations, to list only a few are provided by the various congregations and by the Jewish Federation. Jewish Burial Society and Chicago Jewish Funerals provide Jewish funerals, among others.
Religious life is coordinated by the Chicago Rabbinical Council which takes care of the different aspects and necessities of Orthodox Judaism and by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations UAHC – Chicago for the Reform Judaism. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is overseeing the activities of the Conservative congregations setting guidelines for their social, educative, and religious programs.

Synagogues

Of the Conservative synagogues a special mention should be made of the veteran Anshe Emet Synagogue located in the Lakeview neighborhood and which represents a landmark in the Jewish history of Chicago. Other Conservative congregations include Temple Har Zion in River Forest, Congregation Am Chai in Hoffman Estates, Congegation Rodfei Zedek , and B’nai Emunah in Skokie. Temple Menorah, Emanuel Congregation, and Congregation Or Chadash in Chicago belong to the Reform movement as well as Temple Beth Israel in Skokie, Congregation B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim in Glenview, and Congregation B'nai Yehuda Beth Sholom in Homewood, to name only a few of the more than 20 Reform temples located in Metropolitan Chicago.
Among the Orthodox synagogues Congregation Adas Yeshuron Anshe Kanesses Israel and Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel are located in Chicago and Congregation Or Torah is situated in Skokie.
Skokie has also a Reconstructionist congregation – Ezra Habonim Niles Township Jewish Congregation , additional Reconstructionist congregations are located in Evanston – Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation , in Naperville – Congregation Beth Shalom, and in Northbrook – Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue.

Ties with Israel

Within the framework of the Partnership 2000 project that strives to establish and develop close relationships between Jewish communities in the Diaspora and Israeli towns and villages, the Jewish Federation and the Jewish United Fund in Chicago are connected with the Lachish area in the Negev region of Israel providing its inhabitants with assistance in development as well as with an informal opportunity to foster direct contacts between the two communities.
General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities
During November 10-15, 2000, the Jewish Federation of Chicago hosted the annual General Assembly (GA) of the United Jewish Communities with some 5,000 delegates expected to gather from US, Canada, South America, Israel and Europe.

Early 21st century

The city of Chicago is home to the fifth largest Jewish population in the United States. According to a 2010 study published by the Berman Jewish Databank, approximately 291,000 Jews live in the Chicago metropolitan area. By 2013, the Jewish community comprised nearly 10% of the city’s total population (2.7 million).

Located across Chicago are a number of organizations which serve the city’s Jewish community. Many of these were established during the mid 20th century, but as the Jewish community continued to change with each passing generation, the need for specialized programs led to the development of several foundations and support groups. Serving the more than 145,000 Jewish households living in Chicago are organizations such as The United Hebrew Relief Association (UHRA), EZRA, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society of Chicago, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, and the Jewish Family & Community Service Virginia Frank Child Development Center. The JUF Café provides the community’s poor with kosher meals and ARK, a non-profit community-funded agency, offers many social services including housing, food, medical care, and employment assistance. There are also those which focus on Holocaust victims such as the Holocaust Community Services, the Association of Descendants of the Shoah-Illinois (ADSI), and the Holocaust Education Foundation. Often working in tandem with various organizations are the city’s several Jewish councils. These include The Council for Jewish Elderly, West Rogers Park Jewish Community Council, and the Midwest Jewish Council.

Founded in 1977, The Chicago Jewish Historical Society preserves the history of Chicago’s Jewish community. The society collects and maintains a variety of written, spoken and photographic records. They sponsor lectures, events and tours of the city’s Jewish historical sites. Some of Chicago’s famous Jewish landmarks include the Kehilat Anshe Maarav at the Isaiah Israel Congregation in Hyde Park, the site of the old Maxwell Street Market located in one of Chicago’s oldest residential neighborhoods, the headquarters of the Jewish United Fund on Ben Gurion Way on S. Franklin, the Chicago Loop Synagogue, and the historic neighborhood of Lawndale.

About twenty six percent of Chicago’s Jews identify as orthodox or traditional. Thirty five percent identify as conservative while another thirty percent or more identify as reform. By 2004, there was an estimated 140 synagogues in the Chicago metropolitan area. Nearly every movement within modern Judaism is represented. There are 39 orthodox, 31 conservative, 36 reform, 14 traditional, 3 reconstructionist, 1 humanist, and about 7 non-denominational congregations. There are also 4 mikva'ot and 2 rabbinical courts.

The Jewish community of Chicago hosts a variety of educational programs and institutions. Many of these are supported by the Jewish Federation with different allocations and grants. Jewish education in Chicago spans from day care to the college level. Eighty percent of Chicago's Jewish children receive Jewish education. In addition to several day schools and yeshivot are institutions such as the Ida Crown Jewish Academy, Associated Talmud Torahs, Anne Blitstein Teachers Institute of Women, and the Board of Jewish Education. Courses of higher learning are offered at The Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, the Rorh Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) and the Hebrew Theological College.

Other sources of Jewish education can be found within the city's museums, centers and memorials, particularly, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center, the Chicago Jewish Historical Society, the Chicago Hebrew Institute and the Kohl Children's Museum.

For students and young professionals are a number of Jewish clubs and associations. Some are committed to community outreach while others bring people together. Avodah, the Jewish service corps, advocates for poverty while Club 1948 works to connect Israelis with Jewish Americans. There is also a variety of programs for Jewish singles and young Jewish professionals as well as multiple Jewish Community Centers, B'nai Brith and Kum Kibbutz.

Throughout the city of Chicago are several Jewish enclaves. The largest is West Rogers Park. Also known as the Golden Ghetto, since 1930, Rogers Park has had a significant Jewish population and the largest Hasidic community in the Midwest. During the 1960s, it became home to a thriving community of Russian Jews. This neighborhood has more than 20 congregations and a number of kosher butchers, bakeries, restaurants, markets and grocery stores. Another notable community was located in North Lawndale. For much of the first half of the 20th century, this historic neighborhood was home to one of Chicago’s most vibrant Jewish communities. Remembered simply as Jewish Lawndale, it was the core of Chicago’s Jewish West Side. Following World War II, much of the Jewish population relocated into suburban areas. By 1995, there were more than 150,000 Jews living in the suburbs of Chicago. Jewish neighborhoods are located throughout the Northern, Western and Southern districts. Large populations can be found in Petersen Park, Hollywood Park and Hyde Park-Kenwood, which is home to the oldest congregations in Chicago.

Providing medical need to Jewish children and families are many healthcare facilities including hospitals and support centers. Many of these, like the Michael Reese Hospital, were established by the city's oldest Jewish communities. Mount Sinai is one of the city's best hospitals and is heavily supported by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. The JCFS (Jewish Children & Family Services) offers a variety of services for families with special needs. They additionally provide programs for education, employment and counseling. The Chai Lifeline offers free year-round support to children and families.

Other facilities include the Jewish Healing Network of Chicago, the Jewish AIDS Network and the Center for Jewish Genetics. Medical centers such as these are largely supported by community-based organizations and private donors. Philanthropy has continued to be a major part of the Jewish Federation following their merge with the Jewish Welfare Fund in 1974. Several of Chicago's Jewish organizations and programs receive funding from the Federation every year.

In a city as large as Chicago and with one of the largest Jewish communities in the United States, there is no shortage of Jewish media. Across all channels, from television and radio to newspapers and online magazines, are several sources of Jewish news and entertainment. Circulating throughout Chicago is the Chicago Jewish Star, a twice-monthly newspaper. There is also Schmooze Magazine, a student-run Jewish publication. Online periodicals include Chicago Jewish News, Oy! Chicago, Kveller and JUF News.

Boston

Capital of the State of Massachusetts, USA.

Jewish settlement began to consolidate in Boston, one of the oldest cities in America, only in the mid-19th century, with the establishment of the "Ohabei Shalom" congregation (1842) by Jews from south Germany. Ten years later the first synagogue in the town was built. Immigrant east German Jews formed their own community, but the total number of Jews in Boston was not more than 3,000 in 1875.

By the end of the 19th century, there were already 20,000 Jews, 14,000 of them immigrants from central Europe. In late 1960s, only 15% of Boston's Jews could be considered immigrants. The united Hebrew benevolent fund was founded in 1864 and in time other associations were added, dividing the charity work among themselves. Under the leadership of Louis Kirstein (1867-1942), the federation, founded in 1895, consolidated and became widely recognized. A Jewish education society was founded in 1915 and in 1944 the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Boston was founded.

In 1970 the number of inhabitants was 628,215. The number of Jews in greater Boston was 180,000 in 1976. Seventy-one percent of the heads of families are in management, white-collar jobs and the free professions, and the rest are involved in the clothing trade. Out of 75 congregations in greater Boston, 20 are orthodox (14% of the Jewish population considered themselves as belonging to this group), 35 conservative (44%), and 20 reform (27%). Attempts were made to coordinate the three movements, especially in the area of kashrut. Brandeis University (est. 1948) and the Hebrew college (1921) are located on the outskirts of Boston, and there are Jewish day schools that function under orthodox and conservative sponsorship.

Boston was an early stronghold of the Zionist movement in the USA under the leadership of Jacob de Haas, who edited the "Jewish Advocate" from 1908-1918, and Louis D. Brandeis. The most renowned rabbis in Boston were Solomon Schindler (reform), Herman Rubenovitz and Louis Epstein (conservative); and Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, who was one of the leading figures in Orthodox Judaism in the United States.

According to a demographic study of the Greater Boston area in 2005, the Jewish population is estimated to be between 209,000 and 260,000, approximately 5-6% of the city’s total population. The same study found there to be as many as 105,500 Jewish households residing in the Boston area. As of 2008, Boston ranks seventh in Jewish population among metropolitan areas in the United States, following New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Washington DC, and San Francisco.

The Jewish community of Boston includes some eleven thousand Jews from the former Soviet Union, most of whom found their way to Boston after 1985 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

In addition to the Jewish Federation of Boston, known as Combined Jewish Philanthropies, there are over a hundred organizations that serve the Jewish community of Greater Boston. Among them are several agencies which provide social services and fund community programs. There are also a number of institutions and federations for the community’s religious observances, services and events. Others include those which support the rights of women, provide healthcare for children and families, and supply housing for the elderly. Philanthropy is also a major focus of many of the city’s Jewish organizations. Combined Jewish Philanthropies supports more than 100 social service agencies, schools, synagogues, and local and international programs. As much as eighty-five percent of the Jewish community donates to Jewish causes and community-based organizations.

About fifty percent of Boston’s Jewish adults are members of a congregation and approximately one-third attend religious services once a month. Many identify as Jewish and with a particular movement within Judaism. In early 21st century, forty-two percent identify as Reform, 33% as Conservative, 5% Orthodox, 3% as other and 16% identify simply as secular, not belonging to any one organized denomination. By 2001, the Greater Boston area boasted 174 different congregations, including 53 Orthodox, 37 Conservative, 34 Reform, 5 Reconstructionist and 40 or more unaffiliated.

In the area of education, the Boston Jewish community definitely stands out. Beginning in 1998, Boston became a national center for Jewish education. The city of Boston is on record for having the largest number of Jewish scholars per capita than any other city outside the State of Israel. The extensive support given to the Bureau of Jewish Education and Hebrew College enabled an expansion of Jewish learning. Numerous educational programs were created for children, adults and families.

More than forty percent of Jewish adults hold advanced degrees and by 2004, there were 90 staff positions in Jewish studies at 7 of the most prominent private universities in the Boston area. In Boston, nearly all Jewish children between the ages of 9 and 13 are enrolled in some type of Jewish education program. Many children are enrolled in day schools, once-weekly programs and multi-day programs.

In 2000, Boston was home to as many as 140 Jewish schools, youth groups, camps and adult education programs, including 14 independent Jewish day schools affiliated with the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and other movements. Some of its most notable day schools include The Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston, The MetroWest Jewish Day School, Jewish Community Day School, and The Rashi School, the only reform Jewish day school in Massachusetts. Institutions of higher learning include Hebrew College and Brandeis University, the only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored College or university in the United States.

Catering to the city’s Jewish youth and young adults are more than fifteen social clubs and organizations. In addition to Boston’s Jewish Community Center located in Newton, are associations such as the Moishe House, Hillel, Chabad, The Chai Center, CJP Young Leadership Division, The Riverway Project and the Jewish Collaborative Initiative. Many of these associations focus on community outreach and Jewish identity and education. Others provide sports and recreational programs.

Given its historical significance in the United States, the city of Boston has much to offer in the way of cultural and historical sites, including several which celebrate and commemorate the city’s historic Jewish community. One of the most notable landmarks is The New England Holocaust Memorial. At the memorial are six towers with numbers etched into them, symbolizing the six million victims of the Holocaust.

Another major site is The Vilna Shul, Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture. The building had originally been built in 1919 for a congregation founded by Jews from Lithuania. When the building was renovated in 1990, the cultural center was built. It is the only synagogue from the immigrant era that still has a Jewish purpose and the only authentic building which remains from Boston’s West End. The Vilna Shul is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Other Jewish landmarks include the Harvard street area in Brookline. This neighborhood is home to a sizeable Jewish population and a variety of Jewish establishments such as kosher and Jewish-style restaurants, Jewish gift shops and kosher markets.

In the suburb of Newton is the Adams Street Shul, also known as Congregation Agudas Achim Anshei Sfard. Built in 1912, it is the first synagogue in Newton and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the more popular tourist destinations is the American Jewish Historical Society, the nation’s oldest and largest archive.

A group known as the Jewish Friendship Trail offers walking tours throughout Boston’s West and North Ends, giving visitors a closer look at Jewish Boston.

In the Greater Boston area are a number of Jewish-sponsored hospitals and healthcare facilities. The largest is Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, one of the nation’s preeminent medical centers. Since the 1970s it has been the teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.

The city’s leading provider of rehabilitative care is the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Another notable healthcare facility is the Jewish Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Center.

Reporting on issues of concern to the Jewish community of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts are three major news sources –The Jewish Journal, The Jewish Advocate and Jewish Boston.com.

The Jewish Advocate was founded in 1902, making it the oldest continually-circulated English-language Jewish newspaper in the United States. Based in downtown Boston, it is the primary newspaper for the Greater Boston area as well as Eastern Massachusetts. The Jewish Journal is a nonprofit, independent local newspaper for the Jewish community of Boston. It is also distributed to more than sixty cities within the United States. The Jewish Journal also operates a website at boston.forward.com. One of the most visited websites for all things Jewish in Boston is Jewish Boston.com. The website provides links to cultural and educational events around the city and a directory of local Jewish organizations.

Miami

Metropolitan area on the southern tip of Florida, USA.

The permanent Jewish population of Miami is difficult to ascertain, largely because of seasonal variations. The official figure is 100,000 but when one takes into account people who live there for only part of the year, the number is probably closer to 200,000 masking it one of the largest Jewish communities in the United States which also attracts thousands of visitors. Miami has become a national center for Jewish organizational activity. When the railroad was extended to the area in 1896 just 25 Jews were living in Miami. At that time a Jewish congregation was organized only for High Holiday services. By 1912 the number of residents reached 75, a B'nai Zion and a regular congregation had been founded. This congregation was reorganized and named Beth David in 1917 and is now referred to as The Pioneer Synagogue. Five years later it established the area's first permanent Hebrew School. At first the congregation included Orthodox, Conservative and Reform members and both Orthodox and Reform services were conducted. However, the Reform group broke away in 1922 and established Temple Israel. They built what is still considered to be one of the most beautiful synagogue buildings in the area. Beth Abraham, a small Orthodox congregation, also began to hold services about 1925 and Beth Jacob, also an Orthodox synagogue, the first synagogue in Miami Beach, received its charter in 1927. These four synagogues served Greater Miami until the next great increase in Jewish population just before and after World War II. A Zionist Society was formed after the end of World War I, a United Jewish Aid Association was founded in 1920, a B'nai B'rith Lodge in 1922, a chapter of the ~National Council of Jewish Women in 1921. These were followed in 1926 by Hadassah and the Workmen's Circle. The tremendous influx of new settlers attracted by the Miami land boom in the 1920s swelled the general population from 69,000 to 110,000 while the number of Jews rose from 2,000 in 1925 to 3,500 in 1930.

The United Jewish Aid Association, which assisted indigent invalids who had come to Miami for health reasons, changed its name in 1927 to the Jewish Welfare Bureau of Miami, and then later top the Jewish Social Services Bureau, and finally to the Jewish Family Service. The increase in local poor as a result of the 1926 collapse of the Miami real estate boom, plus the problems of helping the sick and needy visitors during the 1930s, resulted in the establishment in 1938 of the Greater Miami Federation of Jewish Welfare Funds. The first president was Stanley C. Myers. By 1940 the Jewish population of Greater Miami was 7,500. The Miami Jewish Beach, established in 1940 and later known as Temple Emanuel engaged Irving Lehrman as its rabbi. In 1970 over 1,200 families were members of the congregation. Congregation Beth Shalom began during World War II as a soldiers' congregation in Miami Beach and had a membership of over 1,000 families by 1968. It is a Liberal congregation led in 1970 by Rabbi Leon Kronish. During the 1950s and 1960s younger families were moving to North Miami Beach and Southwest Miami each containing about 30,000 Jewish residents. There were also centers of Jewish population in the city of Miami and the surrounding areas. The growth and mobility of the Jewish community was reflected in the number of synagogues in the new areas of settlement. There were seven synagogues in North Miami Beach of which the largest is Beth Torah with 665 families; the Reform synagogue Beth Am in the South West area of Miami boasted the largest religion school in Greater Miami with 1,200 students and Beth David with a membership of over 750 families which has established an auxiliary school building in the suburbs. There were 46 officially recognized congregations. Jewish community life centers around the synagogue rather than in the various voluntary organizations. The Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Miami was established in 1944. It was supported almost entirely by the local Federation and the number of affiliated and assisted schools rose from 4 in 1944, to 10 in 1950 and 42 in 1967 while the school population rose from 1,140 to 11,703. An Orthodox day school, the Hebrew Academy of Miami Beach, was founded in 1947 and had 506 students by 1968. A day school under Conservative auspices, the Solomon Shechter School of Temple Emanuel, was organized in 1961, the YMHA, first organized in 1913 and reactivated in 1933, was soon joined by YWHA on the Beach. In 1951 the branches were amalgamated. In 1970 the combined membership was over 6,000. Miami's first extra-synagogue Jewish women's organization was the National Council of Jewish Women, which sent assistance to Jews stranded in Cuba, organized the first Jewish Sunday School at Beth David, participated in the organization of the Jewish Welfare Bureau and helped furnish the synagogue. The council assisted in the resettlement of European refugees in cooperation, first with the Jewish Welfare Bureau and later with the local immigration authorities. During the 1960s it was concerned with refugees from Cuba of whom 2,500-3,000 were Jewish. The Miami Beach Zionist District was formed in 1941, the Miami branch of the American Zionist Emergency Council formed in 1945 sponsored community wide meetings to further the Zionist cause. In 1968 Hadassah had a membership of 8,500, there were seven Mizrachi groups and nine Pioneer Women chapters.

Tourism, the city's largest industry, was also the most important activity amongst Jews. The second largest activity amongst Jews involved building and real estate and then savings and loan associations which served them, third were services and retail trade of which about 40% were Jewish owned. Miami Beach, the focus of tourism, began as a restricted resort but by 1970 it was estimated to be about 80-85% Jewish. Most of the hotels on the Beach were owned and managed by Jews although an increasing number were controlled by outside syndicates. A considerable amount of Jewish capital was invested in the hotel industry from the1930s and continued through the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s building concentrated on high-rise rental buildings and condominiums rather than on hotels.

Since 1930 when Baron de Hirsch Meyer was elected to the city council of Miami Beach, there have been a series of Jewish mayors and councilmen although most municipal employees. Jews became more and more involved in municipal politics. Abe Aronowitz was mayor of the City of Miami in 1953. Mount Sinai Hospital, established in 1945, moved to a new 10 million dollar building in 1960. In 1959 the Cedars of Lebanon hospital was founded by a group of 75 Jewish physicians. The Jewish Home for the Aged was organized in 1944.

Miami has become the most popular Jewish retirement home in America; branches of many national Jewish organizations have been formed in Miami since the late 1930s, including the Jewish War Veterans (1937), the American Jewish Congress (1939), the Anti-Defamation League (1941) and the American Jewish Committee (1952). The Yiddish element of Jewish life in Miami still predominates in South Beach and there is also a Yiddish school and a radio program in Yiddish. There has never been a Yiddish newspaper in the community, the English language Jewish Unity was published from 1926 to 1935 when it was purchased by the Jewish Floridan which was founded in 1927 by J. Louis Shochet. In 1969 the Jewish Floridan was owned and edited by Fred Shochet, son of the founder. It has a circulation of 18,000 copies each week. The Greater Miami Jewish community has developed as the result of migration from urban centers in the northeast and Midwest of the USA and this also resulted in the formation of “Landsmannschaften” organized by former residents oif Chicago, Detroit, ST Louis, Newark and other cities. Miami is known as The “Campaign Capital of American Jewry”and this role has given the maturing local community added responsibilities and significance

Since 2004, following decades of decline, the city of Miami experienced a 9% growth in the Jewish population. Having increased to approximately 123,000, Miami became the eleventh largest Jewish community in the United States. The Jews of Greater Miami primarily reside in three areas of the Miami-Dade County – North Dade, South Dade, and The Beaches.

As of 2014, approximately 54% of Jewish households reside in North Dade, an area known for having the highest percentage of foreign-born Jewish adults (41%) in the Miami-Dade County. Nearly 31% of Jewish households live in South Dade, 44% of which have been living in Miami for more than twenty years. About 15% of Jewish households reside on The Beaches. This section of Miami has more Orthodox Jewish households than any other in the city and has long since been a destination for Jewish retirees and vacationers. According to a 2013 census, the Jewish community of Miami comprises 3% of the city’s total population.

Miami, Florida is home to a number of organizations which provide support to Miami’s several Jewish communities. Among them is the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Jewish Community Services of South Florida, the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), the Hebrew Educators Alliance, the Association for Jewish Special Education, the South Dade Jewish Leadership Council, and the Hebrew Free Loan Association of South Florida. Collectively, these groups offer a range of programs and services for both families and individuals. They include educational programs, medical assistance and general community outreach.

Holding regular Jewish services throughout the Greater Miami area are more than 70 different congregations. While more than half of these synagogues are Orthodox, non-Orthodox members of Judaism’s various movements have several synagogues of their own including Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist. As of 2013, there were approximately 44 Orthodox synagogues, including Haredi and Hasidic; there were also 15 Conservative, 8 Reform, 2 Reconstructionist and 2 or more which were unaffiliated with any particular movement.

Jewish education is available for people of all ages. For young students are more than 30 private Jewish schools, ranging from the preschool to High School level. Many of them are affiliated with a religious organization such as the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform movements. At the university level is the Talmudic University, the Yeshiva Godolah Rabbinical College and the Jewish Women’s University. There are also a number of Jewish learning centers, some with a focus on religious studies and others not. These include the Center for Continuing Judaic Studies, the Beth Menachem Torah Center, The Ways of Israel, the Central Agency for Jewish Education (CAJE) and the Sephardic Learning Center.

Like all major cities with a sizeable Jewish population, Miami is home to a variety of Jewish cultural centers. Catering to children, young adults and families are several community centers in the Greater Miami area, including the Dave and Mary Alper Jewish Community Center, the Galbut Family Miami Beach JCC, and the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center. There are also many social associations for both students and families. Hillel for example is located on the campus at Miami University. There is also a chapter of B’nai B’rith and a Chabad House in Miami Beach. In 2014, the Moishe House, an international organization for young adults, established its newest location in Miami Aventura. In North Miami is the Jewish Sports Foundation which was established in 2010. Miami, Florida has two Holocaust memorials; the Jewish Museum of Florida which is located at the Florida-Israel Institute and The Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach.

Permanent Jewish settlement in Miami, Florida did not begin until 1896 with the arrival of Isidor Cohen. By the mid-to-late thirties, Greater Miami had become a magnet for Jewish people coming from the Northeast and Midwest. As Jews were excluded from most hotels and clubs, Jewish families, including the Richter, Levinson, Stone and others opened their own hotels at which Miami became the number one vacation destination for American Jews. By the 1940s, Miami was the region’s major center of Jewish life. In decades following the city’s initial settlement, Miami experienced various waves of immigration. One such wave was from the island of Cuba. After the revolution, the Jews of Cuba began migrating to Southern Florida, many of them arriving to Miami Beach. Between 1960 and 1963, more than 9,000 out of the 12,000 Jews that had been in Cuba left the island. In 1961, Ashkenazi Cuban expatriates founded the Circulo Cubano Hebreo (Cuban Hebrew Congregation) at the Beth Shmuel Synagogue. Eight years later, the Sephardic expatriate community established the Cuban Sephardi Hebrew Congregation. In addition to its vibrant Cuban Jewish community, Miami is known for its large population of Russian Jews. Mainly concentrated in Sunny Isles, the Northeastern area of Miami-Dade County, the city is known as “Little Moscow”. Miami is also home to the country’s third largest population of Israeli Jews. As of 2010, there were approximately 30,000-50,000 Israeli Jews living in the Greater Miami area.

Throughout Miami are numerous neighborhoods and districts with sizeable Jewish populations. Notable communities include Aventura, Sunny Isles, the “Little Moscow” of Miami, Bal Harbour, Surfside, Hallandale and of course North Miami Beach. Within these neighborhoods are many Jewish landmarks which memorialize Miami’s historic Jewish community. Established by the Miami Design Preservation League is the Jewish Miami Beach Tour. This tour gives sightseers a look at the past 100 years of Miami Beach and its many historic Jewish institutions. There is also a Jewish Food Walking Tour which offers tourists a taste of Jewish Miami and their famous restaurants. However the city’s most important landmarks include the Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach and the Jewish Museum of Florida. Other historic sites include the city’s oldest synagogues. Temple Emanu-El, a synagogue known for its Byzantine and Moorish architectural design, is the oldest Conservative synagogue on Miami Beach. Temple Beth Sholom is the largest and oldest Reform synagogue, also located on Miami Beach.

Since developing into a thriving community, the Jews of Miami have established many of what have long been considered the city’s best healthcare and medical centers. Serving the Greater Miami area is Mount Sinai Medical Center, L’chaim Jewish Hospice Program, Jewish Home Care Services of Miami-Dade and the Miami Jewish Health Systems. Most of the city’s Jewish health care programs were founded and are funded by Jewish philanthropists. Mount Sinai Medical Center was founded by a group of Jewish philanthropists in 1949 and continues to raise funds through its own foundation to maintain the highest quality of care. Under the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, organizations such as the UJA Campaign and the Lion of Judah Women’s Philanthropy raise millions of dollars to support programs not only in Miami but in Israel and more than 60 other countries. One of Miami’s most notable philanthropists is Leonard Abess, who after selling his company, City National Bank of Florida, divided his bonus of $60 million among his staff as well as 72 former employees. Abess and his family are well known for their philanthropy and are prominent members of the Jewish community. In 2007, the Abess family received the highest award of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce for their contribution to the environment.

Circulating throughout Miami is a variety of Jewish periodicals. These include newspapers such as the Florida Jewish Journal, the Miami Jewish Tribune, the Jewish Journal, and Yediot Aharonot, a Hebrew language paper from Israel. The Greater Miami Jewish Federation publishes its own online newspaper known as The Community Post. There are also two well known Jewish lifestyle magazines, Jewish Way and Jewish Scene Magazine. Broadcasted every Sunday is Florida’s own Shalom South Florida, a Jewish radio station with programs that feature Israeli and Hasidic music, as well as news and Jewish related topics.

San Francisco, CA

21ST CENTURY

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the Jewish population in the Bay Area - including Contra Costa County, Marin and Sonoma Counties, and the Peninsula - was estimated at about 500,000, a substantial increase since the early 1970, when the Jewish population for the first time passed 100,000. The Southern end of the Peninsula and Palo Alto in particular, is home to a vibrant Jewish community that includes many immigrants from the Former Soviet Union as well as Israelis. With about 72,000 Jews, the South Peninsula, mainly Santa Clara County, has now passed San Francisco and contains the largest Jewish population of any region in the Bay Area. A large percentage of the Bay Area Jewish community is intermarried. Some demographic studies suggest that probably as many as 25% of those living in Jewish households are non-Jewish.  

HISTORY

San Francisco began as a Spanish mission in 1776. It grew slowly during the period of Mexican occupation and the first few years following the US acquisition of California (1848). Among the early settlers in the area in the second quarter of the 19th century such characteristically Jewish names as Jacobs, Fischer, Leivik, Adler, and Meyers occurred. The first US. District commissioner, Washington Bartlett, was descended on his mother's side from the Henriquez family of South Carolina.

The population increased dramatically during the gold rush (1849-1850). Thousands of people came to settle or to buy equipment before prospecting in the mountains. Among the gold rush arrivals were many Jewish peddlers who sold food, dry goods, and other equipment in the outlying mining camps. Perhaps the most successful among them was Levi Strauss, whose cloth overalls that he sold to miners were the ancestors of the famous "Levis". A smaller number of Jews went into poultry and truck farming, and a community of Jewish farmers still exists in village of Pataloma near San Francisco.

The Jewish community dates to the Day of Atonement, 1849, when two services were conducted, one by Poles and Englishmen who founded Congregation Sherith Israel in 1850, and the other by Germans who founded Congregation Emanu-El, also in 1850. In addition to forming congregations, the Polish and German Jews established separate philanthropic and social organizations. The first Hebrew benevolent society, a Polish group, predated the Germans' Eureka benevolent society. Long influential in the civic and social life of the city and a fully accepted group in this city of many ethnic minorities, Jews were represented on many civic committees from the early 1850s. Among the charter members of these congregations were the Baltimore cantor Leon Deyer; Joel Noah, the brother of Mordecai Manuel Noah; Joseph Shannon, later to be appointed San Francisco county treasurer; the Rothschild agent Benjamin Davidson; and major A. S. Labat, later a member of the San Francisco city council. Sherith Israel's first rabbi was H. A. Henry of London, while Emanu-El's was Julius Eckmann, a graduate of German rabbinical schools. Eckmann soon quarreled with the reform-minded members of his congregation and resigned his position, but he remained in San Francisco, where he published a Jewish weekly, The Gleaner, the first in the Far West, and conducted a Hebrew school. Very little anti-Jewish prejudice was exhibited in the past hundred years.

In 1970, Jews in San Francisco were active in all professions and were members of nearly all local civic organizations. The Jews, who were simply one of many groups in San Francisco from the earliest time of the gold rush, joined diverse nationalities and religions in building the city; Jews were prominent in the various arts, professions, and mercantile endeavors. Areas that the most prominent Jewish families of San Francisco included; Hellman Insurance (J. B. Levison); clothing manufacturing and merchandising (I. and J. Magnin, Neustadter, Ranschoff, Roos, Levi Strauss), shoe manufacturing (Rosenstock, Sommer, Kaufmann), retailing (Schwabacher, Raphael Weill), food processing (M. J. Brandenstein, Sussman and Wormser), paper products (Zellerbach), and furs and hides (Bissinger, Leibes, Gerstle and Sloss), journalism (M. H. De young), art (Toby Rosenthal), music (Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern), and politics (Washington Bartlett, mayor and governor; Julius and Florence Prag Kahn, members of Congress; Adolph Sutro, mayor; supervisors Lippman Sachs, Jesse Colman, Jefferson Peyser, Milton Marks, Robert Mendelsohn and incumbent supervisor, Dianne Feinstein, later US Senator). Judges on court, which sits in San Francisco, have included Solomon Heydenfeldt, Henry Lyons, Marcus Sloss, and incumbents Mathew Tobriner and Stanley Mosk. By 1969, there were many Jewish municipal, superior, and federal court judges. Jews of San Francisco distinguished themselves as University of California regents, organizers and board members of the Symphony and Opera associations, and as members of the art commission, park commission, human rights commission, police department, rapid transit commission, and board of education. Several monuments and pool, M. H. De young Memorial Museum, Sutro Heights, Sutro Fores, Sutro Library, Julius Kahn Playground, Raphael Weill School, Raphael Weill statue, Sigmund Stern Grove, Steinhart Aquarium. In 1969, descendants of many of San Francisco's prominent Jewish families were continuing the businesses founded by their forebears and the family tradition of participating in the civic life of San Francisco, as well as in the affairs of the Jewish community.

Many orthodox eastern European Jews settled in San Francisco around the turn of the 20th century and established their own charitable organizations and neighborhood synagogues. Some of these institutions still survived in 1970, and were led both by the descendants of the founders and by fifth-generation San Franciscans. In 1969, there were 13 Congregations of all persuasions throughout the city, including the merged Congregation Beth Israel-Judea in the southwest part of the city, the Sephardi Congregation Magain David, and Congregation B'nai Emunah, composed of German Jews interned in Shanghai during World War 2. In 1969, the Jewish Welfare Federation directed fund raising activities for various national and local agencies, including five Jewish community centers, home for the aged, Mt. Zion hospital, Hebrew Free Loan Association, Jewish Family Service Agency, Jewish community relations council, and a community newspaper. The bureau of Jewish education coordinated the programs of the area's congregational schools and Hebrew day schools, and Sinai Memorial Chapel was a nonprofit, Jewish mortuary. Many organizations maintained their regional headquarters in San Francisco, among them B'nai B'rith (the district four grand lodge was founded in San Francisco in 1863), Zionist Organization of America, Anti-defamation League, The Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, and Jewish Welfare Board. There was also a resident consul general of Israel.

New York City

The largest urban Jewish community in history; metropolitan area population 11,448,480 (1970), metropolitan area Jewish population 2,381,000 (1968), of which 1,836,000 live in the city itself.

The New York Jewish settlement began in 1654 with the arrival of 23 Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews from Recife, Brazil (a Dutch possession) who were defending the city from Portuguese attack. The director general of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, did not welcome the Jews. They protested to their coreligionists in the Dutch West India company and privileges were granted them. However, they were not allowed to build a synagogue.

The surrender of New Amsterdam to the British in 1664 brought a number of changes to the Jewish settlement.

Generally, civil and religious rights were widened, Jews were permitted to hold and be elected to public office, and restrictions on the building of a synagogue were lifted.

"Shearit Israel", the first congregation in New York, was probably organized in 1706. Between 1729 and 1730, the congregation erected the first synagogue. During this period, the Jewish merchant took a major interest in the business of overseas trade. Jews were the first to introduce cocoa and chocolate to England and were heavily engaged in the coral, textile, and slave trades, and at times had virtual monopolies in the ginger trade.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Jews represented between 1% and 2% of the total New York City population and in 1701, it is estimated that Jews comprised 12% of all businessmen who engaged in foreign trade.

The advent of the American revolution found the Jewish community divided. Some were supporters of the American cause, while others supported the British. The end of the revolution brought many distinct changes. Civil liberties, which were often a matter of governmental whim under the English, became part of the New York State constitution. Opportunities were expanded and new fields opened. One of the distinctive changes in post-war New York was Jewish involvement in the political life of the community, perhaps best seen in the career of Mordecai Manuel Noah, who was High Sheriff of New York in 1821.

The period after the revolutionary war also saw the proliferation of congregational organizations and divisions within the Jewish community as well as mutual aid societies and Landsmannshaften. There were also numerous fraternal orders founded, the most important being the independent order B'nai B'rith, founded in 1843. In 1852, "Jews' hospital" was founded, which later became known as Mount Sinai.

Beginning in the 1870's and continuing for half a century, great migration from Eastern Europe radically altered the demography, social structure, cultural life, and communal order of New York Jewry. During this period, more than 1,000,000 Jews settled in the city. They were overwhelmingly Yiddish speaking and impoverished. On their arrival, East European Jews found a Jewish settlement dominated by a group strikingly different in its cultural background, social standing, and communal outlook. By the 1870's, this older settlement had become middle class in outlook, mercantile in its economic base, and reform in group identity. In 1870, the less affluent and those whose occupations required it lived in the Southern Ward of the Lower East Side, while the German Jews moved half way up the East Side of Manhattan. The relocation of synagogues and the establishment of other Jewish institutions underscored this process of removal and social differentiation, thus dividing the Jewish populace into "uptown" and "downtown" Jews.

In the decade after the civil war, fathers and sons entered the dry-goods business and transformed their establishments Bloomingdale's, Altman's, Macy's, Stern's, Gimbel's, and Abraham and Strauss. A significant number of German Jews entered the field of investment banking. They also played a central role as entrepreneurs in the city's growing ready-made clothing industry. In 1888, of 241 such clothing manufacturers, 234 were Jewish. The immigrant Jews entered the apparel trade in great numbers because it was close at hand, required little training, and allowed the congeniality of working with one's own kind.

During the 1901-1909 period, the groundwork was laid for the emergence of an aggressive, responsible, and progressive Jewish labor movement. The socialist newspaper, "Forward", was developing into the most widely read Yiddish daily and became a major educational medium for the Jewish working class. The "uprising of the 20,000" - a strike of the waistmakers, mostly young women - in the fall of 1909, was followed by the "great revolt" of the cloakmakers a half year later. These strikes increased the numbers and stability of the international ladies garment workers' union (I.L.G.W.U.).

During the last third of the 19th century, the established community built - in addition to imposing temples - a number of large and progressive philanthropic institutions.

Two developments of major significance for the future course of orthodoxy in New York took place between 1910 and movement and in the year 1915 Yeshivat Etz Chaim and the Rabbi Elchanan theological seminary united.

The sharp rise in immigration after 1903 underscored the need for more rational use of the resources and communal wealth which the community possessed. Some downtown leaders recognized the ineffectualness of their own institutions.

In both sectors of the community, the alienation of the younger generation from Judaism and Jewish life was viewed with alarm. These concerns led to the development of the short-lived New York Kehillah, an attempt to create a united community structure. The immediate catalyst was the accusation of the New York police commissioner in 1908 that 50% of the criminals in the city were Jews. Led by Judah Magnus, a coalition of representative leaders established the Kehillah as a federation of Jewish organizations in 1909. Magnus served as chairman until its demise in 1922. The establishment in 1917 of the federation for the support of Jewish philanthropies proved more lasting than the Kehillah.

The Yiddish speaking masses who settled in New York created a rich and varied cultural life. Between 1872 and 1917, 150 journals in Yiddish appeared. The Yiddish theater reinforced the press.

During the 1920's, the New York Jewish unions entered areas of activity never previously known to U.S. trade unions. They conducted large scale adult education, health clinics, a bank, summer resorts, built modern urban housing, and generously subsidized struggling trade unions.

Jews constituted 51% of enrollment in the city's academic high schools in 1931, and 49.6% of the city's college and university students in 1935. Also by the 1930's, over half the city's doctors, lawyers, dentists, and public school teachers were Jews.

As the largest single ethnic group, Jews were a highly important factor in the political life of the city. In no other city could Jews as a group weigh so heavily in politics or were real or alleged Jewish political interest reckoned with so carefully.

In 1967, there were 539 orthodox, 184 conservative, 93 reform, and five unclassified synagogues known in Greater New York; all but 163 of the total were within the city's boundaries. Actual synagogue affiliation tended to be low, however. The city's conservative congregations leaned close to orthodoxy in which most of their members and leaders, at least before 1950, had been raised. The Jewish Theological Seminary is the focal institution of the conservatives and exercised broad spiritual influence in the Jewish and general community. Jewish education in New York followed nationwide trends in the slow disappearance of the Cheder, the rise and decline of the communal Talmud Torahs, and Yiddish schools in the period from 1915 to 1950.

The city of New York is home to the largest Jewish population in the entire United States. Behind the central districts of Israel, New York City has the highest number of Jews in any metropolitan area in the world. By 2013 there was approximately 1.5 – 1.7 million Jews living throughout New York City, accounting for nearly 18% of the city’s total population (8.3 million).

Serving the Jewish people of New York City are several organizations. Many of these focus on Jewish religious practice, healthcare, education and family services. Throughout the city’s five boroughs are many foundations which support local communities and advocate for Jewish and Israeli causes. Some of the major organizations include UJA Federation of New York, The Jewish Communal Fund, The World Jewish Congress, The American Jewish Congress, AJC (Global Jewish Advocacy), The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and COJECO, the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations. There are additionally many local organizations that specialize in the needs of their respective communities, such as the Bensonhurst Council of Jewish Organizations, which is the oldest in New York City, the Bronx Jewish Community Council, the Crown Heights Community Council, the Council of Jewish Organizations of Flatbush, and the Boro Park Community council.

Found across New York City are hundreds of synagogues, representing nearly every movement within Judaism. While the majority of these are in permanent buildings, some are held in temporary places. Many of these are not found in directories. There is an estimated 50 Orthodox synagogues, 8 Conservative, 17 Reform, 2 Reconstructionist and 5-7 which are unaffiliated with any particular movement. Among the wide range of Jewish educational services, are more than 350 private Jewish day schools which serve over 140,000 students. These include 191 high schools, 247 elementary schools and 159 preschools. Outside of school are many programs for Jewish youth, such as the Bnei Akiva Religious Zionist Youth Movement, Friends of Israel Scouts (Tzofim) and Young Judea.

New York City is well known for its numerous cultural institutions and museums. Many are internationally known and visited by thousands every year. Among those of which are culturally focused, are several Jewish museums and Holocaust memorials, such as the Anne Frank Center (USA), Bernard Museum of Judaica, and The Center for Jewish History. Other museums include the Derfner Judaica Museum, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Jewish Museum (New York), Living Torah Museum, Yeshiva University Museum and the Jewish Children’s Museum. New York City also has many Jewish cultural centers including the JCC Manhattan, YIVO (Institute for Jewish Research), the Leo Baeck Institute, the American Jewish Historical Society and the American Sephardi Federation.

Significant Jewish immigration began in the late 1800s with major waves taking place between 1881 and 1945. Additional waves of Jewish immigration began following the establishment of the State of Israel. During the 1950s and 1960s as many as 300,000 Israelis immigrated to the United States. Israeli Immigration continued throughout the 1970s and has ever since. By 2000, approximately 30,000 Israeli Jews were living in New York City. The Israeli community is well known for its entrepreneurship, having opened many startups and branches of existing Israeli businesses. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, new waves of Jewish immigrants began arriving to New York City. In the 1980s and 1990s, the city’s Jewish population was greatly augmented by the Jews of Eastern and Central Europe and the Caucasus region. These included the Georgian and Bukharian communities as well as Ashkenazi Jews from the Baltic Republics, Moldova and the Ukraine. In 2012, the more than 350,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union in New York City were Jewish.

Over generations, Jews have developed various communities throughout New York City creating several Jewish enclaves. Boro Park in Brooklyn for example is home to the largest Orthodox community in the world. Other notable Jewish neighborhoods include Crown Heights, Flatbush, Williamsburg and Midwood Brooklyn, Forest Hills and Fresh Meadows Queens, the Upper East and Upper West Side as well as Lower East Side in Manhattan, and the predominantly Hasidic neighborhoods of Willowbrook, New Springville, Eltingville and New Brighton.

Serving these neighborhoods as well as the rest of New York are several hospitals and health care facilities which were established by the Jewish community. In addition to Mount Sinai, one of New York’s oldest and largest hospitals, are several medical centers including Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, the Montefiore Medical Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, the Sephardic Bikur Holim, Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Jewish Home Life Care, and the Hebrew Home for the aged. Found throughout these Jewish neighborhoods are many historic landmarks. In some cases, the neighborhoods themselves are the landmarks. The Lower East Side is a perfect example. Others include historic synagogues such as the Kehila Kedosha Janina, the only Romaniote (Greek) synagogue in the entire western hemisphere, or the Eldridge Street Synagogue, the first Eastern European Orthodox synagogue. Another group of landmarks include famous restaurants like Katz’s Delicatessen and Streit’s Matzo Company.

Since early Jewish immigration, New York City’s Jewish leaders developed foundations to keep medical centers like communal organizations alive. A number of Jewish Federations are overseen by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Other funding and support come from organizations like the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, the Jewish Communal Fund, Hadassah, Yeshiva University and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Being a community that numbers nearly 2 million, the Jews of New York City enjoy several Jewish media outlets, including radio and print news. Notable periodicals include the Jewish Week and the Jewish Post of New York. Others include the Manhattan Jewish Sentinel, the Long Island Jewish World and Five Towns Jewish Times. There is even a Yiddish language newspaper known as The Jewish Daily Forward.   

United States of America (USA)

A country in North America

Estimated Jewish population in 2018: 5,700,000 out of 325,000,000 (1.7%). United States is the home of the second largest Jewish population in the world. 

Community life is organized in more than 2,000 organizations and 700 federations. Each of the main religious denominators – Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist – has its own national association of synagogues and rabbis. 

American cities (greater area) with largest Jewish populations in 2018:

New York City, NY: 2,000,000
Los Angeles, CA: 662,000
Miami, FL: 555,000
Philadelphia, PA: 275,000
Chicago, IL: 294,000
Boston, MA: 250,000
San Francisco, CA: 304,000
Washington, DC & Baltimore, MY: 217,000

States with largest proportion of Jewish population in 2018 (Percentage of Total Population):

New York: 8.9
New Jersey: 5.8
Florida: 3.3
District of Columbia: 4.3
Massachusetts: 4.1
Maryland: 4
Connecticut: 3.3
California: 3.2
Pennsylvania: 2.3
Illinois: 2.3

Egon Pollack (1879-1933), conductor, born in Prague, Czech Republic (then part of Austria-Hungary). Pollack started his career as chorus master at the German Theater in Prague. This position was followed by later posts in Bremen, Leipzig, and Frankfurt, and then he was principal conductor of the Hamburg Opera from 1917 to 1922. He also conducted in Chicago during 1931-1932 and was guest conductor in Cairo, Egypt. He died in Prague of a heart attack while conducting Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Ernst Pribram (1879-1940), serologist, born in Prague, Czech Republic (then part of the Austrian Empire). In 1911 he established himself in Vienna as specialist for general and experimental pathology, became assistant professor at the University of Vienna in 1915, and was appointed associate professor at the University of Chicago, Rush Medical College, in 1925. From 1928 he was professor of bacteriology and preventive medicine at Loyola University, Chicago. Pribram occupied himself with studies of bacteriology, serology, colloid chemistry, pharmacology, physiology and pathology. He died in Chicago.

His numerous published works include: Darstellung der Antikcoerper mittels chemischer und physikalischer Methoden (together with M.V. Eisler); “Haamotoxine und Antihaamotoxine der Bakterien” (in Handbuch der pathologischen Mikroorganismen, 1913); Anlegung und Pflege einer Kulturensammlung," ibid., 1930); ”Die wichtigsten Methoden beim Arbeiten mit Bacterien" (in Handbuch der biologischen Arbeitmethoden, 1925); Culture Media for Bacteria und Fungi (1925); Classification of Bacteria (1933).

Adolf Joachim Sabath (1866-1952), U.S. congressman, born in Záboří, Bohemia, Czech Republic (then part of the Austrian Empire). He immigrated to the USA at the age of 15 and settled in Chicago. He subsequently began practicing law in 1893, and became a justice of the peace in 1895. As a police magistrate from 1897 to 1907, Sabath was instrumental in the abolition of the fee system, the establishment of the juvenile court, and the implementation of a parole system. Elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat from Chicago’s Fifth District in 1906, Sabath served in the House for 23 consecutive terms until his death, the second longest continuous service of any congressman. Representing a reform-minded immigrant constituency, he was a vigorous liberal who used his seniority and influence fully on behalf of New Deal and Fair Deal legislation.

In contrast to the prevailing climate of opinion during the 1930s, Sabath was a strong supporter of military preparedness and subsequently voted for the Lend-Lease Act. He unsuccessfully sought the abolition of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which he considered detrimental to civil liberties in the United States. From 1939 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1952 he was chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee.

Joseph Sabath (1870-1956), judge. Born in Záboří nad Labem, Bohemia, Czech Republic (then part of the Austria-Hungary). He followed his brother, Adolph Joachim Sabath, to the United States in 1885. A graduate of the Chicago College of Law, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1897. In 1910 he was elected judge of the municipal court, and from 1916 on he served as judge of the Cook County Superior Court. He was regarded as Chicago’s foremost divorce judge - he granted 70,000 divorces in 36 years' service in Chicago Superior Court. He was well-known for his often successful efforts to bring about a reconciliation of the parties.

From 1916 on Sabath lectured at the Chicago Law School on theory and practice. He took part in many humanitarian and civic endeavors, being president of the American Theatrical Hospital Association and of the Citizens’ Traffic and Safety Commission of Chicago. The Societe Academique  d’Histoire Internationale and the Ligue Francaise d’Entreaide Sociale et Philantropique awarded him diplomas and elected him an honorary member. He died in Winnetka, IL, USA.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975), political theorist, born into an upper-middle-class family in Hanover, Germany, studied in German universities and with the rise of Nazism fled to Paris. Here she directed the Youth Aliya, 1935-1938. When the Germans overran France, she was interned, but managed to reach the US in 1941. Arendt was research director of the Conference on Jewish Relations and chief editor of Schocken Books. From 1948 to 1952 she directed the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction. Arendt taught at the University of Chicago and the New School of Social Research, New York. Her books, especially "Origins of Totalitarianism" (1951) received wide acclaim. In 1963, her book "Eichmann in Jerusalem; A Report on the Banality of Evil" aroused considerable controversy in the Jewish world for its depiction of Adolf Eichmann's banality and its criticism of European Jews for not offering more resistance during the Holocaust.

Grossmann, Ignatz (Ignac, Ignaz) (1825-1897), rabbi. Born in Trencsén, Hungary (then part of the Austrian Empire, now Trenčín, in Slovakia). He was educated at the Yeshiva of Pressburg (now Bratislava, in Slovakia). Grossmann served as of Koryčany (Koritschan, in German), Moravia (now in Czech Republic) from 1863 to 1866, and from 1866 until 19773 he was rabbi in Warasdin (now Varaždīn, Croatia). He immigrated to USA in 1873. He served as rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY, until 1876. He moved to Chigago, where he was rabbi of Congregation B'nai Abraham of Chicago until his death.

Ignac Grossman was the author of Drei Predigten (1868), Die Sprache der Wahrheit (1870), and, best known, Mikraoth Ketannoth (1892), a discussion of the 613 commandments for Jews, including the Biblical authorities and the rabbinical definitions. 

His sons served as rabbis: Louis (Ludwig) Grossmann, in Cincinnati, Ohio; Rudolph Grossman, in New York City; and Julius Grossmann, in Ipolyság, Hungary (now Šahy, Slovakia).