The history of Jews in Charleston, South Carolina, was related to the 1669 charter of the Carolina Colony, drawn up by the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and his secretary John Locke, which granted liberty of conscience to all settlers, and expressly noted "Jews, heathens, and dissenters". Sephardic Jews from London were among the early settlers in the city and colony, and comprised most of its Jewish community into the early 1800s. In 1800 South Carolina had the largest Jewish population of any state of the United States.
Jewish Texans have been a part of the history of Texas since the first European explorers arrived in the region in the 16th century. In 1990, there were around 108,000 adherents to Judaism in Texas. More recent estimates place the number at around 120,000.
Temple Sinai is an historic Reform synagogue located at 11 Church Street on the corner of West Hampton Avenue, in Sumter, South Carolina, United States. Built in 1912 of brick in the Moorish Revival style, Temple Sinai was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1999. It is also known as Congregation Sinai, whose official name is the Sumter Society of Israelites. It also houses the Temple Sinai Jewish History Center which opened in June 2018.
Congregation Ohabai Sholom, known as The Temple, is a Reform synagogue in Nashville, Tennessee notable for the elaborate, Moorish Revival Vine Street Temple that was its home from 1874 until its demolition in 1954.
Beth Israel Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 5315 Old Canton Road in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Organized in 1860 by Jews of German background, it has always been, and remains, the only Jewish synagogue in Jackson. Beth Israel built the first synagogue in Mississippi in 1867, and, after it burned down, its 1874 replacement was at one time the oldest religious building in Jackson.
Temple Adath Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue in Cleveland, Mississippi.
Temple Beth Elohim is a Reform synagogue located at 230 Screven Street in Georgetown, South Carolina.
Temple B'nai Jeshurun was a synagogue located in Demopolis, Alabama, United States. The B'nai Jeshurun congregation was established in 1858, making it the fourth oldest Jewish congregation in Alabama. It was active throughout the latter half of the 19th century and most of the 20th. The original temple was built in 1893. It was torn down after a new smaller building was built inside the older structure in 1958. The temple was inactive by the 1980s, with the title being transferred to a local church in 1989.
Temple Israel is a Reform synagogue located in Kinston, North Carolina. Established by Eastern European Jews in 1903, it is one of the oldest synagogues in North Carolina. Having started and functioning as an Orthodox congregation during its first fifty years, it eventually transformed into a Reform congregation.
Jewish Cemetery is a historic Jewish cemetery in Port Gibson, Mississippi.
Denise Tourover Ezekiel was an American lawyer who served in various executive positions for Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America from the 1930s until her retirement in 1976 including as Hadassah's Washington D.C. representative beginning in 1939 and as a coordinator of Hadassah's food surplus distribution programs from 1950 to 1974.
Americans of Jewish ethnicity or faith have inhabited the Southern United States ever since the late 1600s and have contributed to the vibrant cultural and historical legacy of the South in many ways. Although the United States' Jewish population is more often thought to be concentrated in Northern cities, such as New York, thousands of Jewish immigrants chose to settle in the more rural Southern United States forming tight-knit religious communities and creating a unique cultural identity. Jewish immigrants came to the South from various countries, backgrounds and religious traditions within Judaism. Major Jewish communities include Memphis, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Wilmington, North Carolina. Jews participated in many important events in Southern history, such as the Civil War, the World Wars, and the civil rights movement.
Stephen Goldring was an American businessman, chairman of the Sazerac Company, and head of the family that owns Sazerac, the second largest spirits company in the US.
Malcolm C. Woldenberg was a Canadian-born American businessman and philanthropist.
The Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia and neighboring parts of West Virginia is home to a long-established German-American community dating back to the 17th century. The earliest German settlers to Shenandoah, sometimes known as the Shenandoah Deitsch or the Valley Dutch, were Pennsylvania Dutch migrants who arrived from southeastern Pennsylvania. These German settlers travelled southward along the Great Wagon Road. The Pennsylvania Dutch are the descendants of German, Swiss, and Alsatian Protestants who began settling in Pennsylvania during the 1600s. These German refugees had fled the Rhineland-Palatinate region of southwestern Germany due to religious and political persecution during repeated invasions by French troops. From the colonial period to the early 1900s, people of Germanic heritage formed the social and economic backbone of the Shenandoah Valley. The majority of the German settlers in the valley belonged to Anabaptist denominations such as the Mennonites, the Dunkers, and others. Smaller numbers were German Catholics or German Jews. Due to both economic reasons and Anabaptist objections to slavery, the German settlers of the valley owned few slaves, and consequently the area has never had a large African-American population. The earliest European settlers of the Shenandoah Valley were the Germans, who mostly settled in the northern portions of the valley, and the Scotch-Irish who mostly settled in the southern portions of the valley. The German language was commonly spoken in Shenandoah until World War I, when anti-German sentiment resulted in many German-Americans abandoning their language and customs in order to assimilate into the cultural mainstream. The German contribution to the culture of the Shenandoah Valley has been substantial, with Germans popularizing Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine and shape note singing. While most white Southerners have been of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic stock, the German migration to Shenandoah has given the area some ethnic diversity, "a characteristic more Pennsylvanian then Virginian". While the valley is geographically Southern, this German contribution from the Mid-Atlantic has "made it appear Northern." In the 21st century, the Shenandoah Valley and Harrisonburg in particular have become known as a haven for refugees, with Mennonites and the Church of the Brethren playing a prominent role in helping resettle migrants from Latin America and elsewhere. The Mennonites and the Brethren have played an active role due to their denominational emphasis on pacifism and social justice, along with the Mennonite and Brethren history of being refugees from religious persecution in Europe. Current immigration of Hispanics from the Caribbean, Central and South America is changing the valley's culture.
Temple B'nai Israel is a synagogue in Tupelo, Mississippi, established in 1939, composed of Jews, ranging from Reform Judaism to Orthodox Judaism.
Barney Samuel Semmelman was a German-American politician and Democratic member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, representing Clay County, from 1916 to 1917.
The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, or MSJE, is a private, non-profit museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. The museum explores the many ways that Jews in the American South influenced and were influenced by the distinct cultural heritage of their communities. Through exhibits, collections, and programs focused on the history of Southern Jews, the museum encourages new understanding and appreciation for identity, diversity, and acceptance.
Temple Israel is the second oldest Jewish congregation in Georgia, United States. Founded in 1854 as Temple B'nai Israel, a Charter Member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now the Union for Reform Judaism, it remains a congregation affiliated with Reform Judaism. Today the Jewish population of Columbus is less than 750 individuals and Temple Israel community retains around 150 members. In June 2021 Rabbi Shmuel Polin became the Rabbi of Temple Israel.
