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The history of the Jews in Pittsburgh dates back to the mid-19th century. In 2002, Jewish households represented 3.8% of households in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. [1] As of 2017, there were an estimated 50,000 Jews in the Greater Pittsburgh area. [2] In 2012, Pittsburgh's Jewish community celebrated its 100th year of federated giving through the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. [3] The city's Jewish federation is one of the oldest in the country, marking the deep historical roots of Jews in Pittsburgh.
There are no reliable records of the beginnings of the Pittsburgh Jewish community, but it has been ascertained that between 1838 and 1844 a small number of Jews, mostly from Baden, Bavaria, and Württemberg, Germany settled in and around Pittsburgh. These communities continued to expand from 1847 until 1852. Though the first official Jewish service was held in the autumn of 1844, Jews in Pittsburgh did not officially organize until 1847, when several men worshiped in a room on Penn Street and Walnut (now 13th) Street, having engaged the Rev. Mannheimer as cantor. After this meeting, the men also formed a Bes Almon Society and purchased a cemetery at Troy Hill. This newly formed organization lacked homogeneity due to the varying religious views of its members, and divisions and reunions took place from time to time until about 1853, when a united congregation was formed under the name Rodef Shalom. In 1864 a small group of congregants dissatisfied with the movement toward Reform practices at Rodef Shalom formed a breakaway Orthodox congregation, Etz Chayyim (Tree of Life), and purchased a cemetery at Sharpsburg. By 1886, Etz Chayyim, now called Tree of Life Congregation, had affiliated itself with the Conservative movement.
In the broader American Jewish community, Pittsburgh is also famous for the 1885 "Pittsburgh Platform" which articulated bold and radical new ideas from the Reform movement on approaching theology and the modern world. [4]
At the turn of the century, two or three synagogues were established in or on the fringe of the area which is now called the Lower Hill District. One old building near Elm Street (called the "Old Jewish Church" by some)[ who? ] was demolished and replaced. A group called Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Congregation meets in the new synagogue. At least one old building has survived on nearby Miller Street in the area once known colloquially as "Jews Hill"[ citation needed ], although it has since been converted into a church.
Pittsburgh is notable in American Jewish history on account of the conference (see Jew. Encyc. iv. 215, s.v. Conferences, Rabbinical) held there in 1885, and is also well-known as a generous supporter of national Jewish movements, notably the Hebrew Union College and the Denver Hospital. Among the more prominent local philanthropic and charitable institutions may be mentioned the following:
There were two weekly newspapers for the Jewish community. The Jewish Criterion , in English, was published from 1895–1962, of which Rabbi Levy and Charles H. Joseph were the editors. Another newspaper was in Yiddish and Hebrew, known as Der Volksfreund [9] from its founding in 1889 and later renamed to Der Idisher Folksfreynd, [10] which was in circulation from 1922–1924.
Since 1962, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle is published weekly for the Jewish community of the Greater Pittsburgh Region.
Donors to non-sectarian charities included J.D. Bernd and Isaac Kaufmann, the latter of whom in 1895 gave the Emma Kaufmann Free Clinic to the medical department of the University of Pittsburgh. Among those who held positions in public life are Emanuel Wertheimer, select councilman and member of the state House of Representatives; Morris Einstein, select councilman (15 years); Josiah Cohen, judge of the Orphans' Court; E.E. Mayer, city physician; L.S. Levin, assistant city attorney. Isaac W. Frank was president of the National Founders' Association, and A. Leo Weil was a member of the executive committee of the Voters' Civic League.
There was a steady increase since 1882 in the number of Jewish people in Pittsburgh, the new settlers coming mostly from eastern Europe. Russian, Romanian, and Hungarian Jews came in large numbers and began to display an appreciable interest in public affairs. They had six synagogues in 1906 (whose rabbis included Aaron M. Ashinsky and M.S. Sivitz), many ḥebras, and a number of small religious societies. The Pittsburgh Jewry strongly sympathized with the Zionist movement, having a large number of Zionist societies. The number of Jewish inhabitants in 1906 was estimated at between 15,000 and 25,000, in a total population of about 322,000.
Some notable Jews from Pittsburgh include rapper and record producer Mac Miller, entrepreneur and television personality Mark Cuban, and actor and musician Jeff Goldblum. [11] [12] [13]
Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood is considered to be the city's primary Jewish hub. Nearly half of the population of Squirrel Hill is Jewish. [14] Squirrel Hill has had a large Jewish population since the 1920s, when Jewish people began to move to the neighborhood in large numbers from the Oakland and Hill District neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. According to a 2002 study by the United Jewish Federation, 33% of the Pittsburgh Jewish population lived in Squirrel Hill and another 14% in the surrounding area. [15] Squirrel Hill currently contains three Jewish day schools, catering to the Lubavich, Orthodox, and Conservative movements. There are over twenty synagogues. This Jewish community also offers four restaurants, a Jewish community center, and an annual festival.
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting | |
---|---|
Part of mass shootings in the United States, antisemitism in the United States, and right-wing terrorism in the United States | |
Location | Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation, 5898 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Coordinates | 40°26′37″N79°55′17″W / 40.44361°N 79.92139°W |
Date | October 27, 2018 9:54 – 11:08 a.m. (EDT) |
Target | Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, domestic terrorism, hate crime [16] |
Weapons |
|
Deaths | 11 |
Injured | 7 (including the perpetrator) |
Perpetrator | Robert Gregory Bowers |
Motive | Antisemitism, belief in the white genocide conspiracy theory |
Verdict | Federal: Guilty on all counts |
Convictions | 63 federal criminal counts [lower-alpha 1] |
Charges | 36 state criminal counts |
The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an antisemitic terrorist attack that took place at the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation [lower-alpha 2] synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation, along with New Light Congregation and Congregation Dor Hadash, which also worshipped in the building, was attacked during Shabbat morning services on October 27, 2018. The perpetrator killed eleven people and wounded six, including several Holocaust survivors. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States. [21] [22]
The perpetrator, identified as 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers, [23] was shot multiple times by police and arrested at the scene. [24] Bowers had earlier posted antisemitic comments against HIAS (formerly, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) on the online alt-tech social network Gab. [25] [26] [27] Dor Hadash [28] had participated in HIAS's National Refugee Shabbat the previous week. Referring to Central American migrant caravans and immigrants, Bowers posted a message on Gab in which he wrote that "HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in." [29] [30] He was charged with 63 federal crimes, some of which are capital crimes. [24] He pleaded not guilty. [24] On June 16, 2023, he was found guilty on all federal counts. [31] He separately faces 36 charges in Pennsylvania state court. [32]Messianic Judaism is a modernist and syncretic movement of Protestant Christianity that incorporates some elements of Judaism and other Jewish traditions into evangelicalism.
Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated as a single neighborhood.
Jews in Philadelphia can trace their history back to Colonial America. Jews have lived in Philadelphia since the arrival of William Penn in 1682.
The history of the Jews in Pennsylvania dates back to Colonial America.
Rodef Shalom Congregation is a National Register of Historic Places landmark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed by architect Henry Hornbostel.
HIAS is a Jewish American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was originally established in 1881 to aid Jewish refugees. In 1975, the State Department asked HIAS to aid in resettling 3,600 Vietnam refugees. Since that time, the organization continues to provide support for refugees of all nationalities, religions, and ethnic origins. The organization works with people whose lives and freedom are believed to be at risk due to war, persecution, or violence. HIAS has offices in the United States and across Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Since its inception, HIAS has helped resettle more than 4.5 million people.
Rabbi Moshe Weinberger is an American Chasidic rabbi, outreach educator, author, translator, and speaker. He is the founding rav of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, New York, and former Mashpia/mashgiach ruchani at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). To date, he has recorded more than 5000 lectures on chasidic thought and philosophy as well as halacha and a variety of other topics in Judaism.
Antisemitism has existed for centuries in the United States. Most Jewish community relations agencies in the United States draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status of American Jews, which are both measured by the occurrence of specific incidents. FBI data shows that in every year since 1991, Jews were the most frequent victims of religiously motivated hate crimes, according to a report which was published by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019. Evidence suggests that the true number of hate crimes against Jews is underreported, as is the case for many other targeted groups.
Temple Emanuel is a Reform synagogue located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. Organized in 1861, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Iowa. It is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism (UAHC).
The Jewish community of Houston, Texas has grown and thrived since the 1800s. As of 2008 Jews lived in many Houston neighborhoods and Meyerland is the center of the Jewish community in the area.
Rabbi Zalman I. Posner was an American rabbi and writer associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. Posner served as a congregational rabbi and community leader in the American Southeast for five decades, serving the Orthodox congregation Sherith Israel and founding an Orthodox Day School both in Nashville, Tennessee.
Congregation Kol Ami is a synagogue located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is affiliated with both the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and, according to the synagogue, it serves 25% of the Jewish families in Utah.
Society Hill Synagogue is a synagogue located in the Society Hill section of Center City, Philadelphia. The synagogue is home to a 300-household congregation with Shabbat and holiday services, a Playschool for children 18 months to 5 years old, a Hebrew School for pre-kindergartners through high school students, adult education, social and communal activities, impactful social action, and engaging intergenerational programs.
The Broken Hill Synagogue is a heritage-listed former synagogue and now museum at 165 Wolfram Street, Broken Hill, City of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. The property is owned by the Broken Hill Historical Society. It now houses the Synagogue of the Outback Museum. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an antisemitic terrorist attack that took place at the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation, along with New Light Congregation and Congregation Dor Hadash, which also worshipped in the building, was attacked during Shabbat morning services on October 27, 2018. The perpetrator killed eleven people and wounded six, including several Holocaust survivors. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States.
Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation is a Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation moved into its present synagogue building in 1953. It merged with Congregation Or L'Simcha in 2010, bringing its membership to 530 families.
Neal Rosenblum was shot and killed on Thursday, April 17, 1986 by Steven M. Tielsch in Pittsburgh. The attack was motivated by antisemitic hate.
The Poway synagogue shooting occurred on April 27, 2019, at Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, United States, a city approximately 20 miles (32 km) north of San Diego, on the last day of the Jewish Passover holiday, which fell on a Shabbat. Armed with an AR-15 style rifle, John Timothy Earnest fatally shot one woman and injured three other persons, including the synagogue's rabbi. After fleeing the scene, Earnest phoned 9-1-1 and reported the shooting. He was apprehended in his car approximately two miles (3.2 km) from the synagogue by a San Diego police officer.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Pittsburg". The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.