History of Jews in San Diego facts for kids
The history of Jews in San Diego goes back to the mid-1800s. Today, San Diego is home to about 100,000 Jewish people, which is around 3% of the total population in the area. This makes San Diego one of the cities with a large Jewish community in the United States.
Jewish Community Begins in the 1800s
One of the first Jewish citizens in San Diego was Louis Rose, who arrived in 1850. The very first Jewish religious service in San Diego took place in 1851. A group called Adat Yeshurun was founded in 1861. This group later changed its name to Beth Israel.
In the 1870s, the town center of San Diego moved, and so did the congregation. In 1871, the first Hebrew Benevolent Society was started by Marcus Schiller. This group helped people in need. In 1889, the first Temple Beth Israel building was constructed at Second Avenue and Beech Street. The congregation used this building until 1926.
Growth and Changes in the 1900s
In 1926, the Beth Israel congregation moved from its first building to a larger temple located at Third and Laurel. This new building could hold more people as the community grew.
Later, in the 1970s, the original temple building from 1889 was almost torn down. However, it was saved thanks to the hard work of Jim Milch, a former president of Beth Israel, and other members of the congregation. They wanted to preserve this important piece of history.
The Jewish Community in the 2000s
In October 2001, a newer and even larger temple was built. This showed how much the number of Jewish citizens had grown since the first congregation was formed way back in 1851. The community continues to thrive and grow in San Diego.
