History of the Jews in Omaha, Nebraska facts for kids

The history of Jewish people in Omaha, Nebraska, began in the mid-1850s.

The Jewish community in Omaha, Nebraska, has greatly helped the city grow culturally, economically, and socially. The first Jewish settlers arrived in 1856, soon after Omaha was founded. Many Jewish immigrants came from Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some were active in movements for workers' rights. Others became successful merchants and business owners. The Jewish community also supported charity and created important cultural and helpful organizations.

Tillie Olsen, a famous Jewish feminist author, was born in Omaha to parents who believed in social justice. When she was young, she worked in meatpacking plants and helped organize unions. The Jewish youth group Aleph Zadik Aleph was also started by immigrants in Omaha.

Today, many Jewish families have lived in Omaha for four generations. As the city expanded west, their homes and synagogues moved from Downtown Omaha and the Near North Side to the West Omaha suburbs. Since the 1980s, new Jewish immigrants have arrived from Russia and Eastern Europe. Omaha has also been a place where Jewish Americans lived before moving to other cities. Many families across the country can trace their history back to Omaha.

History of Jewish People in Omaha

Early Days: Before 1900

In 1856, the first Jewish settlers came to Omaha. Most were merchants and business people. Leaders of both Orthodox Judaism and Reform Judaism worked to build strong congregations. In January 1871, Temple Israel was founded as Nebraska's first Jewish congregation. Soon after, they created a burial society and opened the Pleasant Hill Cemetery to serve the Jewish community. The first Reform confirmation service was held in 1872, and the congregation officially became a part of Omaha in 1873.

In 1884, the first synagogue in Omaha was built at 23rd and Harney Streets. Later in the century, more Jewish people immigrated from Eastern Europe. For example, in 1886, many Jews had to leave Kiev, Ukraine, which led them to move to the United States. Omaha became home to hundreds of these families, who settled in the city's older neighborhoods.

By 1890, the government counted 1,035 Jewish people in Omaha. In 1892, Temple Israel invited Rabbi Leo M. Franklin to be their rabbi. He had just graduated from Hebrew Union College. Rabbi Franklin quickly made changes to strengthen Reform Judaism in the congregation. He also worked to raise money for a new, larger Temple. People admired Rabbi Franklin for his inspiring speeches, including important Christian leaders like William Jennings Bryan.

Rabbi Franklin was active outside of Temple Israel too. He started a Reform congregation in Lincoln, Nebraska, and helped create the first school in Nebraska to train religious teachers. He also edited the Omaha Humane Society's newspaper and gave talks in other cities. In 1896, the congregation asked him to stay for another five years. In 1898, he was invited to speak in Detroit, Michigan, and was offered a job there. Rabbi Franklin accepted and left Omaha in January 1899. Even after he left, he stayed in touch with his former Omaha congregation and helped plan the new Temple Israel, which was finished in 1908.

Growing Community: 1900-2000

In the early 1900s, Anshe Sholom, a Hungarian congregation, and B'nai Jacob, a Conservative congregation, were located in the Near North Side neighborhood. Over time, as families moved or passed away, both congregations closed. Their cemeteries are next to Temple Israel's Pleasant Hill Cemetery.

The J. L. Brandeis and Sons Store Building opened in 1906. It was started by Brandeis, a well-known member of Omaha's Jewish community. Wise Memorial Hospital, named after Rabbi Joseph M. Wise, was built in 1912 for $125,000. It was located on land donated by Brandeis's wife. Between 1912 and 1917, the hospital treated over 1,000 patients before closing in 1930. In 1911, the Louis Epstein family opened the first movie theater between Chicago and Denver.

The Jewish Press newspaper began in 1920 and is still published today. Omaha is special because it is one of the smallest communities in the United States that publishes a weekly Jewish newspaper. In 1924, Omaha's Jewish community opened its own country club, Highland Country Club. This happened because other country clubs at the time did not allow Jewish members. Later, social rules changed, and Warren Buffett was one of the few non-Jewish members at Highland. He joined in 1968 to support fairness. The Highland Country Club was renamed Iron Wood in 2000 and no longer has Jewish-only membership. The Omaha Jewish Community Center (JCC) was founded in 1926. The JCC moved to its current location at 333 South 132nd Street in 1973. The original JCC was important for organizing workers' rights movements and has always been a key center for support in Omaha's Jewish community.

The 1930 U.S. census showed 2,084 Jewish Russians in Omaha. Many were first-generation immigrants who had left difficult situations in the Russian Empire, including Ukraine. In 1929, a Conservative congregation began holding services at the Jewish Community Center. This group bought land for its cemetery in 1927 and named itself the Beth El Congregation in 1935. During Hanukkah in 1941, they opened a new synagogue at 49th Avenue and Farnam Street. After many years of growth, Beth El opened another new synagogue in 1991 at 14506 California Street in West Omaha. This suburban location was chosen because most of their members had moved to the area for newer homes.

Beth Hamedrosh Hagadol Cemetery is in Sarpy County, next to Hrabik Cemetery and Bnai Abraham Cemetery. Today, these three are known as the Fisher Farm Cemetery. They were first started in 1883 by a congregation called Bennea Israel, which no longer exists.

Jewish business owners helped develop many commercial areas in the Near North Side, especially along North 24th Street. Even after housing rules made it hard for some residents to move out of the neighborhood after World War I, many Jewish merchants kept their businesses there. After World War II, many families from other backgrounds moved from the area to the western suburbs of Omaha for newer housing.

Jewish businesses left North Omaha in the late 1960s after their stores were damaged during community unrest. Most Jewish residents had already moved to West Omaha and other neighborhoods. In 1968, there were 7,000 Jewish people living in Omaha. By the early 2000s, the Jewish population was about 6,000.

Notable Jewish Omahans

Aaron Cahn was an important Jewish member of the Omaha community. He served in the first Nebraska State Legislature. His family was among the first Jewish settlers in Omaha.

In the early 1900s, Edward Rosewater, a Jewish man from Hungary, started the Omaha Bee newspaper and was its editor. His strong opinions sometimes caused discussions. The well-known Rabbi Leo M. Franklin served Temple Israel from 1892 to 1898. Arthur J. Lelyveld, a leader of the Hillel organization and president of the Zionist Organization of America, was a rabbi in Omaha for several years.

Born in North Omaha, Tillie Olsen worked in the meatpacking industry in the 1930s. She helped organize the United Packinghouse Workers of America in the South Omaha stockyards and packinghouses. Her parents' Jewish community in North Omaha, which focused on social justice, greatly influenced her. She was an activist her whole life. Later, after moving to California, Olsen began to publish her writings. She became an important feminist author and taught at several universities.

By the mid-1900s, Jewish people began to hold elected positions in Omaha. Edward Zorinsky was elected mayor of Omaha and served from 1973 to 1976. After that, he was elected United States Senator from 1976 to 1987.

Henry Monsky was a leader of B'nai B'rith from Omaha. Aleph Zadik Aleph, a group for young men within the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, started in Omaha in 1923 as a college social group.

Here are more notable Jewish Americans from Omaha:

• Dinah Abrahamson (1954–2013) - author and politician
• Max Baer (1909–1959) - world boxing champion
• Rose Blumkin (1893–1998) - founder of the Nebraska Furniture Mart
• Julius Cherniss - great-grandfather of Harold F. Cherniss (1904–1987), a scholar of Plato at Princeton
• Marti Epstein (1959) - musician and composer
• Bryan Greenberg (1978) - actor
• Bennett Greenspan (1952) - co-founder of Family TreeDNA
• Zvi Hirsch Grodzinsky (1857–1947) - rabbi
• Michael Ivins (1963) - bassist
• Arlene Klasky (1949) - animator, co-founder of Klasky Csupo
• Lawrence Klein (1920) - economist
• Dorothy K. Kripke (1912–2000) - author
• Myer S. Kripke (1914–2014) - rabbi
• Saul Kripke (1940-2022) - philosopher and logician
• Hannah Logasa (1879–1967) - librarian and author
• Clara Ruth Mozzor (1892 – after 1937) - lawyer and clubwoman
• Jule M. Newman (1893–1991) - founder of the Hinky Dinky grocery chain
• John R. Rosenblatt (1907–1979) - Omaha mayor (1954–1961)
• Brian Teacher (1954) - tennis player
• Louis Wirth (1897–1952) - sociologist
• Edward Zorinsky (1928-1987) - U.S. Senator from Nebraska, Mayor of Omaha

Synagogues

Cemeteries