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History of the Jews in Texas

January 01, 1970

Jewish Texans have been a part of the history of Texas since the first European explorers arrived in the region in the 16th century.[1] In 1990, there were around 108,000 adherents to Judaism in Texas.[1] More recent estimates place the number at around 120,000.[1]

History of Jewish Texans edit

 
1870 Congregation B'nai Israel Temple & Henry Cohen Community House in Galveston, Texas
 
Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery (Established 1852)

Spanish Texas did not welcome easily identifiable Jews, but they came in any case. Jao de la Porta was with Jean Laffite at Galveston, Texas in 1816, and Maurice Henry was in Velasco in the late 1820s. Jews fought in the armies of the Texas Revolution of 1836, some with James Fannin at Goliad, others at the Battle of San Jacinto. Dr. Albert Levy became a surgeon to revolutionary Texan forces in 1835, participated in the capture of Bexar, and joined the Texas Navy the next year.[2] The first families were conversos and Sephardic Jews. Later settlers such as the Simon family, led by Alex Simon, came in the 1860s and contributed to the construction of synagogues and monuments such as the Simon Theatre. B. Levinson, a Jewish Texan civic leader, arrived in 1861.[3] Today the vast majority of Jewish Texans are descendants of Ashkenazi Jews, those from central and eastern Europe whose families arrived in Texas after the Civil War or later.[1]

Organized Judaism in Texas began in Galveston with the establishment of Texas' first Jewish cemetery in 1852. By 1856 the first organized Jewish services were being held in the home of Galveston resident Isadore Dyer. These services would eventually lead to the founding of Texas' first and oldest Reform Jewish congregation, Temple B'nai Israel, in 1868.[4]

The first synagogue in Texas, Congregation Beth Israel of Houston, was founded in Houston in 1859 as an Orthodox congregation. However, by 1874 the congregation voted to change their affiliation to the fledgling Reform movement. The ensuing years were accompanied by the spread of Judaism throughout Texas. Temple Beth-El (San Antonio, Texas) was founded in San Antonio in 1874, followed by Temple Emanu-El of Dallas in 1875 and Brenham's B'nai Abraham in 1885. Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue in Austin, TX organized itself in 1876 and was chartered by the state of Texas in 1879, it is the oldest synagogue in the State’s Capital. Temple Beth-El is known as one of the state's more contemporary Reform Jewish congregations due to their very open support of the Jewish LGBT community while B'nai Abraham, currently led by Rabbi Leon Toubin, is the state's oldest existing Orthodox synagogue.[3][5]

Between 1907 and 1914, a resettlement program, known as the Galveston Movement, was in operation to divert Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe away from the crowded-immigrant cities in the Northeast. Ten thousand Jewish immigrants passed through the port city of Galveston during this era, approximately one-third the number who migrated to the area of the Ottoman Empire that would become the state of Israel during the same period. Henry Cohen, the rabbi of B'nai Israel at the time, is credited with helping to found the Movement.[6]

Texas, however, suffered from antisemitism nearly as soon as it became a state in the 19th century. Judge Roy Bean's first act as Justice of the Peace was to "shoot [...] up the saloon shack of a Jewish competitor".[7] Judge Roy Bean then turned the tent saloon into a part-time courtroom, pronounced his own innocence, and began calling himself the "Law West of the Pecos". During the early 1920s the Ku Klux Klan became influential in Texas. Billie Mayfield edited a weekly Klan newspaper in Houston that regularly used antisemitic stereotypes to attack Jews as parasites only interested in extracting wealth from the community.[8] In one article, Mayfield even wrote that “there are lots of good Jews in Houston and all over Texas; you find them with tombstones over their heads.”[9] In many ways, the KKK threat helped unify the Houston Jewish community, which fought against the racist, antisemitic organization with newspaper articles, business boycotts, and legal action. By 1924, the Klan had lost much of its local support and influence, and Mayfield's newspaper went out of business.[10]

Even during the height of the KKK's influence, Houston Jews held powerful roles in the local economy. By the 1920s, big department stores in Houston, such as Foley's and Battlestein's, were owned by Jews.[9] Brothers Simon and Tobias Sakowitz, who left Russia as young children, opened a clothing store in Houston in 1915 that eventually became Sakowitz's, one of the finest department stores in the city until it declared bankruptcy during the economic downtown of the 1980s and sold most of the business to an Australian company. The Sakowitz stores closed for good in 1990.[11]

Many Jewish immigrants thrived in Houston, such as Joe Weingarten. Weingarten, who was born in Poland, became a very successful grocery store owner. He pioneered the innovations of cash-and-carry and self-service grocery stores in Houston, building a local chain that reached 70 locations by the time of his death in 1967. He was very active in Jewish social causes as well.[12]

Among the leading philanthropists in Texas were several Jews such as Ben Taub. Taub who was born and raised in Houston, became a leading real estate developer. He donated the land for the University of Houston when it was founded in 1936. He also helped Baylor College of Medicine to move to Houston from Dallas in 1943. Taub founded a new public charity hospital which is known as Ben Taub hospital today. The Jewish community in 1958, decided to build a $450,000 Jewish Institute for Medical Research, which they donated to the Baylor College of Medicine when it was completed in 1964. Leopold Meyer was a major donor and fundraiser for the Texas Children's Hospital. He was also the longtime director of two of Houston's most iconic annual events: the Livestock Show and Rodeo, and the Pin Oak Horse Show.[10]

The Handbook of Texas states that "The formal preservation of the history of Texas Jewry goes back to Rabbi Henry Cohen of Galveston and Rabbi David Lefkowitz of Dallas, who set out to interview as many early settlers and their families as possible. They produced a historical account for the Texas Centennial in 1936.".[13] More recently, prominent Jewish Texans include the late retailer Stanley Marcus, longtime CEO of Neiman-Marcus based in Dallas, and Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computer. Dell is also active in charity and civic affairs, including helping to fund the Dell Children's Hospital in Austin and the Dell Diamond supporting the Round Rock Express AAA professional baseball team owned by Nolan Ryan and run by the Ryan family. Joe Straus (born September 1, 1959), elected Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives on January 13, 2009, was the first Jewish Speaker in Texas history.[14]

Notable Jewish Texans edit

Jewish communities in Texas edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Texas Almanac: Jewish-Texans
  2. ^ University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b James L. Hailey: B'Nai Abraham Synagogue from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  4. ^ TEMPLE B'NAI ISRAEL, GALVESTON | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
  5. ^ Newswire 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ GALVESTON MOVEMENT | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
  7. ^ Davis, Joe Tom (1985). Legendary Texians: Volume II (1st ed.). Austin, Tex.: Eakin Press. pp. 158–173. ISBN 0-89015-473-2.
  8. ^ Greene, Casey (1988). "Guardians Against Change: The Ku Klux Klan in Houston and Harris County, 1920-1925" (PDF). Houston History Magazine. X (1): 2–5.
  9. ^ a b "ISJL - Texas Houston Encyclopedia". Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  10. ^ a b "ISJL - Texas Houston Encyclopedia". Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  11. ^ "TSHA | Sakowitz, Tobias". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  12. ^ "TSHA | Weingarten, Joseph". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  13. ^ Jimmy Kessler (2008-01-17). "JEWS". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  14. ^ Castro, April (14 January 2009). "Texas lawmakers elect first Jewish House speaker". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 January 2009.

External links edit

  • Bryan Edward Stone, The Chosen Folks: Jews on the Frontiers of Texas
  • PIONEER JEWISH TEXANS

January 01, 1970
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Jewish Texans have been a part of the history of Texas since the first European explorers arrived in the region in the 16th century 1 In 1990 there were around 108 000 adherents to Judaism in Texas 1 More recent estimates place the number at around 120 000 1 Contents 1 History of Jewish Texans 2 Notable Jewish Texans 3 Jewish communities in Texas 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory of Jewish Texans edit nbsp 1870 Congregation B nai Israel Temple amp Henry Cohen Community House in Galveston Texas nbsp Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery Established 1852 Spanish Texas did not welcome easily identifiable Jews but they came in any case Jao de la Porta was with Jean Laffite at Galveston Texas in 1816 and Maurice Henry was in Velasco in the late 1820s Jews fought in the armies of the Texas Revolution of 1836 some with James Fannin at Goliad others at the Battle of San Jacinto Dr Albert Levy became a surgeon to revolutionary Texan forces in 1835 participated in the capture of Bexar and joined the Texas Navy the next year 2 The first families were conversos and Sephardic Jews Later settlers such as the Simon family led by Alex Simon came in the 1860s and contributed to the construction of synagogues and monuments such as the Simon Theatre B Levinson a Jewish Texan civic leader arrived in 1861 3 Today the vast majority of Jewish Texans are descendants of Ashkenazi Jews those from central and eastern Europe whose families arrived in Texas after the Civil War or later 1 Organized Judaism in Texas began in Galveston with the establishment of Texas first Jewish cemetery in 1852 By 1856 the first organized Jewish services were being held in the home of Galveston resident Isadore Dyer These services would eventually lead to the founding of Texas first and oldest Reform Jewish congregation Temple B nai Israel in 1868 4 The first synagogue in Texas Congregation Beth Israel of Houston was founded in Houston in 1859 as an Orthodox congregation However by 1874 the congregation voted to change their affiliation to the fledgling Reform movement The ensuing years were accompanied by the spread of Judaism throughout Texas Temple Beth El San Antonio Texas was founded in San Antonio in 1874 followed by Temple Emanu El of Dallas in 1875 and Brenham s B nai Abraham in 1885 Congregation Beth Israel a Reform synagogue in Austin TX organized itself in 1876 and was chartered by the state of Texas in 1879 it is the oldest synagogue in the State s Capital Temple Beth El is known as one of the state s more contemporary Reform Jewish congregations due to their very open support of the Jewish LGBT community while B nai Abraham currently led by Rabbi Leon Toubin is the state s oldest existing Orthodox synagogue 3 5 Between 1907 and 1914 a resettlement program known as the Galveston Movement was in operation to divert Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe away from the crowded immigrant cities in the Northeast Ten thousand Jewish immigrants passed through the port city of Galveston during this era approximately one third the number who migrated to the area of the Ottoman Empire that would become the state of Israel during the same period Henry Cohen the rabbi of B nai Israel at the time is credited with helping to found the Movement 6 Texas however suffered from antisemitism nearly as soon as it became a state in the 19th century Judge Roy Bean s first act as Justice of the Peace was to shoot up the saloon shack of a Jewish competitor 7 Judge Roy Bean then turned the tent saloon into a part time courtroom pronounced his own innocence and began calling himself the Law West of the Pecos During the early 1920s the Ku Klux Klan became influential in Texas Billie Mayfield edited a weekly Klan newspaper in Houston that regularly used antisemitic stereotypes to attack Jews as parasites only interested in extracting wealth from the community 8 In one article Mayfield even wrote that there are lots of good Jews in Houston and all over Texas you find them with tombstones over their heads 9 In many ways the KKK threat helped unify the Houston Jewish community which fought against the racist antisemitic organization with newspaper articles business boycotts and legal action By 1924 the Klan had lost much of its local support and influence and Mayfield s newspaper went out of business 10 Even during the height of the KKK s influence Houston Jews held powerful roles in the local economy By the 1920s big department stores in Houston such as Foley s and Battlestein s were owned by Jews 9 Brothers Simon and Tobias Sakowitz who left Russia as young children opened a clothing store in Houston in 1915 that eventually became Sakowitz s one of the finest department stores in the city until it declared bankruptcy during the economic downtown of the 1980s and sold most of the business to an Australian company The Sakowitz stores closed for good in 1990 11 Many Jewish immigrants thrived in Houston such as Joe Weingarten Weingarten who was born in Poland became a very successful grocery store owner He pioneered the innovations of cash and carry and self service grocery stores in Houston building a local chain that reached 70 locations by the time of his death in 1967 He was very active in Jewish social causes as well 12 Among the leading philanthropists in Texas were several Jews such as Ben Taub Taub who was born and raised in Houston became a leading real estate developer He donated the land for the University of Houston when it was founded in 1936 He also helped Baylor College of Medicine to move to Houston from Dallas in 1943 Taub founded a new public charity hospital which is known as Ben Taub hospital today The Jewish community in 1958 decided to build a 450 000 Jewish Institute for Medical Research which they donated to the Baylor College of Medicine when it was completed in 1964 Leopold Meyer was a major donor and fundraiser for the Texas Children s Hospital He was also the longtime director of two of Houston s most iconic annual events the Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Pin Oak Horse Show 10 The Handbook of Texas states that The formal preservation of the history of Texas Jewry goes back to Rabbi Henry Cohen of Galveston and Rabbi David Lefkowitz of Dallas who set out to interview as many early settlers and their families as possible They produced a historical account for the Texas Centennial in 1936 13 More recently prominent Jewish Texans include the late retailer Stanley Marcus longtime CEO of Neiman Marcus based in Dallas and Michael Dell founder and CEO of Dell Computer Dell is also active in charity and civic affairs including helping to fund the Dell Children s Hospital in Austin and the Dell Diamond supporting the Round Rock Express AAA professional baseball team owned by Nolan Ryan and run by the Ryan family Joe Straus born September 1 1959 elected Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives on January 13 2009 was the first Jewish Speaker in Texas history 14 Notable Jewish Texans editSteve Adler Ray Benson Henri Castro Henry Cohen Jacob De Cordova Jao de la Porta Michael Dell Kinky Friedman Martin Frost Peter Hotez Isaac Herbert Kempner Jimmy Kessler Olga Bernstein Kohlberg Haymon Krupp Abraham Cohen Labatt Shimon Lazaroff David Lefkowitz Albert Levy Lewis MacAdams Herbert Marcus Lawrence Marcus Minnie Lichtenstein Marcus Stanley Marcus Abraham Lincoln Neiman Carrie Marcus Neiman Levi Olan Lois Roisman Samuel Irving Rosenman Jack Ruby Hyman Judah Schachtel A R Schwartz Florence Shapiro Jaclyn Smith Samuel M Stahl David E Stern Adolphus Sterne Matt Stone Joe Straus Robert S Strauss Peter Tarlow Ben Taub Jacob Joseph Taubenhaus Stephen Tobolowsky Leon Toubin Marianne Williamson Harris Wittels Marvin Zindler Thomas Albin Nolan AdamsJewish communities in Texas editTemple Beth El San Antonio Texas Alamo Temple Emanuel Congregation Beth Jacob Galveston B nai Abraham Synagogue Brenham Congregation B nai Israel Galveston Temple Emanu El of Dallas Temple Freda Bryan College Station Chabad at Texas A amp M University Congregation Shearith Israel Texas Congregation Beth Israel of Houston Congregation Beth Israel of Austin Temple Beth El Corsicana Chabad Lubavitch Center Houston Young Israel of Houston Houston Congregation Beth Rambam Houston Meyerland Minyan Houston Congregation Beth Yeshurun Houston United Orthodox Synagogues UOS Houston Torah Vachesed Houston Congregation Brith Shalom Houston Congregation Emanu El of Houston Temple Mount Sinai El Paso Congregation B nai Zion El Paso See also edit nbsp Judaism portal nbsp Texas portal American Jewish Congress v Bost History of the Jews in Brenham Texas History of the Jews in Dallas History of the Jews in Galveston Texas History of the Jews in Houston History of the Jews in Brazos County Texas Texas Jewish Historical Society Texas Jewish PostReferences edit a b c d Texas Almanac Jewish Texans University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio Archived 2010 06 16 at the Wayback Machine a b James L Hailey B Nai Abraham Synagogue from the Handbook of Texas Online Retrieved December 23 2008 TEMPLE B NAI ISRAEL GALVESTON The Handbook of Texas Online Texas State Historical Association TSHA Newswire Archived 2007 09 30 at the Wayback Machine GALVESTON MOVEMENT The Handbook of Texas Online Texas State Historical Association TSHA Davis Joe Tom 1985 Legendary Texians Volume II 1st ed Austin Tex Eakin Press pp 158 173 ISBN 0 89015 473 2 Greene Casey 1988 Guardians Against Change The Ku Klux Klan in Houston and Harris County 1920 1925 PDF Houston History Magazine X 1 2 5 a b ISJL Texas Houston Encyclopedia Goldring Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life Retrieved 2023 03 17 a b ISJL Texas Houston Encyclopedia Goldring Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life Retrieved 2020 06 21 TSHA Sakowitz Tobias www tshaonline org Retrieved 2023 03 17 TSHA Weingarten Joseph www tshaonline org Retrieved 2023 03 17 Jimmy Kessler 2008 01 17 JEWS Texas State Historical Association Retrieved 2009 01 15 Castro April 14 January 2009 Texas lawmakers elect first Jewish House speaker Associated Press Retrieved 15 January 2009 External links editBryan Edward Stone The Chosen Folks Jews on the Frontiers of Texas Article on Jewish Texans by Rabbi Samuel M Stahl Article on history of Jewish Texans PIONEER JEWISH TEXANS ISJL Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communiti Texas Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title History of the Jews in Texas amp oldid 1223704455, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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