Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation founded in 1860. Jews of German decent founded the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi. Beth Israel has been and still is the only synagogue in Jackson. The synagogue was built completely in 1867, but was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967. Tensions with the civil rights movement sparked the KKK to target the Jewish community in Jackson. Due to threats and attacks the synagogue moved location. Beth Israel's first Rabbi, the Reverend L. Winter, was hired in 1870. Reverend Winter converted the synagogue to Reform Judaism from Orthodox. The congregation grew slowly and steadily. By 1908, there were only 37 members in the congregation. The congregation has grown, yet is still a close-knit community and is still active today.
0 Comments
Immigrating to Jackson, Mississippi from Europe is quite the stretch. Moving from New York to Mississippi, is already a large jump, thus many struggled with settling into their new communities, especially the Jews. For both the Jewish and gentile communities, the migration from Europe to Jackson, MS was a difficult on. Gentiles were having their hometowns and communities invaded by foreigners, and Jews were forced to integrate with people of completely different backgrounds and religion. In either case, the parties were unhappy. Jews kept away from the gentiles, and tried to develop their own sense of a community. The Jews built synagogues, created jewish day schools, opened kosher stores, and all to try to rebuild what they lost. However, to the non-Jews, they felt like they were being taken over by the Jews, and saw this as a threat. Once the KKK was established, gentiles provoked the KKK to take a stand against the foreigners in their community, for this instance the Jews. However, the KKK took it too personally, and too far. The Jewish community was violated and in danger because of the anti-Semitic acts of the KKK. From this sparked a need for peace and interconnectivity between the two communities, yet many people from both parties disagreed with the idea. Harsh terms began to settle between the two communities.
Songs, e.g., Sweet Home Alabama
Books, e.g., The Peddler's Grandson: Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi Movies, e.g., Driving Miss Daisy Expression of culture and diversity through literature, film, and lyrics help society digest the racism and anti-Semitism better and help connect to the minorities within those communities
|
ABOUT
Learning about the Jewish life in Jackson, Mississippi |