Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, Charleston, South Carolina By Nicole Siegel, Research Intern and Graduate Student at Fordham University One of the oldest congregations in America, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) of Charleston, South Carolina, dates back to 1749 and is currently the fourth oldest congregation in the United States. Originally a Sephardic Orthodox Congregation, the community quickly embraced the ideas of Reform Judaism, becoming…
Sidney Franklin (11 July 1903 – 26 April 1976) -the first Jewish American to become a successful bullfighter From the Sidney Franklin Collection (Call number P-894) in the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. There is an electronic finding aid for the collection here: http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=635255 From the finding aid: “…In 1922, after a violent dispute with his father, Franklin ran away to Mexico…
This image is from the first Jewish queer zine – it is preserved in the Jewish Counter Culture collection (Call number I-504) in the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society here at the Center. This artifact will be part of a special display during an upcoming program presented by the American Jewish Historical Society on June 23rd: Changing Lives, Making History: CBST –…