February 4, 2024

Vol. 5, No. 5



The Early 1970s:

Israel Emergency Fund

Jewish Encyclopedia:

East End tour

Jewish Encyclopedia:

1938 Community Study



Calendar:

TODAY: Nolan Altman

Feb. 17: Soul to Soul

"The Sofer"

Community:

Fine Fellowship

URA photographs

SHHS archives

"How We Got Here"

JCBA "Road-Trip"

Research Tools:

Newspapers, Cemeteries,

Memorial Plaques, Books,

Population Figures, Synagogues, Newsletter Archive,

Shul Records America

The Early 1970s:

Israel Emergency Fund

Advertisement announcing the Israel Emergency Fund, overseen locally by the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh—June 9, 1967.

—from Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

The Identicom 4 conference took a different tone than the three preceding it.

Those had looked broadly at big issues: the Jewish family, the relationship between America and Israel, and the structure of the organized community. 

Identicom 4 focused on “Perspectives on Jewish Security.” 

In a preview in the Jewish Chronicle, a young Sally Kalson described the times:

“In an unstable world, can there be any stability for world Jewry? More importantly, can there be any security? At home, Americans are faced with a government in turmoil, runaway prices, and shortages of everything. 

“Abroad, we witness old fascist governments dusted off and returned to the mantelpiece, coups and counter-coups. Fuel-parched countries fall all over each other at the oil wells, and Israel and Syria still battle it out on the Golan Heights.

“Embargo, no embargo. Détente, no détente. Dizzied by Orwellian double-speak and feeling powerless in a new wave of kidnapping and terrorism, most of us find ourselves, if not overwhelmed, at least whelmed.

“The question it all boiled down to on Sunday night at Identicom 4 was an age old one: What does it mean for the Jews?”

Absent from her list were two shocking breaches of Israeli security: the attack at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. These brought renewed attention to a new initiative: the Israel Emergency Fund.

Pie chart and itemized list of distributions made by the United Jewish Federation as part of its 1970 campaign—December 3, 1970.

—from Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

The Federation of the Jewish Philanthropies of Pittsburgh was created in 1912 to address local needs. At the time, other organizations addressed the overseas demands of World War I and its aftermath. With the extreme needs of World War II, the local United Jewish Fund was created in 1936 to raise funds to support the refugee population in Europe and later the state of Israel. 

The Federation and the Fund merged in 1955 to create the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh—now called the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The merged organization addressed needs within the local Jewish community, as well as needs of the global Jewish community, including Israel.

When the United Jewish Appeal established the Israel Emergency Fund amid the Six-Day War in June 1967, the United Jewish Federation oversaw efforts in Western Pennsylvania. Within its first 12 hours, the local branch had raised more than half a million dollars in increments between $10 and $100,000.

[LEFT] Article announcing upcoming "Walk For Israel," through Squirrel Hill, the East End, and Oakland—October 25, 1973.

[RIGHT] Article reporting on backyard carnival arranged by Squirrel Hill children in support of the Israel Emergency Fund—September 4, 1969.

—from Jewish Chronicle

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

The Israel Emergency Fund (IEF) was a major component of the United Jewish Federation's budget through the 1970s and grew in importance following the Munich Olympics in 1972 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The IEF accounted for some 44 percent of more than $4 million distributed in 1970. By the 1973 campaign, the IEF accounted for nearly 66 percent of more than $4.8 million.

The IEF also became associated with new efforts to assist Soviet Jewry, as many Jewish families in the former Soviet Union attempted to immigrate to Israel. We’ll review the growth of the Soviet Jewry movement later in the year.

The financial and administrative details of the IEF are well-documented in the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Records [MSS 287].

Lacking is the social side. 

Fundraising efforts occurred throughout the local Jewish community. Here is a small selection: The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed a benefit concert at the Syria Mosque in July 1967. A trio of Squirrel Hill teens held an annual backyard carnival fundraiser throughout the late 1960s. In a promotion in 1970, Iz Cohen’s Delicatessen on Murray Avenue donated its entire daily receipts to the IEF. In late October 1973, the Y-IKC organized a 10-mile “Walk for Israel” from Squirrel Hill through the East End and into Oakland. 

Aside from coverage in the Jewish Chronicle, little documentation survives for these and other community fundraisers to support the Israel Emergency Fund. 

Were you a part of Israel Emergency Fund fundraising efforts in the late 1960s and early 1970s? Do you have records, photographs, or memories?

If so, please email to archive or call 412-454-6406.

All year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting stories of Jewish life in Western Pennsylvania in the early 1970s. If you would like to donate a material from this time period, or any historically relevant materials documenting Jewish life in this region, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

The East End

Black and white photograph of H. Miller & Sons Co. building B'nai Israel Congregation synagogue on Negley Avenue in the East End—1923.

—from H. Miller & Sons Photographs [PSS 74]

The organized Jewish community of the East End lasted approximately a century. It began with the arrival of Jewish families soon after the opening of Bigelow Boulevard (originally Grant Boulevard) in 1901, and it ended with the closing of Torath Chaim Congregation in 2004. In between, the neighborhoods of East Liberty, Highland Park, Stanton Heights, and Bloomfield had at least nine congregations, some lasting a few months and others lasting decades.

We’ve added a new entry to the Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania chronicling the creation, growth, and decline of these nine congregations. We intend to expand this entry in the future to include other Jewish organizations, including Sisterhoods, community spaces, and Jewish-owned businesses.

We’ve also created a self-guided walking tour—our first. It uses the ArcGIS StoryMaps platform, which you can access for free on any mobile device.

The 1.5-mile walking tour visits five former synagogue buildings in the East End and includes historic materials, including construction photographs, interiors, and evocative historic documents. The next time Pittsburgh gives you a warm, dry day, why not take a tour of Jewish history in your city?

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

“The Jewish Community of Pittsburgh: December 1938

A Sample Study”

Map of Pittsburgh showing Jewish population density by ward—1938.

—“The Jewish Community of Pittsburgh: December 1938—A Sample Study”

In the mid-1930s, the United Jewish Federation commissioned Maurice Taylor to study of the Jewish population of Pittsburgh. “The Jewish Community of Pittsburgh: December 1938—A Sample Study” was the first comprehensive account of the local Jewish population. All previous studies had been limited either to students or to specific congregations, or were simply rough estimates.

For years, the only online version of this landmark report was a 28-page summary published in 1943 in an anthology by the Conference of Jewish Relations. We have now digitized the entire 203-page report. It includes a description of methodology, the detailed datasets underlying the report conclusions, and numerous appendices with useful information. 

You can find the full report on the “Population” entry on the Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania. The entry collects population surveys of the Jewish community of Western Pennsylvania between 1852 and 2017.

TODAY:

JGS Pittsburgh Presents:

Patronymic Naming and Cemetery Research

Headstone inscriptions provide one of the most important tools for researching Jewish genealogical history: patronymic naming, or names derived from paternal ancestors. This presentation will familiarize attendees with the evolution of family surnames and the practice of patronymic naming. Recognizing the components of patronymic naming, participants will learn how to take advantage of these clues to link their family through generations. Nolan Altman will review an actual case study using headstone inscriptions and will show participants online resources to help find headstone information.



Altman will also show examples of headstones and explain what you’re likely to find if you take a trip to the cemetery. He will explain the meaning of symbols that you will find on stones. Even if you can’t read Hebrew, you can understand the inscriptions. He will also show many examples of inscription trends, some odd inscriptions, and errors in inscriptions…even well-known ones. With a presentation on cemetery records, you wouldn’t expect to leave laughing, but he guarranties you will.

The program is on TODAY from 1-3 p.m. ET. This is an online program, occurring exclusively on Zoom. The program will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to current JGS-Pittsburgh members. 

"Patronymic Naming and Cemetery Research" is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives. Please register online. This program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and to receive a free membership code for this program, please visit its website.

This program is possible through the support of the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.

Nolan Altman was bit by the “genealogy bug” when he was inspired to write his family history in 1996 in memory of his mother. After making use of the valuable information on JewishGen, he volunteered to do data entry on various projects. In time, he was asked to become the Coordinator for JewishGen’s Holocaust Database and subsequently the Coordinator for the JOWBR (JewishGen’s Online Worldwide Burial Registry) project. Nolan works with volunteers from around the world helping to grow both databases for the benefit of family members and researchers. Nolan currently holds the position of JewishGen’s Director for Data Acquisition and focuses on growing the JOWBR, Holocaust and Memorial Plaques databases. In 2021, JOWBR won the IAJGS Outstanding Project Award.

Feb. 17:

Congregation Beth Shalom Presents:

Soul to Soul

Soul To Soul follows the experience of the African American and Jewish communities and their paths to America’s promise of freedom in a dazzling multi-media program. 

Celebrating its 109th season, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF), under the direction of Zalman Mlotek, is visiting Pittsburgh for the first time to stage Soul To Soul.

Sung by brilliant performers with careers spanning from Broadway to the pulpit, these stirring songs range from spirituals, jazz, civil rights era anthems to Yiddish traditional and theatre songs from the Great American Songbook, culminating in a high-energy collection of enthralling music, highlighting the historic partnership between Blacks and Jews. 

The recently restored Kaufmann Center’s state-of-the-art Elsie H. Hillman auditorium in the city’s historic Hill District is the perfect venue for this concert. The Hill District embodies the shared history of these two communities in Pittsburgh: It was the center of Jewish life from the late 1880s into the early 1930s and, "the Hill" was the cultural center of Black life and a major center of jazz since before World War I. The venue is run by ACH Clear Pathways and serves as a vibrant artistic hub of the neighborhood and repository of this cultural legacy. 

The concert features the talents of Lisa Fishman (NYTF's Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof), Elmore James (Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast), Tony Perry (Broadway's Five Guys Named Moe) and Daniella Rabbani (NTF's Amid Falling Walls.) Conceived in 2010 by NYTF Artistic Director Zalman Mlotek, the show is accompanied by multimedia imagery and video curated by Motl Didner that reflects the ongoing need for unity and healing. The musical ensemble includes Brian Glassman, Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch, and Matt Temkin with music direction by Mlotek. 

Immediately following the concert will be a talkback with the cast on the genesis and creation of the show as well as a presentation by a respected academic from University of Pittsburgh's History department about jazz and the collaboration between Black and Jewish musicians in the Hill. 

Soul To Soul will be staged on Saturday night, Feb. 17 at the historic Kaufmann Center in the Hill District. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at bethshalompgh.org.

through March 18:

Rodef Shalom Congregation Presents:

"The Sofer: A Tribute To My Zayde"

The Sofer is a multi-generational narrative about Pittsburgh artist Rosabel Rosalind's relationship with Zayde, her grandfather, a retired Orthodox rabbi with whom she lived for the first twelve years of her life. (He spent part of his career in Western Pennsylvania, leading Beth Samuel Jewish Center in Ambridge.) Fragmented by time and memory, the story recounts details from the years Zayde and Rosalind lived as roommates, interspersed with historical reimaginings and stark cultural observations that span past and present. 

The book follows Zayde and Rosalind, as she came of age in a Conservative Jewish household and as she continues to come to terms with her Jewishness. The Sofer is about the haunting of memory, history, and tradition in the face of a resurgence of anti-Semitism, through an intimate and inherited perspective. 

The original manuscript of The Sofer is 185 pages and is entirely hand-painted with beet juice, citing Zayde's affinity for Manischewitz brand borscht and the complexities of diasporic Jewishness. Sofer, translates to a Jewish scribe of ancient texts, and it is also Rosalind's maternal name; her Zayde’s last name. Thus she transcribed the familial, ancestral, and historical, using an untraditional hand-made ink, per scribal ritual, with a combination of painting and comic techniques and specific Sofer lettering of Rosalind's design.

Community

The Fine Fellowship

Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center announce the inaugural Fine Fellowship for the study of the October 27 attack. This $4000 fellowship will provide funding for a scholar to travel to Pittsburgh and work with local materials related to the attack and its aftermath and to engage with the local community.

A committee of representatives from the Jewish studies faculty of University of Pittsburgh, the Rauh Jewish Archives, and the 10.27 Healing Partnership will consider the applications. They will offer the award to an outstanding scholar whose research promises to make excellent use of local materials, stands to gain from thoughtful conversations with the people of Pittsburgh, and will prove instructive to local community-members seeking to better understand the contexts and repercussions of the October 27 attack.

Applications due March 15, 2024. For more information, click link below.

Urban Redevelopment Authority Archives

The City of Pittsburgh Archives has launched a new digital archive containing thousands of photographs and documents spanning more than two centuries. Of particular interest to local Jewish history is a collection of more than 2,000 photographs of properties in the lower Hill District taken by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in the late 1950s prior to demolitions in the area. 

Squirrel Hill Historical Society Archives

Squirrel Hill Historical Society has added a collection of 60 historic images of Squirrel Hill to the Historic Pittsburgh website. The collection contains selected images from three organizations: the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, Squirrel Hill Urban  Coalition, and Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames United Methodist Church. The photographs document many aspects of life in Squirrel Hill, including many beloved businesses from the 1990s that no longer exist.

From the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh

"How We Got Here"

Each family is unique. 

Each family has its own traditions, its own spirit, and its own dynamics. 

Despite all these differences, every Jewish family in Western Pennsylvania has at least one thing in common: They all have a story about how they got here.

Perhaps your family sailed in steerage across the Atlanti in the 19th century.

Or perhaps your family drove the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a station wagon in the 1960s to work for the universities and hospitals during Renaissance.

Or perhaps your arrival into one of the many Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania involves marriage, or conversion, or a surprising DNA discovery.

Each of these stories is special, and each contributes to the larger story of our community. To collect and honor these origin stories, the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh is launching a new initiative called “How We Got Here.” To participate, just write a short account explaining how you or your ancestors came to settle in Western Pennsylvania. All stories are welcome.

Stories will be eligible for inclusion in the JGS-Pittsburgh’s monthly newsletter Z’chor and also for preservation in the Rauh Jewish Archives. For more information about this initiative, or to contribute, contact Eric Lidji.

From the Jewish Cemetery & Burial Association

"Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania"

The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh has released a new documentary showcasing Jewish cemeteries in Western Pennsylvania.

“Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania” is a one-hour tour of the many cemetery properties overseen by the JCBA, as well as an overview of the organization’s ongoing work to care for these sacred burial grounds. The video is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these special Jewish cultural sites in our region. The video includes many historic photographs and documents from the collections of the Rauh Jewish Archives. 

Research Tools

The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project contains digitized, searchable copies of four local English-language Jewish newspapers between 1895 and 2010. It is a valuable tool for researching almost any topic about Jewish history in Western Pennsylvania. For a primer on using the website, watch our video.

Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project in 1998 to preserve burial records from Jewish cemeteries across the region. Over a period of fifteen years, the information was compiled into a searchable, online database containing approximately 50,000 burial records from 78 Jewish cemeteries throughout the region.

Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project in 2020. The goal was to create a comprehensive collection of burial records from memorial boards at synagogues across the region. Volunteers are currently transcribing these boards and records are being added monthly to our online database. The database currently contains more than 2,700 listings.

Rauh Jewish Archives Bibliography

University of Pittsburgh librarian and Rauh Jewish Archives volunteer Laurie Cohen created this comprehensive bibliography of the Rauh Jewish Archives library holdings from 1988 through 2018. It lists nearly 350 volumes arranged by type and then by subject. This a great tool to use early in your research process, as you’re surveying available resources on a given subject.

Jewish Population Estimates

Looking to figure out how many Jews lived in a certain part of Western Pennsylvania at a certain moment in time? This bibliography includes more than 30 estimates of the Jewish population of Pittsburgh and small-towns throughout the region, conducted between 1852 and 2017.

Synagogues

A database of buildings throughout Western Pennsylvania known to have hosted Jewish worship services. Includes links to photographs and citations with original source material. Database currently includes 90 locations from 2 institutions

Rauh Jewish Archives Newsletter

The Rauh Jewish Archives has been publishing a weekly newsletter since 2020. The newsletter contains a variety of articles about local Jewish history, including much original research not found anywhere else. You can find and read every issue—more than 150!— in our new index.

Shul Records America

Online finding aid from JewishGen listing congregational archival collections held at publicly accessible repositories across the United States. Includes 63 listings from the Rauh Jewish Archives, as well as other repositories with Western Pennsylvania congregational records.

The Rauh Jewish Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect and preserve the documentary history of Jewish life in Western Pennsylvania and to make it available to the world through research assistance, programing, exhibits, publications, and partnerships.

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