Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on October 2, 2021

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) One hundred years ago this month, the oldest synagogue in the Phoenix area was built. It served over 120 Jewish people in the city starting in 1921, where the world was a much different place. Arizona was a young state at the time, only just becoming a state in 1912.

A hundred years ago this month, October 30, 1921, to be exact, is when a group of local Phoenix residents came together with the then Phoenix Mayor Willis Plunkett to lay the cornerstone for the first synagogue in the Phoenix area, Congregation Beth Israel, according to theArizona Jewish Historical Society.

"What's interesting about centennials, you know given the amount of time people are able to live, the people that were originally involved in an event in a centennial are most always never there when you celebrate the hundredth birthday they already passed," says AZJHS' Executive Director Larry Bell.

"A centennial is an opportunity to look backward in time and to kind of reflect on where we have been, where we come from, how we got here. But it's also an opportunity to look forward in time and say, 'okay, while we are looking back a hundred years and we think about what the world was like a hundred years ago?'" says Bell. "It's also an opportunity to ask yourself, what's the world going to look like in 100 years from now? You know? What steps can we do to make sure that historic resources like this building are still going to be here a hundred years from now? But also, what kind of society are we building? You know? How are things are going to change because people in general, when they think of time, tend to think in fairly small doses, so most people don't really think backward or forwards very far in time, and the centennials, I think, is an opportunity to take a longer view of time and sort of say, 'wow, look how much the world has changed and look at how much the world is the same from a hundred years ago and wonder what it will look like a hundred years from now."

This synagogue became the first synagogue in the Phoenix area that served the Jewish community of Phoenix then but also served as a home of worship for other ethnicities and religions over the years. It has a rich history that resembles the history of Phoenix diverse, pioneering, and complex.

It became a place of worship for Phoenix's Chinese-American community starting in 1951 until 1981, when it became a Spanish-speaking Baptist church until the AZJHS purchased it in 2001-2002. In 2008,AZJHS started to restore the synagogue and reopened their doors in 2010.

When it was built back in 1921, only 120 Jewish people were living in Phoenix. Today, according to AZJHS, there is over 82,000 with more than 30 congregations. That population came from a majority of transplants not only from around the country but around the world, including Holocaust survivors and their families who were looking to make a new place their home.

The first synagogue in Phoenix wasn't the first one in Arizona - it was the second. The first one was built in Tucson,Tempe Emanu-El. It was built in 1905, so just about sixteen years before the second one. "We are energetic pioneers of innovative Jewish life in Arizona."

1921 was post-World War I, as the war ended in 1918. Hitler rose to power in Germany as leader of the Nazi party pre-World War II and the Holocaust. It was before the Japanese Internment camps in the United States. It was right before the Great Depression that tore up the economy. And prohibition was happening all around the country as the 18th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution banned the "manufacturing, transporting, and sale of intoxicating liquors," according toHistory.com.

The Soviet Union didn't form for another year, as well as fascism. Also, 1921 happened to be the year Albert Einstein won a Nobel Peace Prize. Amelia Earhart learned how to fly. Warren G Harding became the 29th President. And insulin was discovered. Crazy enough, 1921 was three years after the last global pandemic.

"A lot of things were taking place in the world then that would determine how the twentieth century would go. Good things and bad things," says Bell. "Think about technology and how far we have gone since the twenties. Think about population growth. I think the City of Phoenix in 1920 had roughly 30,000 people. A lot has changed, and some things stayed the same, though. We were just done dealing with a pandemic in 1921, and we are dealing with one again."

AZJHS is an organization located at the first Phoenix synagogue in downtown Phoenix. They run theCutlerPlotkin Jewish Heritage Centeralong with the synagogue and church that runs as a museum and cultural center. They host a wide variety of events, including weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, fundraisers, meetings, and more. They have been working to keep together an archive of Jewish history, specifically in Arizona and the Southwest area.

We ourselves are kind of an art and culture organization also educational. We have a variety of programs and run exhibits all the time though COVID has disrupted that somewhat. But we run exhibits all the time on topics like history, Jewish history, art, culture. We have a monthly documentary film series, which is currently screened online, where we show documentaries about Jewish history and culture. We do book discussions, genealogy seminars; we have an archive where we preserve history from the local communities, says Bell.

Phoenix is one of the largest cities in the country not to have a Holocaust, genocide education center, and AJHS is working to change that. They have plans to extend their location to create a permanent exhibit so that Arizonans and tourists visiting can learn more about the Holocaust and other genocides. COVID-19 has put off a lot of things which makes it even more exciting to celebrate its 100th anniversary. It has contributed to more programs moving online that have been able to help reach more and more people.

We run a variety of Holocaust education activities. Currently, all are online. Seminars where we have the actual survivors of the Holocaust speak mostly to youth, but everybody is welcome to come. The programs are free. And they talk about their experiences of survival, have the children and grandchildren speak at times. And we also have a series of surviving humanity where we talk about other acts of oppression or genocide or persecution.

Gallery Centennial Exhibit called If These Walls Could Talk This exhibit will feature historic memorabilia, photos, and other pieces that feature four organizations who have been a part of the Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center. It will be open October 18 through March 31, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a recommended $5 admission fee.

Centennial Heritage Gala This will be happening the evening of October 30 at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale to honor Lawrence M Cutler who is a long-time AZJHS community leader. For more information or to register, click here.

Centennial Festival will take place on November 7 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Heritage Center. Its free and open to the community to celebrate 100 years of the first synagogue in Phoenix. There will be food trucks, speakers, activities for the kids, and more. It will highlight all the backgrounds that have once made this synagogue their home.

To learn more about AZJHS, their events, and the work they are doing, click hereto see their website or here to visit their Facebook page. AZJHS and the first synagogue are located at 122 E Culver Street in Phoenix near the Burton Barr Phoenix Public Library.

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Oldest, first synagogue in Phoenix turns 100 years old - AZFamily

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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