Jews make up approximately 17.5% of Los Angeles’s and 7% of the county’s population. This makes their city’s community the largest worldwide outside of New York and Israel. Jews immigrated to LA since it was part of the Mexican state of Alta California from the late 19th century. Their number has grown dramatically over the past several decades due to internal migration from the East Coast, as well as immigration from Israel, France, the former Soviet Union, Great Britain, South Africa and Latin America, as well as high birth rates in the Hasidic and Orthodox communities, which make up about 10% of the population. Read more on los-angeles.
How was it created?
Jewish history in LA began in 1841, before California joined the United States. Jacob Frankfort was the first Jew to arrive and live in the city. Little is known about Frankfort’s personal life, except that he was a skilled tradesman. When California was added to the United States in 1850, a census was taken. At that time, eight Jews were recorded living here.
Since then, the population has slowly increased. In 1850, a Jew, Morris L. Goodman, was elected as the first member of the city council. The first religious services were held in 1854. As the population slowly grew, so did the number of related organizations.
Joseph Newmark began holding the first informal Sabbath services in Los Angeles in 1854. He helped found the Hebrew Benevolent Society for the Jewish community. One of the first decisions was to purchase a cemetery in 1855. The Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery was located in downtown LA. Jews were also involved in the creation of an innovative hospital in Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
From 1900 to 1926, there was no distinct Jewish quarter in the city. Two and a half thousand Jews lived in the city center, which was described as Temple Street in 1910. It was the main Jewish street. In 1900, two historians stated that there were too few Jews to finally form a Jewish district. However, the number of people was constantly growing. If there were 2,500 Jews in LA in 1900, by the mid-1920s the population had increased to 65,000.
In the 1920s, significant numbers of Jewish immigrants moved to LA, making Boyle Heights home to the biggest community west of Chicago. The Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924 established annual numbers for immigrants from Europe and severely restricted the migration of Europeans. Still, the Jewish population continued to grow rapidly.
Jewish diaspora
It took time for the community to develop due to its slow growth. The city does not actually have a historic Jewish quarter. In the second half of the 20th century, Jewish neighborhoods began to appear along with the population increase. The city’s Orthodox population was concentrated around the affluent Hancock Park neighborhood. A significant number of Iranian Jews lived in Beverly Hills. Other areas with high Jewish populations in the city included the San Fernando Valley, Westwood and Wilshire.
A significant part of the local population is made up of Iranian Jews. According to various estimates, 50,000 of them live in the city. The number increased after the 1979 Revolution.
Jewish influence on LA life
In 1865, Jews Louis Levin and Charles Jacoby organized the Pioneer Association, which developed the eastern part of Los Angeles, later known as Boyle Heights. In 1868, Isaiah W. Gellman and partners formed the Farmers and Merchants Bank in the city. In 1879, he served on the board of trustees to establish the new University of Southern California. In 1881, Gellman was appointed regent of the University of California. He was twice reappointed and served until 1918.
In 1920, Hillcrest Country Club was opened for the Jewish community when they were excluded from other elite social clubs. The club was known for its Comedian’s Round Table, a group of comedians including Jack Benny, George Burns, George Jessel, the Marx Brothers and Milton Berle.
In 1927, I. M. Hattem, a Sephardic Jew, opened the first supermarket in America. The self-service grocery store was a fairly new concept with a variety of products under one roof, including meat, bakery, delicacies and other products.
By the late 1950s, there were 400,000 Jews in LA, nearly 20% of the city’s population. Jewish residents made significant contributions to the city’s culture and economy, establishing a number of successful businesses that play a prominent role in the city’s lucrative entertainment and real estate industries.
Jews in the cultural life
Jews played an important role in the creation or development of numerous local organizations and cultural institutions, including the entertainment, fashion and real estate industries.
They also played a key role in the creation of the film industry in Hollywood during the first half of the 20th century. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. were started and led by Jews, almost all of whom were immigrants or children of immigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe. However, their role has been discussed for years. Historians are inclined to believe that most of them avoided identifying themselves as Jews, since their main desire was assimilation and acceptance by non-Jewish society.
In the 21st century, the role of Jews in Hollywood has become less central but individual Jews are still leaders in the industry. LA is home to one of two Jewish television channels, Jewish Life Television. In addition, the Jewish television channel JBS, broadcast from New York, offers weekly Shabbat services from Temple Sinai.
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles is a local Jewish publication best known for its interviews with Jewish celebrities and important figures about the community. Although it is a small edition, many famous Jewish celebrities have been interviewed by this magazine. It is the largest Jewish publication outside of Israel and is distributed throughout North America. In September 2020, the magazine announced the temporary suspension of the print version of the publication due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many other Jewish magazines, newspapers and other publications continue to operate in Los Angeles. Articles are published in several languages, including English, Hebrew, French, Farsi and Spanish.
Southern California is home to one Jewish radio station, Kol Haneshama. It is broadcast 24 hours a day from the Ateret Israel Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles. Some local stations air Israeli Army Radio, serving the city’s large Israeli-American population.