The Texas Jewish Historical Society, (sometimes abbreviated TJHS), which began in 1980, is a society dedicated to the preservation of
Jewish history in Texas.
History
The society was founded in 1980 by
Rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
Jimmy Kessler
James Lee Kessler
, Hebrew Union College, 12 March 1997, Retrieved on 2012-03-13.
of Galveston. He published letters in Jewish newspapers in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
,
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and
Fort Worth, inviting people to participate in the creation of a
historical society to preserve and appreciate Jewish history in Texas. Today TJHS has about 800 members, who meet quarterly around the state. Membership is open to anyone who wants to "further the Society’s goals."
In addition, as a result of increasing interest, the University of Texas has included the study of Texas Jewish history as one of its acknowledged fields, the first university to do so. This is part of a wider movement to study the history of Jewish life in the Americas since the several major European migrations to this region.
References and records
TJHS's website states that their purpose is to, "collect, preserve, publish and disseminate materials having reference to the settlement and history of Jews in Texas and their participation in its social, economic, religious, political, professional and cultural growth.
Texas Jewish Historical SocietyThe TJHS records are located at The Center for American History, part of the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
at Austin.
Texas Jewish Historical Society
Library, University of Texas
Publications
* "Why Save the Historic Brenham Synagogue?" in Chronicles: A Publication of the Texas Jewish Historical Society, Vol. I, No. 1 (1994), 33-39.
* Toubin, Rosa Levin, Bryan-College Station: Temple Freda. Texas Jewish Historical Society.
See also
* American Jewish Historical Society
The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...
* History of the Jews in Texas
Jewish Texans have been a part of the history of Texas since the first European explorers arrived in the region in the 16th century. In 1990, there were around 108,000 adherents to Judaism in Texas. More recent estimates place the number at around ...
References
External links
Texas Jewish Historical Society
University of Texas Library
"TEMPLE B'NAI ISRAEL, GALVESTON"
''Handbook of Texas Online
Senate resolution recognizing the work of the Texas Jewish Historical Society
16 April 2007, Texas State Legislature
"Forty-eight members of the Texas Jewish Historical Society gathered in Fort Worth last weekend for their quarterly meeting"
''Texas Jewish Post''
{{Southern U.S. historical societies
Texas Jewish Historical Society
Historical societies in Texas
Organizations established in 1980
1980 establishments in Texas