People

The Buffalo region has been home to a wide range of individuals associated with local Jewish communities and Jewish networks from the 1820s through to the contemporary period as immigrants, citizens, residents and locals.

Institutions

Buffalo Jews have a rich history of forming both formal and informal institutions for religious, educational, political and social needs. From synagogues to organizations, and from coordinating agencies to groups and clubs, Jewish Buffalonians have seen a changing range of institutions supported by group endeavors and community philanthropy.

Neighborhoods

In living memory, the East Side and North Buffalo stand out as physically connected and interwoven religious and commercial centers of Jewish living. In contrast to these specific areas are the mini hubs identified with Jewish living and connected to a more dispersed idea of neighborhood. Separately, suburbia with its significant geographic spread, has redefined how a series of Jewish spaces come together with a mix of hubs, focal points and networks.

Themes

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Exhibitions

Special exhibitions, through a focus on particular individuals and subjects, delves into the personal stories that have animated Jewish lives. Each digital exploration reflects on the interplay between place, identities and changing times and the way in which American, Jewish and Buffalo historical experiences are deeply interwoven.

Resources

Materials that document Jewish Buffalo in all its diversity are found in books, articles, archives and museums, many of which are available locally or online. This section highlights some of these sources and will be updated regularly.

Gallery

Jonathan David Lodge #580, Knights of Pythias

Officers of Jonathan David Lodge #580 of the Knights of Pythias, 1956. Courtesy of David Essrow.

Jonathan David Lodge #580, Knights of Pythias

The Jonathan David Lodge #580 was founded in 1927 for mainly Jewish members in Buffalo, NY.  Its most active years were in the early to mid-twentieth century from the 1930s-1960s. Many of its members identified with Conservative and Reform Judaism, and in the early days, they included American born second generation as well as new immigrants.

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Poland Jewish Cemeteries Restoration Project (PJCRP)

Commemorative Monument unveiled at the restoration of Ozarow Cemetery, October 15, 2001. Courtesy of Hannah and Norman Weinberg

Poland Jewish Cemeteries Restoration Project (PJCRP)

In the years preceding the formation of the Poland Jewish Cemeteries Restoration Project (PJCRP), Norman and Hannah (nee Cohen) Weinberg had diligently worked on their family genealogies. Like many Jewish families in North America, their family roots lay in Eastern Europe where Jewish communities had suffered centuries of antisemitic policies and violence from pogroms to genocide, culminating in the Holocaust.

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