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.

The Holocaust Memorial at Pine Ridge

The Holocaust Memorial, Old Brith Sholem Cemetery at Pine Ridge, photograph created by Izon Productions-Don Dannecker, 2013. Courtesy of the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies.

A small marker was erected at Old Brith Sholem Cemetery at Pine Ridge in Cheektowaga in 1947, by Holocaust survivors as a memorial to Jews murdered during the Shoah (Holocaust). In 1972, the memorial was extended with the addition of a six-foot marble arch and the text “Remember” in both Hebrew and English.

In keeping with the tradition of Kever Avot v’Imahot (visiting the gravesites of ancestors, lit. fathers and mothers) during the High Holidays, an annual community service to remember the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust is held at this site under the auspices of the Holocaust Resource Center.

Pine Ridge Cemeteries Photographs