Jewish Communities in California - an Overview

California Jews
Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life
Edited by Ava F. Kahn and Marc Dollinger

The first full-length presentation of Jewish life, history, and culture in California from the Gold Rush to the twenty-first century.  California Jews were often among the first settlers to establish a west coast community. They enjoyed unprecedented access to political power a generation earlier than their New York counterparts. They thrived in the multicultural mix, redefining the classic black-white racial binary by forging relations with a variety of religious and ethnic groups in both San Francisco and Los Angeles.-- See more below or Buy the Book

The Guides below will provide you with information about Jewish communities and Jewish services available in major metropolitan areas in the great state of California.  Information including synagogues, schools, mikvahs, kosher eateries, Jewish community services, as well as some tidbits about famous places and famous personalities.

Jewish Communities Los Angeles (and Vicinity), CA A guide to Jewish life in the Los Angeles area. Since the late 1980’s, the City of Los Angeles has been home to the world’s second largest Jewish population, second only to New York City. The Jews in Los Angeles County constitute more than half of all Jews in California.

Jewish Communities San Diego, CA A guide to Jewish life the six Jewish main areas in San Diego County where you can find clusters of synagogues and Jewish agencies.  They include Chula Vista, central San Diego, and east San Diego The three southern communities - including Chula Vista, central San Diego, and east San Diego in the south, and La Jolla, North County Coastal and North County Inland - newer, generally more expensive - in the north.

Jewish Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA A guide to Jewish life in the Bay Area which includes San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose and more, with information about synagogues, Jewish services, kosher restaurants and more.

The first full-length presentation of Jewish life, history, and culture in California from the Gold Rush to the twenty-first century.

California Jews were often among the first settlers to establish a west coast community. They enjoyed unprecedented access to political power a generation earlier than their New York counterparts. They thrived in the multicultural mix, redefining the classic black-white racial binary by forging relations with a variety of religious and ethnic groups in both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

This lavishly illustrated volume is the first to look at a variety of issues that have shaped California Jewry over its one hundred and fifty year history. Essays discuss Jews and the gold rush, synagogue architecture, Latino-Jewish relations in Los Angeles, the Jewish community of Venice, kibbutzniks in San Fernando, Hollywood’s Jewish organizational leadership, Jewish response to Japanese incarceration during World War II, post-war affiliations between Jews and Catholics in the Bay area, San Diego Jewish life and its connection to SDSU, Jewish women’s activism, the California counter-culture, and the birth of Brandeis Camp Institute.