March 17, 2013Anderson, SC Temple B’Nai IsraelAnderson’s Jewish community dates to the antebellum era but grew significantly after 1900 with the arrival of several families from Eastern Europe. This congregation was founded at Temple B’nai Israel (Sons of Israel) as early as 1911. It held services in the Masonic Temple on the square and a […]
November 16, 2014 Aiken, SC Front of Historical MarkerAdath Yeshurun SynagogueAiken’s permanent Jewish community dates to 1890, when immigrants from Eastern Europe, many of the from Knyszyn, Poland, began to settle here. Adath Yeshurun Congregation (Congregation of Israel) held its first services in private homes or in the Masonic Temple. Several community leaders founded the […]
Columbia, SC The Jewish community in Columbia has existed since the early 19th century. As in other early American cities, many of the town’s first Jewish settlers were Sephardic, with ancestors from Spain or Portugal. In 1846, Columbia’s first congregation was organized and given the name Sharit Israel—the same name that religious traditionalists in Charleston […]