History of the Jews of Cleveland (Regional history series of the American Jewish History Center of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America)

Cleveland's first synagogue was dedicated just fifty years after Moses Cleaveland laid out the village names for him. The first Jews to arrive in Cleveland came from German lands, to be followed later in the nineteenth century by waves of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe. Preoccupied by a devotion to hard work, a hope for prosperity, and a desire for freedom, they maintained their identity while participating, almost from the start, in the social, political and cultural life of a growing Cleveland. Their story, narrated by an eminent Jewish historian, spans the years from the appearance of the first known Jew in Cleveland in 1836 to the end of the Second World War. The author analyzes their development in terms of their merger with the urban and national scenes, their long and active participation in Cleveland's civic life and their notable role within American Jewry and world-wide Jewish affairs.