The Jews of New Jersey-The Jews of Trenton-How Did We Get Here?

This Sunday morning, March 13, 2011, Professor Michael Aaron Rockland, Professor of American Studies at Rutgers University and co-author of the book, The Jews of New Jersey, A Pictorial History will be the guest speaker at an event sponsored at Adath Israel Congregation in Lawrenceville and sponsored by the Adath Israel Adult Education Committee.   

Professor Rockland will be detailing how the Jews of New Jersey wound up here, dating back as early as 1694 when a Sephardic Jew settled along the banks of the Raritan River.  Professor  Rockland will also detail the three main waves of Jewish immigration in the 19th and early 20th century,, telling stories associated with archival pictures that trace the journey.  Among the misconceptions that Professor Rockland will tackle is that the majority of Jews from the third wave of Jewish immigration settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  The truth of the matter is that “8 million of the 12 million immigrants processed through Ellis Island, 8 million of them began their American sojourn in New Jersey.”

Following Professor Rockland’s talk, we’ll set our sights on Jewish Trenton.  A thriving community in the 1920’s-1950’s, nearly 7,000 Jews made the Capital City home.  Many of them lived in a neighborhood that disappeared without a trace.  Adath Israel congregant Ed Alpern has been doing some research and will show a short video that captures some of the magic of the place and time.  “I didn’t grow up here, and didn’t even know the area existed until we had a fellow congregant over for Passover a few years back.  She described the sights, sounds and smells of Old Trenton and I needed to find out more. “  We will also try to identify some people in photos from the archives of the Historical Society of Greater Trenton.  “Every day, the number of people who can identify these people is dwindling, so I hope we can create a group that can put names to faces and keep the story of Jewish Trenton alive”, said Alpern.  Anyone with photos of the era are encouraged to bring them, so that we can scan them and add them to the archives.

PLEASE COME AND JOIN US THIS SUNDAY MORNING AT 9:30AM AT ADATH ISRAEL CONGREGATION IN LAWRENCEVILLE, NEW JERSEY.   

PLEASE BRING OLD PICTURES AND YOUR MEMORIES OF OLD TRENTON

MY HOPE IS THAT OUT OF THIS MEETING, WE WILL BE ABLE TO START A GROUP THAT WILL IDENTIFY SOME OF THE PICTURES IN THE ARCHIVES IN TRENTON AND BRING THE STORIES OF OLD TRENTON ALIVE.