Philadelphia

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Though individual Jews lived in the Philadelphia area as early as the 17th century, a Jewish communal presence dates back to the 1730s. By 1771, the first synagogue in Philadelphia, a community of the Spanish-Portuguese tradition, had acquired its own building. When the British left Philadelphia in 1778, Jews from British-held cities flocked to Philadelphia, temporarily increasing the size of its Jewish population. By the end of the 18th century, there were enough German Jews in Philadelphia for the founding of a new Ashkenazi synagogue. Throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, dozens of new synagogues were founded as immigrants from Europe flowed into the city.

During and after WWII, much of Philadelphia’s Jewish community began migrating to the suburbs, though a significant portion of the population remained in the city. Approximately 215,000 Jews live in Philadelphia today.

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