It took six years of research for the author, Brad Kolodny to learn how, when, and why Jewish families settled and thrived on Long Island. Some as peddlers, farmers, and factory workers struggling to make a living, and some as successful merchants and even wealthy industrialists like the Guggenheims who called Long Island home.

Archival material including census records, newspaper accounts, never-before-published photos, and personal family histories illuminate Jewish life and experiences during these formative years. With over 4,400 names of Jewish people who lived in Nassau and Suffolk counties prior to the end of World War I, The Jews of Long Island 1705-1918 is a comprehensive history of those who laid the foundation for what has become the fourth largest Jewish community in the United States today, and Brad will discuss all of this with us on this NEW Zoom presentation.

Brad has photographed more than 600 synagogues in 13 countries over the last 30+ years including every synagogue building from Great Neck to Montauk. He has worked for The New York Times since 1996, is president of the Jewish Historical Society of Long Island and an active member at Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, NY. This book, Brad’s second, was published by SUNY Press and released in March 2022. His first book, Seeking Sanctuary: 125 Years of Synagogues on Long Island won the Next Generation Indie Book Award in 2021.

If you would like to buy the book, you can get it HERE.

This is part 1 of a 2 part series that the author will be presenting to us about the Jews of Long Island. The second part will be on Wednesday, February 15. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEND BOTH PARTS, EACH CAN BE ENJOYED ON ITS OWN.

If you want to hear this program, you must do so live. There will NOT be a chance to obtain a link to the recording.