Indiana Jewish Historical Society

The Indiana Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1972 for the purpose of collecting, preserving and publishing material involving Jewish life in Indiana. It also aims to provide data to historians, scholars and authors that would not otherwise be available. The Society also produces the Indiana Jewish History annually.

The Indiana Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1972. The organization is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Ind., however it holds events throughout Indiana. It mainly collects, preserves, and publishes information on the 250 years of Jewish life in Indiana.

Sephardic Jews originated from the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. They were different from the German and Eastern European Jews as they spoke a Spanish-Judeo language called Ladino instead of Yiddish. The first recorded Sephardic Jews to immigrate to Indianapolis arrived in 1906. Others followed and by 1913 the Sephardic community had organized their own synagogue. By 1919 the Sephardic community numbered over two hundred. That year also marked the purchase of a building on the south side of Indianapolis and the foundation of a new synagogue, Etz Chaim. By the 1960s most Sephardic Jews had moved to the north side of Indianapolis and in 2005 the congregation moved to a new building at 6939 Hoover Road.

Founded in 1972, the Indiana Jewish Historical Society gathers and preserves the records of religious organizations and service groups, and the personal papers of individuals and families. A goal of the society is to make this information available to researchers, thus helping to provide an awareness of the contribution of Jews and the Jewish communities to the religious climate of Indiana.