The Beginning of Jewish Florida
- 1763-England acquires Florida in the Treaty of Paris. Joseph D. Palacios, Alexander Solomons and Samuel Israel leave New Orleans and were the first Jews to settle in Florida in Pensacola in 1763.
- 1769-Isaac Monsanto expelled from New Orleans and settles in Pensacola.
- 1821-Jewish population numbers 30-40 people and the first Jewish colony is planned
- 1821-The first recorded Jewish child born in Florida
- 1841-David Levy Yulee, the son of Moses Elias Levy, helps to write Florida’s Constitution . He is elected Florida’s first U.S. Senator, when Florida becomes the 27th state (1845) and is the first Jew to serve in the U.S. Senate
- 1845-Florida became a state on March 3rd, the Jewish population was less than 100 Jews in a population of over 66,000
- 1850-Phillip P. Dzialynski arrives in Jacksonville. This is the longest-known continuing Jewish family in Florida.
- 1857-The first Jewish institution is created-the Jacksonville Hebrew Cemetery
- 1876-The first congregation-Temple Beth El of Pensacola
- 1892-Jews settle in West Palm Beach
- 1900-Six congregations have been established
- 1928-Jews move to South Florida, majority of the population remains in the north with 40% of Florida’s 10,000 Jews in Jacksonville
- 1933-David Sholtz of Daytona Beach begins his term as Governor of Florida (January 1933-January 1937)
- 1940-Miami became the city with the largest Jewish population in Florida with 5,000 Jews
- 1940-About 25,000 Jews in Florida
- 1959-10,000 Cuban Jews seek freedom in South Florida.
- 1960- Jewish population grew to 175,000
- 1984-MOSAIC project created, which becomes the Jewish Museum of Florida
- 1995-The Jewish Museum of Florida opens.
- 2003-January becomes Florida Jewish History Month
- 2006-May becomes Jewish American Heritage Month
- 2012-Florida is home to about 750,000 Jews, being the state with the third largest population of Jews