Bloom Southwest Jewish Archives -- Welcome

"The United States Southwest, encompassing West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California, reflects the heritage of diverse groups of peoples. From native-born inhabitants to those who chose to settle in this region, each group has contributed to Southwestern culture and society.

United States Southwestern history has traditionally focused on the contributions of Native Americans, and people whose ancestral roots are in Mexico and Europe. Until recently, little has been written documenting the pioneer Jewish experience. Visitors to this website learn that Jewish pioneers not only built Jewish communities, but that they also made significant contributions to the development of the U. S. Southwest.

The Bloom Southwest Jewish Archives website presents several educational exhibits. Pioneers shares the pioneer Jewish experience in West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona through images from photos held in regional archives and museums, electronic texts of books, articles and newspaper accounts, and biographical information of selected pioneers. The Synagogues of the Southwest section reinforces that pioneer Jews placed a priority on maintaining their beliefs, values, and traditions amid the hazards of the nation's frontier. Crypto-Jews focuses on the Crypto-Jewish experience in the U. S. Southwest and is one of the most highly visited sections of the website. The Oral Histories secton features interviews with Tucson's New American community. Its members were invited to participate in recording information about their lives and experiences in the former Soviet Union and now in Tucson. By including their stories, we find similarities between the pioneers of the 19th century and those of the late 20th. The Oral Histories section also includes the story of a 20th (and now 21st) century family whose family odyssey is traced "