Henry Cohen (rabbi)

Henry Cohen (April 7, 1863 – June 12, 1952) was a Jewish Texan rabbi who served Congregation B'nai Israel in Galveston, Texas from 1888 to 1952.

History in Galveston

Henry Cohen is also known for saving a Greek Catholic from deportation and banishing Shakespeare’s Shylock from the Galveston public schools. ^[1] In 1928 Congregation B'nai Israel decided to add a new facility and name it the Henry Cohen Community House.

Galveston Movement

Cohen played an integral role as a founder of the Galveston Movement. The Galveston Movement operated between 1907 and 1914 to divert Jews fleeing Russia and eastern Europe away from crowded East Coast cities. Ten thousand Jewish immigrants passed through Galveston, Texas during this era, approximately one-third the number who migrated to Palestine during the same period.^{[2] [3]} Cohen personally petitioned President William Howard Taft for an immigrant.^[4]

Jewish Texan historian

The Handbook of Texas states that, "The formal preservation of the history of Texas Jewry goes back to Rabbi Henry Cohen of Galveston and David Lefkowitz of Dallas, who set out to interview as many early settlers and their families as possible. They produced a historical account for the Texas Centennial in 1936."^[5]

See also

• History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas

Further reading

• Cohen, Kindler of Souls: Rabbi Henry Cohen of Texas (University of Texas Press 2007), ISBN 978-0-292-71461-8

References

External links

• Temple B'nai Israel
• Article on Rabbi Henry Cohen
• Review of book on Rabbi Henry Cohen called Kindler of Souls
• Galveston Synagogue
• Handbook of Texas Online Entry