Shema Arizona

Shema: Hear Arizona
Shema Arizona image
designed by Max Gimpel

The Arizona Jewish Historical Society Oral History Project

Shema Arizona adds a Jewish voice to Arizona's history. Shema (sheMA) means "hear" in Hebrew. With this site you can hear some of Arizona's Jewish history.

Sixty-three oral histories conducted by the Arizona Jewish Historical Society provide a valuable and unique resource for understanding how American Jews in the early 20th century pulled up roots, continued a tradition of migration, and became western Jews.

This site has the full transcripts of the 63 oral history interviews and an audio excerpt from each oral history recording. Photographs accompany some of the interviews. Collectively these documents make us reflect on, imagine and sometimes laugh about how Jews learned to make a living, make a community, and make a mark in Arizona.

Shema Arizona is a joint project of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and Arizona State University Library. This project was made possible by federal Library Services and Technology Act funds distributed by the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. The project development team for Shema Arizona was: Beryl Morton, Executive Director, Arizona Jewish Historical Society; Jack Fradin, Administrative Assistant, AJHS; Robert Spindler, University Archivist, Arizona State University Library; Pamela Dunlock, Systems Programmer, ASU Library; Heather Knowles, web designer, ASU Library; Nancy Dallett, Project Director, Projects in the Public Interest.

Copyright and publication permissions information

The Arizona Jewish Historical Society holds copyright to the transcripts, recordings, and photographs included on this website and provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes only. Rights have been licensed to the Arizona State University for presentation on this web site. No other rights are extended for copying and/or publishing these oral history materials.

The Arizona Jewish Historical Society asks that researchers and users approach this material with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and experiences are documented here. We invite researchers and the general public to use these oral history materials for their research and educational pursuits. Requests for permissions, copyrights, clearances, and assessment of commercial use fees for use and citation of any of these oral history materials must be directed to:

Lawrence D. Bell, Ph.D., Executive Director
Arizona Jewish Historical Society
122 E. Culver Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
602 241-7870
lbell@azjhs.org

Oral history files