Jewish Philly (Philadelphia, Washington, Franklin: homes, good schools, to live)

[Stolberg]

Jewish Cities - The Daily Beast

According to this pop-survey Philadelphia is the 3rd "most Jewish" city in the nation. Behind NY and Miami but
ahead of everyone else.
It's intersting how much of the nation's Jewish community is still centered in the northeast and mid-western parts
of the country.

[ElijahAstin]

While there are no longer any "distinctly Jewish neighborhoods" in the city, there are some very notable Jewish enclaves both within and outside Philadelphia proper. Within the city, you'll find lots of Jewish families in Center City West, along with the Chestnut Hill/Mt. Airy corridor. A growing number of Jewish families are returning to University City/Clark Park, along with other "recently hip" areas like Grad Hospital, Bella Vista/Queen Village, and Northern Liberties. The Northeast Philadelphia Jewish community (most notably concentrated within Rhawnhurst, Oxford Circle, and Bustleton) has moderately declined in recent years, but it has not "dwindled away" either.

Outside the city, there are three primary concentrations of Jewish families: the Eastern Main Line (Lower Merion-Narberth-Haverford-Radnor) and Old York Road regions (Cheltenham-Jenkintown-Abington-Lower Moreland) in Pennsylvania, along with Cherry Hill-Voorhees in South Jersey. There has been a rapid uptick of Jewish population in the affluent, newer portions of Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester Counties, while many (though not all) areas within inner Delaware County and lower Bucks County have seen substantial losses. Many parts in between the Eastern Main Line and Old York Road (e.g., Upper Dublin, Whitemarsh, etc.) have large, multi-generational Jewish communities as well, although they have been historically overshadowed in "prominence" by those other two core communities.

Here is a list of the most notably Jewish suburbs, by county, listed in approximate order of Jewish proportion all the way down to the ~10% mark. Communities that are either noticeably expanding or declining in Jewish population will be marked as such. "Honorable mentions" (communities in the ~7-~10% ballpark) will be noted as well.

Montgomery
Lower Moreland
Lower Merion
Upper Dublin
Whitemarsh
Cheltenham [Declining]
Lower Gwynedd
Whitpain
Abington
Jenkintown [Declining]
***HONORABLE MENTIONS***
Upper Salford [Expanding]
Montgomery [Expanding]
Ambler [Expanding]
Horsham [Expanding]
Plymouth
Upper Merion
Springfield [Expanding]
Worcester [Expanding]
Bryn Athyn [Expanding]
Narberth [Declining]
Upper Gwynedd

Bucks
Lower Southampton [Expanding]
Upper Makefield [Expanding]
Northampton
Warwick [Expanding]
Upper Southampton [Expanding]
Lower Makefield
Yardley [Expanding]
Newtown Township
Warrington [Expanding]
Buckingham [Expanding]
*****HONORABLE MENTIONS*****
Langhorne [Expanding]
Doylestown Borough
Dublin [Expanding]
Newtown Borough [Expanding]
New Hope
Warminster [Expanding]

Delaware
Swarthmore
Haverford [Expanding--this actually came as a surprise to me, but after recently running the demographic numbers, there is no doubt that Haverford is seeing a large resurgence in Jewish population, mostly in the more affluent, Western parts of the Township]
Rose Valley [Expanding]
*****HONORABLE MENTIONS*****
Marple
Chadds Ford [Expanding]
Radnor
Edgmont [Expanding]
Upper Providence

Chester
Malvern [Expanding]
Wallace [Expanding]
*****HONORABLE MENTIONS*****
Charlestown [Expanding]
West Pikeland [Expanding]
Kennett [Expanding]
West Vincent [Expanding]
Tredyffrin
Schuylkill [Expanding]
New Garden
South Coventry [Expanding]

Camden
Cherry Hill
Voorhees [Expanding]
Haddonfield
(No honorable mentions)

Burlington (all honorable mentions)
Evesham
Mount Laurel
Eastampton [Expanding]
Moorestown [Expanding]

[hawkwnd]

I am not Jewish, but grew up in the 1950s across the street from my Catholic church in BalaCynwyd. My neighbors in the two houses on each side were Jewish and at that time there was a very strong presence of Jews in that neighborhood. There was a large and active synagogue up the street and Akiba Academy was just opening at the edge in Merion. At the time Wynnefield across City Line was practically all Jewish, and when they migrated out in the mid-60s many merely moved across into Bala Cynwyd, Merion and Penn Valley.
But today, the area has an even higher percentage of Jews as an Orthodox synagogue started there and ever increasing numbers of Jews came into the area so that they could walk tothe synagogue. If you go along Bala and Montgomery Avenues you see what I consider to be a Jewish neighborhood.

[bicoastal10]

Originally Posted by LibraGirl123

There's more than a "sprinkling" of Jews elsewhere...there's been a large population of Jewish people in the Far Northeast since the 1950s/60s.

Out of the 300+ Jews people I've met from the Philly area, maybe 3-4 where from northeast Philly. I don't think the northeast is a hot bed for Jews these days.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by hawkwnd

I am not Jewish, but grew up in the 1950s across the street from my Catholic church in BalaCynwyd. My neighbors in the two houses on each side were Jewish and at that time there was a very strong presence of Jews in that neighborhood. There was a large and active synagogue up the street and Akiba Academy was just opening at the edge in Merion. At the time Wynnefield across City Line was practically all Jewish, and when they migrated out in the mid-60s many merely moved across into Bala Cynwyd, Merion and Penn Valley.
But today, the area has an even higher percentage of Jews as an Orthodox synagogue started there and ever increasing numbers of Jews came into the area so that they could walk tothe synagogue. If you go along Bala and Montgomery Avenues you see what I consider to be a Jewish neighborhood.

Yeah, when I think of Jewish areas in the Philly area, I think of the Bala Cynwyd/Merion area. The dueling oldschool jewish deli's, Hymie's & Murray's, are still holding down Montgomery Ave, and I have noticed an uptick in Orthodox Jews at the train stations in the area (notably Bala station and Overbrook station) in recent-ish years.

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by Stolberg

Jewish Cities - The Daily Beast

According to this pop-survey Philadelphia is the 3rd "most Jewish" city in the nation. Behind NY and Miami but
ahead of everyone else.
It's intersting how much of the nation's Jewish community is still centered in the northeast and mid-western parts
of the country.

From articles I have read Philadelphia has the FOURTH largest Jewish community in the US, after New York, LA, and Miami. Remember, this is the home of The National Museum of American Jewish History and The Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.

My friends joke that Jews actually RULE the city of Philadelphia ... everything in it is named after Jews. The Kimmel Center of Performing Arts. The Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The Mann Music Center in West Fairmount Park. The Perelman Center of Advanced Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The Perelman Building at the Art Museum. Albert Einstein Hospital. Gratz High School. The Rosenbach Museum.

There is even a travel guidebook out there on Jewish Philadelphia with walking tour itineraries of all the historic shuls, neighborhoods, monuments, cemeteries, etc. I have a copy somewhere in my book collection but I'm too lazy to look for it.

There is a significant number of Jews here in my neighborhood, University City. A lot of the students at UPenn, Drexel, and USP are Jewish. The University of Pennsylvania has an impressive Hillel House and off campus there is not one, but two Lubavicher houses.

The local synagogue is the Kol Tzedek Congregation, which is affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement. It meets at the Calvary Center on Baltimore Avenue and 48th Street.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by bicoastal10

Out of the 300+ Jews people I've met from the Philly area, maybe 3-4 where from northeast Philly. I don't think the northeast is a hot bed for Jews these days.

The Far Northeast is a little under 10% Jewish these days. A bit of a far cry from where it once was, but not exactly judenrein either. The Far Northeast is especially distinct for being home to the Area's last great concentration of working class Jewish families.

[john_starks]

there are jewish people in philly?

[jtom605]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

Not any more.. The Jews there have been replaced with Russians. Some of the Synagogue's are hanging on and some have closed up in the last 10 years.

There are many Jewish Russians in the Bell's Corner area.

[newmarlig]

Originally Posted by john_starks

there are jewish people in philly?

Yes - believe it or not, we live here. Seriously, I find it odd that anyone would have to ask if there are Jewish people in a major city.