Austin References in The TJHS Magazine

143 issues of the Texas Jewish Historical Society's quarterly magazine found to mention Austin, spanning August 1980 #1 to August 2026, out of the full run published since 1980. GAJHS volunteers are continuing to sweep the TJHS archive for Austin references — check back often for new additions.

August 2026

Rosalee Cohn Cohen Obituary Research Draws on Briscoe Center Archives; John P. Campbell (Austin) Profiled as TJHS Recording Secretary

Genealogy column researches Rosalee Cohn Cohen's obituary (born New Braunfels 1920, died Dallas 2025) using the Briscoe Center for American History archives at UT Austin. TJHS Recording Secretary and Grant Committee chair John P. Campbell profiled as an Austin resident (B.A. Tulane, M.P.A.) who delivers items to the Briscoe Center. Recurring institutional note: TJHS's collection is permanently housed at the Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin.

June 2026

UT Schusterman Center Wins First TJHS University Jewish Studies Fellowship

Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at UT Austin awarded first TJHS University Jewish Studies Fellowship for 'A History of Longhorn Jews: From Exclusion to Activism' (p.4). TJHS Speakers Bureau held program in Austin. David Brenner (Texas A&M) joined THC Real Places Conference panel in Austin, April 8-10 2026. TJHS Collection permanently housed at Briscoe Center (UT Austin). Solomon Weiner listed as new member, Austin. Dolly Moskowitz Golden, TJHS Board Member, died Feb 27 2026 in Austin (In Memoriam).

February 2026

TJHS Previews Temple Merger Panel Ahead of THC Real Places Conference in Austin

Benjamin Luckens listed as new member, Austin. Panel on merger of Temple Beth El and B'nai Israel Synagogue references Austin Jewish community context. TJHS presenting at THC Real Places Conference, Austin, April 8-10 2026. Bios of Austin board members: Gayle Feldman Cannon (Congregation Beth Israel Austin supporter), Nelson Chafetz, Paul Keeper (past president, Congregation Beth Israel Austin, moved to Austin 1973). Sally Drayer (TJHS Archivist) delivers material to Briscoe Center Archives, Austin. Sheldon Lippman (TJHS President) based in Austin.

March 2025

TJHS Honors Toubins' Brenham-to-Austin Synagogue Move as Its First-Ever Preservation Award

Awards-nomination copy recaps that TJHS's first-ever Significant Historic Site Preservation award went to Leon and Mimi Toubin for relocating the Orthodox B'nai Abraham Synagogue from Brenham to Austin. Recurring institutional note: TJHS's collection is housed at UT Austin's Dolph Briscoe Center for American History (Austin mailing address P.O. Box 10193).

December 2024

TJHS Antisemitism Program Cites Jewish Austin Outlet Among Statewide Press Partners

Coverage of an ADL antisemitism presentation lists 'Jewish Austin' alongside the Jewish Herald Voice, Jewish Outlook, and Texas Jewish Post as press outlets disseminating the material. Recurring institutional note: recaps Toubin/Brenham-to-Austin preservation award and TJHS archive housed at the Briscoe Center, UT Austin.

March 2024

TJHS Kessler Fund Launches UT Austin Schusterman Center Partnership

Recaps the Toubins' Brenham-to-Austin synagogue move as TJHS's first preservation award. A UT-era feature discusses Jewish faculty and student life 'at the University of Texas at Austin' and the greater Austin Jewish society. Recurring institutional note: TJHS archive housed at the Briscoe Center, UT Austin.

August 2022

TJHS Notes Briscoe Center at UT Austin Now Fully Open to the Public

Board meeting minutes announce that the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, located on the UT Austin campus, is now open to the public. A genealogy footnote also cites a 1935 Austin Statesman article on a young violin prodigy. Recurring institutional note: TJHS Austin mailing address.

September 2021

TJHS Recaps Toubins' Preservation Award Amid Pandemic-Era Programming

Awards-nomination copy again recaps the Toubins' Brenham-to-Austin synagogue preservation award. Recurring institutional note: TJHS archive housed at the Briscoe Center, UT Austin, and Austin, TX mailing address. CAVEAT: this issue's PDF only yielded a small amount of native-extractable text (roughly 6-10K characters against a typical 80K+ for a full issue) -- most pages may be scanned images not yet OCR'd, so additional Austin content could exist in this issue beyond what is captured here.

May 2021

TJHS Recaps Toubins' Brenham-to-Austin Preservation Award

Awards-nomination copy recaps TJHS's first Significant Historic Site Preservation award, given to Leon and Mimi Toubin for relocating the Orthodox B'nai Abraham Synagogue from Brenham to Austin. Recurring institutional note: TJHS Austin mailing address and Briscoe Center archive. CAVEAT: this issue's PDF only yielded a small amount of native-extractable text (roughly 6-10K characters against a typical 80K+ for a full issue) -- most pages may be scanned images not yet OCR'd, so additional Austin content could exist in this issue beyond what is captured here.

February 2019

Houston Kosher Meat Market Family History Feature; Austin Board Roster and Palestine, TX Cemetery Gate Story

Feature: 'From a Dairy Farm in Salat, Lithuania to a Kosher Meat Market on Hamilton Street' by Sheldon Ike Lippman. Directly relevant to Austin walking-tour research: references the Jacob Schmidt Department Store, opened 1930 on East Sixth Street, Austin, and the Yaring's store, opened c.1936 at 506 Congress Ave, Austin (building still stands, now a bank). Jacob Schmidt buried in Agudas Achim Cemetery, Austin. Multiple Austin TJHS officers/board: Davie Lou Solka (President), Jack Solka (3rd VP), Nelson Chafetz, Gayle Cannon, Dolly Golden.

May 2018

UT Austin Course Explores Jewish Longhorns of the Civil Rights Era; Brenham-to-Austin Synagogue Move Highlighted

Feature: 'UT Jews in the Civil Rights Era' by Dr. Suzanne Seriff (Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies, UT Austin) - new course on Jewish Longhorns in the 1960s-70s, using TJHS Collection and Briscoe Center archives. TJHS Awards nomination form references first-ever award given to Leon and Mimi Toubin for restoring the historic Brenham synagogue, moved to and continuing services in Austin. Mitzi Chafetz (wife of Nelson Chafetz, TJHS 2nd VP) opens Austin Natural Funerals. Multiple Austin TJHS board members bios: Judy Cassorla, John P. Campbell, Sheldon I. Lippman, Brad Greenblum. New Austin members: Geraldine Cohen; Gary & Shelley Solka; Michael & Liz Solka.

February 2018

Jewish Fort Worth's Founding Era Recalled; Austin Board Members Feature Prominently in TJHS Leadership

Feature: 'Tied and Tethered: Jews in Early Fort Worth' by Hollace Weiner. Austin content: TJHS notes its role saving the historic Brenham synagogue by moving it to Austin's Dell Jewish Community Campus in 2014. Multiple Austin-based TJHS board/officers: Davie Lou Solka (President, Austin), Nelson Chafetz (Austin), Jack Solka (Editor, Austin), Judy Cassorla (Austin), Sheldon Lippman (Austin), Gayle Cannon (Austin), Brad Greenblum (Austin), H.P. 'Pacey' Laves (Austin, family ran Laves Jewelry), Debbie Winegarten (past president, Austin). New Austin members listed: Paul & Bara Fern, Jeffrey Josephs, Ronald & Heather Melrose, Millie Rosenberg.

May 2017

TJHS Magazine Publishes Full History of Beth Israel and Agudas Achim in Austin, Including Michael Dell's Role

Major feature 'Jewish Congregations of Austin' traces Austin's Jewish institutional history: the founding of Beth Israel (Reform) in an Odd Fellows Hall and Agudas Achim (Conservative); Joe Koen as Beth Israel president in the early Temple years; the congregation's services held on the floor of the Texas Senate; Jewish businessman Novy as a pillar of Austin's Orthodox congregation; and the 1980s tech boom (explicitly naming Michael Dell and the founding of Dell Computer) transforming Austin's Jewish community and driving its high-tech-era growth. This is the highest-value single feature found in the TJHS sweep and merits its own transcript-style treatment.

March 2017

TJHS Archive Column Cites Briscoe Center Growth at UT Austin

The 'From Our Archives' column describes the growing TJHS archive at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History in Austin. A genealogy feature traces the Phineas/Jacob family from Galveston to Houston. Recurring institutional note: TJHS Austin mailing address.

December 2015

TJHS Documents B'nai Abraham Synagogue's Physical Move from Brenham to the Dell Jewish Community Campus in Austin

Detailed feature on the January 2015 relocation of the historic B'nai Abraham Synagogue (Brenham, founded 1885) to the Dell Jewish Community Campus in Austin: the building was cut into three horizontal sections and trucked to Austin; soil from Brenham, Austin, and Israel was combined and placed under the building; Mimi and Leon Toubin waved goodbye to the building in Brenham; the congregation's Torahs were brought to the new Austin home; Awards Chair Helen Wilk presented the TJHS award to the Toubins at the site. This is a primary, richly detailed account of the same relocation covered more briefly in later issues and merits its own transcript-style treatment.

December 2014

TJHS Recounts Groundbreaking Ceremony for B'nai Abraham's Move from Brenham to Austin

Details the groundbreaking ceremony for B'nai Abraham Synagogue's move from Brenham to Austin, held at the close of a joint TJHS/Southern Jewish Historical Society conference. Soil from Brenham and Austin was combined with soil from Israel for the groundbreaking. Jay Rubin, CEO of the Jewish Community Association of Austin (JCAA), attended; Helen Wilk presented TJHS's first-ever preservation award to Mimi and Leon Toubin.

July 2014

TJHS Magazine Covers LBJ's 1963 Dedication of Agudas Achim's New Austin Building and Austin Metal & Iron History

By far the highest concentration of Austin content in the entire sweep (117 mentions). Major feature recounts President Lyndon B. Johnson's December 1963 dedication of Congregation Agudas Achim's new building in Austin -- one of Johnson's earliest political allies, Sam Novy, a pillar of Austin's Orthodox congregation, is credited as instrumental in securing LBJ's attendance -- drawing on interviews conducted for a video marking the Dell Jewish Community Campus's founding. Also covers Austin Metal and Iron (founded by a Shapiro family member) and its downtown building's demolition, and previews the relocation of Brenham's B'nai Abraham synagogue to Austin. A high-priority issue for any future deeper transcription pass.

April 2014

TJHS Corrects Toubin Family Reference in Brenham-to-Austin Synagogue Relocation Coverage

Correction notice on the February 2014 B'nai Abraham story clarifies Mimi Toubin's identification as longtime caretaker of the Brenham synagogue being relocated to the Dell JCC campus in Austin, describing B'nai Abraham as the oldest Orthodox synagogue building in Texas. Austin-based TJHS board members Nelson Chafetz and Brad Greenblum listed.

February 2014

TJHS Reports Plans to Relocate Brenham's B'nai Abraham Synagogue to the Dell JCC Campus in Austin

Cover feature 'B'nai Abraham Synagogue Building in Brenham Relocating to Austin' by Davie Lou Solka announces the planned relocation to the Dell Jewish Community Campus, with fundraising led by Leon and Mimi Toubin. Notes an upcoming joint TJHS/Southern Jewish Historical Society conference October 24-26, 2014 to be held on the Dell Campus in Austin, including a Sunday panel tied to the UT Austin Schusterman Center and the Harry Ransom Center.

February 2008

TJHS Reprints Austin American-Statesman's Feature on Brenham's Last B'nai Abraham Caretakers

TJHS reprinted, with permission, the Austin American-Statesman's December 2007 feature 'Brenham Synagogue's Caretakers Guard Their Memories' by Corrie MacLaggan -- the same article already fully transcribed on the GAJHS Statesman archive ('Brenham's B'Nai Abraham Synagogue Down to Two Members as Small-Town Jewish Life Fades', 2007-12-04). Cross-reference only; no new content beyond what GAJHS already has verbatim.

Summer 2005

TJHS Recalls 2005 Annual Gathering Held in Austin

References the April 2005 Annual Gathering held in Austin, including a presentation on Houston Jewish cemetery history. Donor acknowledgments note gifts made in honor of the Austin gathering. Recurring institutional note: TJHS Austin mailing address.

Spring 2005

TJHS Annual Gathering Held at UT Austin's Thompson Conference Center

2005 Annual Gathering held at the Thompson Conference Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus, featuring a 'Lone Stars of David' Texas Jewish History Symposium. Tom [Meyer]'s obituary notes his years on the UT Austin Hillel board. Also notes 'Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jew Boys' formed at UT Austin.

Summer 2003

TJHS Board Roster Lists Buddy Freed (Austin)

Continuing-term board directory lists Buddy Freed with an Austin home city. Recurring institutional note: TJHS's Austin, TX mailing address for dues, gifts, and address changes.

November 2002

TJHS Recalls LBJ's 1963 Dedication of Agudas Achim's New Austin Synagogue Amid Kennedy Assassination

Detailed recollection of President Lyndon B. Johnson (then Vice President) planning to dedicate Congregation Agudas Achim's new Austin synagogue, drawing on Claudia Anderson, archivist at the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin -- the dedication ceremony was postponed after the Kennedy assassination during a Dallas motorcade en route to Austin and Texas. Complements the fuller account of the same 1963 dedication found in the July 2014 and November 2021 issues.

February 2002

TJHS Notes Bullock Museum Exhibit in Austin; Obituary Cites UT Austin Law Degree

Feature references a blockbuster museum exhibit that originated at Austin's Bob Bullock Museum in 2009 [sic, likely a later-dated reprint note]. An obituary for an energy-law attorney notes he earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Recurring institutional note: TJHS's then-Austin, TX mailing address.

Fall 2001

TJHS Notes Jarrell and Shirley Rubinett Among Austin Members

Member/gift directory lists Jarrell & Shirley Rubinett among Austin, TX households -- the same Rubinett family (Agudas Achim leaders and JCCA volunteers) documented in a 2021 City of Austin historic-zoning packet for their home at 3004 Belmont Circle. A genealogy feature references materials at the UT Austin American History Center.

Summer 2001

TJHS Exhibit on Jewish Texas History Housed at UT Austin History Center

References an exhibit on Jewish Texas merchant history with materials from the American History Center in Austin. A family history recalls a father who did business across Central Texas including Austin. Recurring institutional note: TJHS's then-Austin, TX mailing address.

Winter 2001

TJHS Publishes Full 'History of the Austin Jewish Community' by Jewish Outlook Editor Mark Kilpatrick

TJHS republished 'A History of the Austin Jewish Community' by Mark Kilpatrick, editor of Austin's Jewish Outlook, originally written for the Newcomer's Guide to the Austin Jewish Community. Opens with the first Jewish resident arriving in Austin more than 150 years before publication (circa 1840, the year after Austin was designated capital of the Republic of Texas), tracing early Jewish settlers including de Cordova. This is a dedicated, full-length Austin community history and merits its own transcript-style treatment in any future deeper pass.

October 1997

TJHS Notes Texas History Day Contest Held in Austin

Describes the 1997 Texas History Day contest, held in Austin April 19-20, in partnership with UT Austin's Center for Studies in Texas History. A family history notes ancestors who moved to Austin, Texas, in 1890.

January 1996

TJHS Notes Marcia & Barry Silverberg Among Austin Members

Membership directory lists Marcia & Barry Silverberg of Austin -- an early (1996) record of the Silverbergs as TJHS members, predating Barry Silverberg's later Jewish Federation of Austin directorship. Also notes Steven Polunsky, who grew up Jewish in a small town, now living in Austin.

Fall 1994

TJHS Texas Jewish Cemeteries Directory Lists Three Historic Austin Cemetery Sections

Statewide Jewish cemeteries directory specifically lists three historic Austin sections: the Agudas Achim Section of Austin Memorial Park (established 1933, associated with Agudas Achim Synagogue); Beth Israel #1 & #2, sections of Oakwood Cemetery (established 1866, associated with Temple Beth Israel); and Beth Israel #3, a section of Capital Memorial Gardens (established 1961, also Temple Beth Israel). Directly useful primary-source dating for Austin's earliest Jewish burial grounds.

Winter 1988

TJHS Announces 8th Annual Gathering to Be Held in Austin

Announces the 8th Annual Gathering to be held in Austin, encouraging members to attend a joint session with the Texas State Historical Association. Recurring institutional note: TJHS's then-Austin, TX mailing address (P.O. Box 50501).

August 1980 #1

TJHS Founding Newsletter Notes Barker Texas History Center's Early Offer to Establish Society's Archive

TJHS's first-ever newsletter, announcing the Society's founding, records that the Barker Texas History Center at UT Austin extended an early offer to establish and house the new organization's permanent collection, already holding the papers of Rabbi Henry Cohen. Notes 'Mrs. Helen Smith (Austin)' among the earliest Regional Organization contacts. Reference to 'the Austin Settlements in 1821' is to Stephen F. Austin's Texas colonization, not the city.

Also see: Austin Jewish History Archive →
Also see: Austin in The Forward →
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