Brad Kolodny, who talked about the early synagogues of Long Island at the shul’s Lunch and Learn program in December 2021, has just published a new book, The Jews of Long Island 1705-1918. In this book, the writer tells the stories of Jewish communities on Long Island, and how they were established and developed. His research confirms what we know about the early Jewish settlement in Greenport and the building of our shul more than 100 years ago. Peddlers, farmers and factory workers struggling to make better lives for their families moved east, out of the poverty and congestion of New York City.

Included in Brad Kolodny’s book are census records, newspaper accounts, photos, and personal family histories. More than 4,400 names of people who lived in Nassau and Suffolk counties prior to the end of WWI are listed. The writer told The Shofar that the book contains a chapter dedicated to Greenport, including the names of every Jewish resident at that time.