Kosher and Jewish Life in South Carolina

Sephardic Jews from London were among the early settlers in the city and colony, and comprised most of its Jewish community into the early 1800s. In 1800 South Carolina had the largest Jewish population of any state of the United States. The earliest record of a Jew in Charleston occurs in 1695, when one is recorded as acting as interpreter for Governor John Archdale. In 1702 Jews appeared in numbers and voted at a general election. The first synagogue established at Charleston was that of the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, founded in 1749. In early July 2018, South Carolina became the first U.S. state to adopt and standard, uniform definition of anti-Semitism. As of 2017, South Carolina's Jewish population was approximately 13,820 people.