Sam Azeez Museum
Highlights Little-Known
New Jersey Jewish History
JON MARKS | JE STAFF
W OODBINE, N.J. —
success he had, he never
Welcome to the land
forgot about Woodbine.”
that time forgot.

At the time of Sam
Nestled among the Pine
Azeez’s passing, the Ortho-
Barrens, some 10 miles
dox synagogue built in 1893
from Sea Isle City, sits the
had fallen into disrepair.

proverbial all-American
There had long been talk of
town from a bygone era.

the building being torn down
Here, there’s no racial
or sold to a non-Jewish organi-
discrimination. No religious
zation, which horrified neighbors.

persecution. No political backbiting.

“It was closed for years,” recalled
And, for the most part nowadays,
Katie Rink, gazing at the totally refur-
no Jews.

bished sanctuary, where women sat
That’s kind of ironic because when the
upstairs until 1979 — when they literally
town was created in 1891, thanks to a
dug in their heels to the point you can still
grant from the Baron Maurice de Hirsch
see the marks on the floor and refused to
fund, Woodbine was comprised entirely
be ostracized any longer. “People were talk-
of Jews who’d been rescued from Russia
ing about selling it, which was blasphemy.

and parts of Eastern Europe and relo- The Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage
“I grew up in Sea Isle. I have friends
cated here.

who came to this synagogue. I know the
in Woodbine, N.J.

“The idea was to make them ‘of the
names on these walls. I am filled with
land,’” explained Jane Stark, executive director of the Sam Azeez
emotion to see this. They cleaned these bricks with love. It was
Museum of Woodbine Heritage, which combines local history
standing here for years before they decided to restore the building
with Jewish history and Holocaust education, while serving as a
to its glory.”
satellite campus for Stockton University. “Jews were so persecuted
Services are now held there during the High Holidays,
in Russia they weren’t allowed to own land.

conducted by a local rabbi. And within the past few years, both
“The fund sent a soil chemist named Hirsch Loeb Sabsovich to
Bar and Bat Mitzvahs have taken place.

teach them how to make the ground productive. That led to the
It’s all part of the tour when you enter the museum. The story
Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School.

of Woodbine is told through a series of panels, taking you from its
“So the Jews in Woodbine were able to sustain themselves,
incarnation when the only inhabitants were 92 Jews, to today, with
resettle without encountering the kind of difficulties they faced
only a handful of Jews among its 1,900 or so residents.

elsewhere — like anti-Semitism — and still practice Judaism. And
While those numbers have radically changed, one thing hasn’t.

then they brought factories here. At the height, there were 19
“I told Michael Azeez, ‘You can’t call it a Jewish museum,’” said
factories, which meant employment.”
Stark, who’s been running things here since 2001. “‘Call it the Sam
It also meant the end of a totally Jewish community. Stark said
Azeez Heritage Museum instead.’
it has been historically verified to be the first such community
“This town is famous for its harmonious environment. There’s
since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.

no racism, no prejudice, no anti-Semitism — still.”
But even though Woodbine began to mix cultures, the town
The panels in the refurbished basement of what was called
never lost its innocence.

Woodbine Brotherhood Synagogue tell that part of the story.

That made quite an impression on Brooklyn-born Sam Azeez,
The other part is told through the Holocaust education
whose family moved there when he was a boy. Azeez would
program the museum offers in conjunction with Stockton
become one of the pioneers in the cellphone industry, making a
University; the Sara & Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center (a
fortune with his company Ultronics. Yet he always held a soft spot
joint venture between the university and the local Jewish
for the town where he grew up.

Federation) is considered among the finest Holocaust teaching
That’s why, following Azeez’s 2000 death, his son, Michael,
centers in the world, according to Stark.

decided those memories needed to be preserved.

For those who can’t make it to the university, though, there’s
“My father came here when he was 4 years old,” said 60-year-
plenty to learn about the Holocaust in Woodbine. And to make
old Michael Azeez (pronounced Ay-zeez), who lived in Woodbine
sure the story continues to be told, Stark regularly has survivors
until he was 10, then moved to nearby Tuckahoe. “He always felt
speak to students.

like the town raised him as much as his family did. With the
Those include I. Betty Grebenschikoff, who went from
Photos by Lauren Marks
18 JUNE 8, 2017
THIS SUMMER
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM