Why California just gave the 100 year-old Breed Street Shul $15 million

A crumbling synagogue in a neighborhood long ago abandoned by the Jewish community just received millions of dollars from the State of California. At a time when the state faces urgent needs for affordable housing, homeless services and drought relief, you might ask: “A synagogue?”

On Aug. 10, the Breed Street Shul Project announced that California’s recently passed 2021 budget includes a $14.9 million allocation for the restoration of the historic Breed Street Shul in the Boyle Heights neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles.

Supporters of the largesse say the money will pay for much more than the rehabilitation of an old shul.

The money, said Stephen Sass, president of the Breed Street Shul Project, will not only renew a “culturally iconic historic” building but will spur collaboration among the Jewish, Latino and other minority communities in Boyle Heights and throughout the city.