The congregation was first organized in New York in 1906 by Greek-speaking Romaniote Jews from the city of Ioannina in Northwestern Greece. Kehila Kedosha Janina (the Holy Community of Janina) is the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. Romaniote Jews are a unique community of Jewish people whose history in Greece dates back over two thousand three hundred years to the time of Alexander the Great.

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It has the largest collection of English-language books on Greek Jewry in the world, all for sale though its website and gift shop.

The Colchamiro Family is an integral part of the synagogue and is represented within the synagogue and museum.

This museum is very important with many art, cultural artifacts,and history of the Romaniote and Sephardic Jews of Greece. Going back 300 B.C., Jews were welcomed into Greece. The Museum was founded in 1977 to collect, preserve, research and exhibit the material evidence of 2,300 years of Jewish life in Greece.

As a historical and ethnographical museum its main interest is to provide a vivid picture of Jewish life and culture as it was during those centuries.

The collection contains more than ten thousand artifacts (some of which are unique) pertaining to the domestic and religious life, as well as the history of the Greek Jews.

I'm suggesting that it is time to stop thinking of Jewish Peoplehood as a race. Instead, think of Jewish Peoplehood as a family. A Rabbi's view on "What is Jewish."

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We Are Family: Rethinking Race in the Jewish Community | Rabbi Angela Buchdahl |Yom Kippur 5781/2020

In 1987 The Kehila Kedosha Janina held a family reunion in honor of the Colchamiros, all 11 branches of the family. On March 18, 1987 our families gathered to greet one another and share stories. All of these cousins, young and old had a great time connecting and re-connecting. They traveled from Brooklyn, NY; New Jersey and other states. See the program here of events and history. See here for photos that I took. This is a link that Elliot Colchamiro sent me of the same event of his photos. See Elliot on his branch of the family tree. The event told the story of Jesolua and Rachel would sire eleven children (4 sons and 7 daughters), over 80 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Cousin Max (Menachem) Bacola wrote "Over 130 Years of the Colchamira Dynasty and Their Contributions to Society." His parents are Dinah and Ezra Bacola (see family tree). Max emigrated to New York in 1914 from Greece. In business for 30 years in New York, he moved to Los Angeles. Max was active in community affairs. He describes all of the family in his document of the family.

The Washington Oxi Day Foundation is a nonprofit, 501c3 organization dedicated to informing American policymakers and the public about the profound role Greece played in bringing about the outcome of World War II and celebrating modern day heroes who exhibit the same courage as the Greeks did in continuing to fight to preserve and promote freedom and democracy around the world. See their video the Greek Secret of Philotimo. For more information about the organization see their website.

ShadowLight originated for students, by students. It was conceived with the goal of providing an immersive and interactive educational experience for students so that they could empathize with the stories of suffering during the Holocaust. To connect the history to current prejudices and be infused with inspiration and a sense of responsibility to create a better tomorrow.