10 Facts About Jewish California

Jane Says: Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell is Jewish. Image by Getty Images

By Gabe Friedman November 4, 2014

1. California had 1,223,640 Jews in 2012. This is the second highest number of Jews in the country (only behind New York) and 18% of the entire Jewish population in the U.S.

2. MGM Studios and Paramount Pictures, two of the largest Hollywood film studios in history, were founded by Jews. Marcus Loew started MGM and Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky founded Paramount.

3. Baseball player Ryan Braun, nicknamed the “Hebrew Hammer,” was a star player on L.A.’s Granada Hills high school team.

4. Geoff and Mitchell Schwartz, who are both offensive linemen in the NFL, grew up in Los Angeles. This year, Geoff, who weighs around 340 pounds, fasted for Yom Kippur.

5. California is currently the only state with two Jewish senators: Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

6. Rube Goldberg, the famous cartoonist known for his images of complicated imaginary gadgets, was born in San Francisco.

7. The band Jane’s Addiction, whose singer Perry Farrell is Jewish, started out in L.A.

8. Three members of the 60’s band Jefferson Airplane, which began in San Francisco, were Jewish: singer Marty Balin and guitarists Jorma Kaukonen and Paul Kanter.

9. Israeli American Hillel Slovak was the first guitarist of the LA-based Red Hot Chili Peppers.

10. 2006 Olympic silver medalist figure skater Sasha Cohen was born in LA’s Westwood neighborhood.

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