Phoenix Hebrew Academy

Beth Joseph Congregation

Phoenix Hebrew Academy Students at the Phoenix Hebrew Academy gather around their instructor for a lesson. The Phoenix Hebrew Academy, founded in 1965, teaches a general studies curriculum as well as a Judaic studies curriculum. Source: Arizona Jewish Historical Society, Phoenix Hebrew Academy, 1997
https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/42103 accessed January 21, 2024.
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Date: April 15, 1997

The Phoenix Hebrew Academy was Arizona's first Jewish day school when it opened in 1965.

The Phoenix Hebrew Academy is an Orthodox Jewish day school in north central Phoenix, Arizona. The Academy was founded in 1965 by Rabbi David Rebibo. Rabbi Rebibo has served as the Dean of Students since its inception. It is the first Jewish day school in the region and one of the first outside of the New York area. The school has a dual curriculum of Judaic and general studies for children in grades K-8.

In 1965, Rebibo and his wife, Odette, moved to Phoenix, where he established the Academy. Rebibo received some opposition to his opening of the school because the non-Orthodox rabbis believed Jewish students should be integrated into the local community. The Phoenix Hebrew Academy opened on September 7, 1965, with 40 students enrolled. The first campus was a house at 337 East Bethany Home Road, but it was relocated to its current location at 515 East Bethany Home Road.