Rabbi Jacob Nieto was the leading Bay Area rabbi of his day . Raised in a Sephardic family in Jamaica and a noted speaker , Rabbi Nieto stood at the center of almost every major crisis and cause during his four-decade term of service . He intervened in the Abe Ruef scandal , led relief efforts after the 1906 earthquake and fire , and defended labor organizer Thomas Mooney , wrongly convicted of an anarchist bombing in 1916 . He stood up for the disadvantaged , advocated for women ’s rights , supported organized labor , opposed the death penalty and objected to World War I as an imperialist venture . A religious reformer , Rabbi Nieto presided over the building of the California Street temple and guided Sherith Israel to prominence among San Francisco congregations
bombing in 1916
Preparedness Day Bombing
Congregation Sherith Israel (San Francisco, California)