Temple Beth Israel (Niagara Falls, New York)

Temple Beth Israel () is a Conservative synagogue located at 905 College Avenue in Niagara Falls, New York. Founded in 1898 and formally incorporated in 1905 as an Orthodox synagogue, it hired its first rabbi in 1916, and joined the Conservative movement in 1931.
The congregation moved to its current building in 1967, and soon afterwards membership peaked at over 180 families, but by 1998 had been reduced to 65. From 2005 to 2007 the synagogue was repeatedly targeted by vandals; after some of these incidents a federal investigation was started and two people were arrested, convicted, and sentenced.
Beth Israel has not had a rabbi since 1995; its president was Dr. Lawrence Wolfgang.
==Early history==
Founded in Niagara Falls in 1898,Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 10. Temple Beth Israel formally incorporated in 1905, when it was granted a charter by the State of New York, and purchased land for $1,600 on Cedar Avenue. Construction of a building did not start until 1911, when the cornerstone was laid. At the time the congregation had 33 members.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 11. The building was completed in 1912 at a cost of approximately $12,000, of which $6,000 was borrowed as a mortgage. Jacob Schiff, the New York City philanthropist, donated $250 towards the costs. Annual dues averaged around $17 per year.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 12.
In its early years Beth Israel could not afford a rabbi, Sunday School, or Hebrew school; High Holiday services were run by guest rabbis, and the rabbi of Niagara Falls' Temple Beth El would help out. In 1915 Beth Israel started providing Hebrew school classes,Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 14. and in 1916 hired its first full-time rabbi, Moses Abramson, who served until 1918. Subsequent rabbis were Abraham Helfman (1919–1922), Israel Holtzman (1923–1924), and Alter Abelson (1925–1926).Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel 100th Birthday Celebration 1898–1998, p. 31.
During Abelson's final year at Beth Israel the congregation opened a permanently organized Sunday School; prior to that classes had not been "on a steady or permanently organized basis". Abelson was followed by Jacob Landy (1927–1928) and Isser Muskat (1928–1930).
==1930s, 40s, and 50s==
Though the synagogue had always called itself Orthodox, it also had liberal leanings, and in 1931 it affiliated itself with the United Synagogue of America (now United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism).Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 15. That year Beth Israel hired Samuel I. Porrath as rabbi, a position he would hold until 1935. Porrath subsequently moved away from Niagara Falls, but would eventually return. Though employed elsewhere (including Temple Beth El in Buffalo, New York, and Niagara University, where he chaired the Institute of Transportation, Travel and Tourism), he would often serve as Beth Israel's interim rabbi when the congregation was between permanent rabbis. A founder of Niagara County Community College, Porath was appointed Beth Israel's "Rabbi Emeritus" in 1968, and died in 1989."Rabbi Samuel Porrath Dies; Prominent Leader", The Buffalo News, May 14, 1989.
After Porrath, Beth Israel went through another series of short-tenured rabbis: Jacob Friedman (1936–1937), Herman Glatt (1938–1940), and Mordecai Waxman (1941–1942).Goldman, Ari L. " Mordecai Waxman, Rabbi Who Chided Pope, Dies at 85", The New York Times, August 15, 2002. Waxman would subsequently serve as an Army chaplain in World War II, go on to become a prominent rabbi in the Conservative movement, and serve as rabbi of Temple Israel of Great Neck, New York from 1947 to his death in 2002.Fischler, Marcelle S. " LONG ISLAND JOURNAL; Celebrating a Rabbi's 55 Years of Service", July 7, 2002. Waxman was followed by Simon Shoop (1942–1943), Philip Miller (1943–1944), and Jay Kaufman (1945–1946).
The congregation began work on an addition to the synagogue in 1947, which it completed in 1948. The total cost was $30,000, of which $20,000 was raised, and $10,000 borrowed.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 16.
In 1947 Beth Israel also hired Melvin Kieffer; he served until 1957, the synagogue's longest serving rabbi, and during his tenure, in 1955, Beth Israel's mortgage was finally paid off.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel 100th Birthday Celebration 1898–1998, p. 37. Kieffer was followed by Seymour Schorr, who was hired in 1958.
==New building==
By 1965 the congregation had approximately 175 families, and had outgrown its building on Cedar Avenue, which had inadequate facilities, and too few (and unsafe) classrooms.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 20. In 1961 Beth Israel had acquired from the New York Power Authority of land at College Avenue and Madison Avenue, valued at approximately $100,000, in exchange for of land the Authority needed in Beth Israel's cemetery. Funds were raised for a new building,Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 21. and in 1966 construction began on the current facilities on College Avenue. The work was completed in time for High Holiday services to be held there in 1967.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel Dedication 1968, p. 23.Our Building, Synagogue website. Accessed October 26, 2008.
That year Schorr asked to be released from his contract, and was replaced by Morris A. Cohen for 6 months, and then Samuel Porrath, who came out of retirement to assist. In 1968 Yosel I. Dick was hired as rabbi; he would serve until 1971.
==Decline==
Membership peaked at over 180 families soon after the move to the new building, but during the 1970s Niagara Falls had entered a long economic downturn: plants run by major employers closed, and the city's population dropped by over 40 percent. Jewish employees were laid off when the plants closed, and many Jewish businesses moved or went out of business. Jewish families left the area, and synagogue membership declined.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel 100th Birthday Celebration 1898–1998, p. 29.Kurilovitch, Mike. "Temple Marks 100 Years with Hope for Rejuvenation", The Buffalo News, August 30, 1998. During this period Israel Zimmerman was rabbi from 1972–1975, and Lawrence Pinsker, a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College,Meet our Clergy Team, About Us, Shaarey Zedek Synagogue website. Accessed August 15, 2008. from 1976 to 1980.
Jerome Kestenbaum joined as rabbi in 1981, and, feeling that the mortgage was a drain on the congregation, in 1982 he and synagogue president Samuel Wineburgh asked Jack A. Gellman to head a campaign to retire it. The original mortgage for the new building had been $350,000, and by 1982 the balance remaining was $42,000. The campaign was a success, and a mortgage burning dinner was held in October of that year.
Kestenbaum was replaced by Bruce Adler in 1983, but in 1985 he returned, serving until 1986, when he was replaced by David Harary.
Haim Cassorla replaced Harary in 1988; when he left, in 1995, the congregation could not afford to hire a replacement. Dr. Laurence Boxer acted in place of a rabbi, without remuneration, conducting all services and grave-side rituals.Gellman, Jack A. Temple Beth Israel 100th Birthday Celebration 1898–1998, p. 30. By 1998 Beth Israel's membership had dropped to 65 families.
, Beth Israel's president was Dr. Lawrence Wolfgang.
==Targeted by vandals==
In 1992 swastikas and the words "white power" were found on synagogue's door, which was urinated on,Thompson, Jimmy. "Man Charged with Defacing Falls Temple", The Buffalo News, November 8, 1992. and in 1997 vandals started a fire outside the building."Vandals Start Fire at Temple", The Buffalo News, June 21, 1997. However, a more sustained set of attacks started in 2005 and escalated in the summer and fall of 2006. Incidents occurred on a near-daily basis, and included urinating on the synagogue's doors and carving swastikas into them: a "skateboard club" named "DNA" had apparently claimed the Temple's property as its own "turf", and refused to leave. A federal investigation involving a Joint Terrorism Task Force agent and local police was begun when the message "Kill the Jews" was duct-taped to the building's door on January 12, 2007. The investigation was hampered because witnesses were afraid to speak, in fear of retaliation.Pfeiffer, Rick. "NIAGARA FALLS: Arrests made in temple vandalism case", The Journal-Register (Niagara Gazette), February 14, 2007."ADL Welcomes Arrest In Niagara Falls Synagogue Attacks", Anti-Defamation League, February 16, 2007.
In February 2007 two people, one a juvenile, were arrested and charged in connection with the incidents. The suspects initially pleaded not guilty,Fischer, Nancy A. "2 Falls teens deny vandalizing synagogue: Repeated incidents at Temple Beth Israel lead to arrests; third suspect faces charges.", The Buffalo News, April 3, 2007. but in early June were offered a plea bargain,Prohaska, Thomas J. "2 offered a deal in synagogue vandalism", The Buffalo News, June 2, 2007. and later that month Shawn M. Blount pleaded guilty to the vandalism.Prohaska, Thomas J. "Guilt admitted in vandalism at synagogue", The Buffalo News, June 16, 2007. In August he was sentenced to one to three years in prison, and a co-defendant, who also pleaded guilty, was sentenced as a youthful offender to one year in Niagara County Jail.Prohaska, Thomas J. "Falls man gets prison for temple vandalism", The Buffalo News, August 3, 2007.
==Notes==
==External links==
*Synagogue website
Category:1967 architecture
Category:19th-century synagogues
Category:21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations
Category:Buildings and structures in Niagara Falls, New York
Category:Conservative synagogues in the United States
Category:Religious organizations established in 1898
Category:Synagogues in New York