Congregation Beth Israel is a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

located at 3901 Shoal Creek Boulevard in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, in the United States. Organized in 1876 and chartered by the state of Texas in 1879, it is the oldest synagogue in Austin.

Overview

A synagogue was completed in 1884, near the intersection of 11th and San Jacinto Streets, and the first

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

appointed in 1886. Following post-

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population growth in the region, a new synagogue, located on Shoal Creek Boulevard, was completed in 1967, accommodating 650 worshippers. The synagogue had 51 members in 1907 and was located at East 11th and Trinity. It had no rabbi at the time. Congregation Beth Israel served approximately 710 households as of 2021. The senior

is Steven Folberg.

2021 arson attack

In October 2021, the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

antisemitic group, organized a spate of

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

incidents in Austin. On 25 October, the GDL hung a banner from a bridge over the MoPac Expressway in Austin that read "Vax the Jews". Several days earlier, antisemitic graffiti had been found at Anderson High School. On 31 October 2021, 18 year old Franklin Barrett Sechriest, a student at

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

a former member of the

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, committed an arson attack at the synagogue, damaging its front doors and stained glass windows, causing more than $250,000 in damage. Ten days after the attack, authorities arrested Sechriest. He resigned from the national guard before conducting the arson. Stickers with Nazi propaganda and swastikas were recovered from Sechriest. According to security footage, Sechriest's vehicle was at the synagogue before the fire started, and he was seen carrying a container and toilet paper to the doors of the synagogue before being observed running away after the synagogue was ablaze. Sechriest admitted that he conducted the attack at the synagogue because of his hatred for Jews. According to federal investigators, Sechriest wrote racist and antisemitic entries in his personal journal before committing the arson. Several days after the arson, he wrote, "I set a synagogue on fire." They also found bomb-making supplies in his car. On 10 April 2023, Sechriest pled guilty in the Western District of Texas to two federal charges, including the destruction of religious property, which is a hate crime. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped a third charge of the use of a fire to commit a felony. Prosecutors consulted the synagogue's board of directors, who voted to approve the deal. On 29 November 2023, Sechriest was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release post-prison, and ordered to pay $470,000 in restitution to Congregation Beth Israel. According to the synagogue's rabbi, members of the interfaith community donated more than $100,000 toward the recovery efforts. Almost two years after the arson, Congregation Beth Israel held its first Shabbat services in the building on August 25, 2023. Due to damage to the main sanctuary, the synagogue converted its social hall into a temporary space for worship. It refashioned the stained glass windows into an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

References

External links

* 20th-century synagogues in the United States Reform synagogues in Texas Jewish organizations established in 1876 Religious buildings and structures in Austin, Texas 1876 establishments in Texas Synagogues completed in 1967 {{US-synagogue-stub