Congregation Beth Israel () is a

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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 ...

congregation and

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 ...

University City, San Diego University City (UC) is a community in San Diego, California, located in the northwestern portion of the city next to the University of California, San Diego. The area was originally intended to serve as housing for the faculty of the university ...

. Incorporated in 1887, Beth Israel traces its roots back to 1861; and is the largest and oldest Jewish congregation in San Diego.

History

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

s first came to San Diego in 1850, and organized High Holiday services each year. In 1861, led by Marcus Schiller, they organized a congregation called "Adath Yeshurun". In early 1887 they formally incorporated under the name "Beth Israel". TempleBethIsraelByPhilKonstantin

Beth Israel's first building still stands in Heritage Park, which is adjacent to

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a state protected historical park in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California. The park commemorates the early days of San Diego; it includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 18 ...

. The wooden building was erected in 1889 at Second Avenue and Beech Street, in the wake of a boom in economic activity and population that resulted from the November 1885 completion of the

California Southern Railroad The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between wha ...

connecting San Diego to the

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. Services were first held there on September 25, 1889. One of the oldest synagogue buildings in the American West,Schwartz, Henry
"Temple Beth Israel"
''The Journal of San Diego History'', Fall 1981, Volume 27, Number 4. it was used by the Congregation until 1926, when the Congregation moved to its second, larger building at Third and Laurel. At the time the congregation numbered around 60 families. The Third and Laurel site occupied a full city block, and included a number of structures. In addition to the synagogue building, there was an adjacent social hall, a school building, and a number of small apartments. When the congregation moved in early 2001, it retained the school and social hall. Beth Israel purchased a lot in University City in 1993. Construction on new facilities there began in January 2000 and were dedicated in October 2001. The site comprises five buildings totaling more than . Jonathan Stein, who was Senior Rabbi at the synagogue, became Senior Rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila on New York City's Upper East Side.

Current status

Beth Israel has over 2,000 members and nearly 1,100 households, making it San Diego's largest and oldest Jewish congregation. The clergy includes Senior Rabbi Jason Nevarez, Rabbi Cantor Jeremy Gimbel, Assistant Rabbi Elana Ackerman-Hirsch, and Rabbi Arlene Bernstein (Cantor Emerita). In June 2019, Senior Rabbi Michael Berk became Beth Israel's Rabbi Emeritus.

Notable members

Alan Bersin Alan Douglas Bersin (born October 15, 1946) is an American lawyer. He also serves as an Inaugural Senior Fellow in the Homeland Security Project at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, as a Global Fellow at the Woodr ...

(born 1946), President Obama's "Border Czar," US Attorney for the Southern District of California, California Secretary of Education, Commissioner of

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Secretary for International Affairs, and

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vice president."Alan Bersin, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy,"
Department of Homeland Security. *

Louis Rose Louis Rose (March 24, 1807 – February 14, 1888) was a pioneer developer of San Diego, California. The neighborhood of Roseville in Point Loma is named for him, as are Rose Creek and Rose Canyon. Biography Rose was a German Jewish immigran ...

(1807–1888), pioneer developer of San Diego.

References

External links

* * , which includes a photo and information for Temple Beth Israel (1889) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (San Diego, California) 1887 establishments in California 21st-century synagogues in the United States Jewish organizations established in 1887 Jews and Judaism in San Diego Landmarks in San Diego Reform synagogues in California Religious buildings and structures in San Diego Synagogues completed in 1889 Synagogues completed in 1926 Synagogues completed in 2001 Synagogues preserved as museums