126:
470:, and many Jewish-owned stores closed and younger members emigrated in search of employment. Following a significant period without a full-time rabbi, the congregation engaged Rabbi Arnold Fertig from 1977 to 1979. In the 1980s and early 1990s the rabbis were Fred Raskind and Mark Peilen. Family membership was still 57 in the early 1980s, but dropped to 43 in 1993, 38 in 2000, and only 26 by 2008. That year the youngest member was 48, and there were no children for the educational programs.
133:
315:
Membership was never high; the congregation had 38 members families in 1918, and this grew to 60 families in 1960. Membership fell as major employers closed operations, and Jews emigrated from
Gadsden. By 2008, family membership was down to 26. The synagogue closed in 2010.
437:
attack. About 180 members were attending a Friday evening service to dedicate the new
Zemurray Social Hall, and led by then-rabbi Saul Rubin and Rev. John Speaks and Dr. Franklin Denson of First Methodist Church, when windows were smashed and the synagogue
489:, Saulson was also chaplain at the Atlanta Jewish Family & Career Services, and was a speaker for the Darfur Coalition of Georgia. The congregation still held services weekly, but, as was the case during most of its early history, they were lay-led.
358:
dedication service was attended by hundreds of
Gadsden citizens, and the main speaker was Reverend W. R. Rigell of the First Baptist Church. The completed structure had a stained-glass window with the Biblical verse fragment
339:
and funeral services, wrote sermons, taught the Sunday school, and acted as secretary and treasurer. After a number of years, officers of the temple decided he should be given a remuneration of $ 20/week for his work.
450:, then fled. Lowi was just shot in the hand, but one of Cohn's aortas was nicked, and he almost died, requiring 22 US pints (10 L) of blood. Earlier that week Hunt had attended a rally for antisemitic and
512:
state that the attack was on March 25, when people were gathered for a Friday evening service. While the
Institute of Southern Jewish Life gives the date as March 26. Friday evening that year was March
1027:
343:
Membership was 38 families by 1918. The congregational school held classes weekly, and had 15 students and 3 teachers. That year the synagogue's total income was $ 700 (today $ 14,200).
421:, Saul J. Rubin became Beth Israel's rabbi in September, 1958. There he met and married Elsie Parsons, Hecht's granddaughter. Rubin served until 1960, when he became assistant rabbi at
328:, which was established in 1903. Initially the congregation had no rabbi. Every second Sunday from 1910 to 1911, Ferdinand Hirsch, a student rabbi, would come to Gadsden and teach the
159:
1032:
1022:
125:
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The synagogue was fire-bombed and its windows smashed in 1960, during a Friday night service. Two members who rushed outside were wounded with a
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617:
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54:
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In 2010, the congregation ceased operation. The congregation's website stated that the synagogue had closed, effective July 1, 2010.
775:
1052:
1012:
662:
371:
291:
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893:
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301:, and was led by "lay-religious-leader" Hugo Hecht. In 1944, Beth Israel hired its first full-time rabbi, Ernest Appel.
442:. Two members—Alvin Lowi and Alan Cohn—who rushed out to see what was happening were met by Jerry Hunt, a 16-year-old
290:, it was founded in 1908 and incorporated in 1910. It moved into its Chestnut Street building in 1922, and joined the
987:
1062:
927:
378:
as others in more agriculturally-based towns, and benefited from an influx of Jewish servicemen from nearby
335:
Hugo Hecht, a young immigrant from
Germany, acted as "lay-religious-leader" from 1911 to 1944. He conducted
152:
22:
746:
703:
466:
Membership peaked in 1960, at 60 families. In the 1970s and 1980s factories of major employers such as
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was Scott
Saulson of Atlanta, who came in once a month to provide services. A former member of the
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458:, and had had a fight with a Jewish boy over a chess game at the Gadsden Community Centre.
418:
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8:
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889:
886:
Central
Conference of American Rabbis Annual Convention: One-Hundred-First Convention
848:
785:. Alabama Department of Archives and History. Spring 2010. p. 13. Archived from
750:
670:
455:
451:
324:
Founded in 1908, and incorporated in
January 1910, Beth Israel grew out of Gadsden's
354:
building at 761 Chestnut Street in March 1922, and moved in the following year. The
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399:
398:, Ernest Appel. From a long line of rabbis from Breslau, Germany (now
275:
72:
845:
Central
Conference of American Rabbis Ninety-Third Annual Convention
433:
On March 25, 1960, the synagogue and its members were subject to an
241:
914:
The
Encyclopedia of Jewish Institutions: United States & Canada
411:
132:
406:), Appel emigrated to the United States in 1936 as a refugee from
935:
447:
374:
in 1924. Gadsden's Jewish community was not as badly affected by
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271:
141:
105:
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20th-century attacks on Jewish institutions in the United States
403:
698:
474:
395:
298:
888:. Central Conference of American Rabbis. 1991. p. 367.
874:. Vol. 96. Central Conference of American Rabbis. 1987.
847:. Central Conference of American Rabbis. 1984. p. 394.
278:, located for most of its history at 761 Chestnut Street in
813:
743:
Fight Against Fear: Southern Jews and Black Civil Rights
601:
Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life
872:
Year book of the Central Conference of American Rabbis
831:
Third to None: The Saga of Savannah Jewry, 1733–1983
414:, the congregation had grown to nearly 30 families.
816:
West Virginia Jewry: Origins and History, 1850–1958
332:in the morning and hold services in the afternoon.
538:
286:, in the United States. An outgrowth of Gadsden's
828:
1004:
818:. Vol. 3. Press of M. Jacobs. p. 1491.
809:
807:
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690:
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394:In 1944 Beth Israel hired its first full-time
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1033:Buildings and structures in Gadsden, Alabama
1023:20th-century synagogues in the United States
907:
905:
685:
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911:
866:
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776:"Alabama Historical Association Newsletter"
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545:American Synagogues: A Photographic Journey
410:. By 1946, when he moved to a synagogue in
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510:Alabama Historical Association Newsletter
1048:Jewish organizations established in 1908
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16:Former synagogue in Gadsden, Alabama, US
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68:Ecclesiastical or organizational status
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372:Union of American Hebrew Congregations
346:Beth Israel broke ground and laid the
292:Union of American Hebrew Congregations
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1058:Neoclassical architecture in Alabama
140:Location of the former synagogue in
21:For similarly named synagogues, see
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389:
264:
41:
13:
916:. Mosadot Publications. p. 4.
814:Shinedling, Abraham Isaac (1963).
14:
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1018:2010 disestablishments in Alabama
980:
417:After receiving ordination from
319:
131:
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502:
485:, and PhD in Semitics from the
446:, who wounded them both with a
1053:Jews and Judaism in Appalachia
1013:1908 establishments in Alabama
783:Alabama Historical Association
361:"LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF"
1:
520:
1068:Synagogues completed in 1923
1043:Former synagogues in Alabama
370:The congregation joined the
297:From 1911 to 1944 it had no
7:
932:Darfur Coalition of Georgia
747:University of Georgia Press
539:Preisler, Julian H (2008).
10:
1084:
833:. S.J. Rubin. p. 332.
829:Rubin, Saul Jacob (1983).
721:Jewish Publication Society
487:University of South Africa
461:
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716:American Jewish Year Book
700:American Jewish Committee
308:by the attacker, a young
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667:Congregation Beth Israel
622:Congregation Beth Israel
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423:Congregation Beth Ahabah
367:) above the front door.
257:Congregation Beth Israel
1063:Neoclassical synagogues
425:in Richmond, Virginia.
326:Jewish religious school
288:Jewish religious school
175:34.014076°N 86.010783°W
242:bethisraelcongregation
153:Geographic coordinates
958:"Leaders and Contact"
624:. n.d. Archived from
618:"Leaders and Contact"
541:"Alabama Sample Page"
180:34.014076; -86.010783
100:761 Chestnut Street,
912:Rosen, Oded (1983).
790:(PDF (3.48 MB))
741:Webb, Clive (2003).
603:. February 13, 2011.
483:Hebrew Union College
419:Hebrew Union College
376:the Great Depression
938:on October 16, 2007
792:on October 23, 2012
628:on January 11, 2008
213:(as a congregation)
171: /
988:"Official website"
597:"Gadsden, Alabama"
429:Antisemitic attack
1038:Crimes in Alabama
928:"Speakers Bureau"
895:978-0-88123-031-4
854:978-0-916694-93-7
756:978-0-8203-2555-2
456:John G. Crommelin
452:white supremacist
362:
352:Classical Revival
274:congregation and
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202:Classical Revival
76:(1908–2010)
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998:on May 14, 2008.
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473:As of 2009, the
444:Nazi sympathizer
390:Full-time rabbis
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208:Date established
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671:the original
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550:November 12,
548:. Retrieved
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191:Architecture
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479:Peace Corps
454:politician
440:fire-bombed
435:antisemitic
380:Camp Sibert
348:cornerstone
178: /
55:Affiliation
31:Beth Israel
23:Beth Israel
1007:Categories
942:August 19,
521:References
166:86°00′39″W
163:34°00′51″N
663:"History"
294:in 1924.
276:synagogue
265:בית ישראל
227:Completed
73:Synagogue
42:בית ישראל
412:Maryland
350:for its
267:) was a
97:Location
92:Location
86:Inactive
62:(former)
49:Religion
462:Decline
448:shotgun
400:Wrocław
382:during
356:Masonic
337:Shabbat
306:shotgun
284:Alabama
280:Gadsden
235:Website
142:Alabama
112:Country
106:Alabama
102:Gadsden
964:. 2010
892:
851:
753:
404:Poland
272:Jewish
269:Reform
261:Hebrew
82:Status
38:Hebrew
779:(PDF)
707:(PDF
496:Notes
475:rabbi
396:rabbi
299:rabbi
211:1908
197:Style
970:2011
944:2009
890:ISBN
849:ISBN
798:2011
751:ISBN
679:2011
634:2011
552:2010
244:.org
230:1923
222:1922
513:25.
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363:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
