A Warm Reform Jewish Community For All

The History of Temple Israel

Based on information available to us, we know that in the Autumn of 1915, Mrs Herman Diamond and Mrs. Jack Gans first discussed the possibility of forming a Reform congregation.

In the Fall of 1918, World War I was coming to an end, and the Jewish population of Jamaica was growing. The only synagogue in the area was an orthodox shul on Washington Street (now 160th Street). The nearest Reform congregations were in Far Rockaway and Brooklyn. The time had come to go forward with the plans that had their beginning three years earlier.

On September 13, 1918, a meeting was held at the home of Mr and Mrs William Gold. After some discussion, a motion was made and passed to form a Reform synagogue and Asher Blumensteil was elected permanent chair. The 1918 High Holy Days marked the beginning of services at the new congregation. By October, 1918, regular Friday night services were being held, with different guest Rabbis each week. The Religious School had its first session on the morning of Sunday, November 10 with 33 boys and girls attending. By December, the congregation had grown to 50 families.

The first permanent Rabbi was Rabbi Lipkin. He was formally installed as Rabbi of Temple Israel on February 1, 1919. In December of that year, the Board of Trustees decided the time was ripe for the acquisition of a permanent site. A contract was signed, and on January 17, 1920, the Temple took title to a parcel of land on the north side of Hillside Avenue at 160th Street. The total purchase price was $9,000. Ground breaking took place on July 17, 1920 and construction of the building began.

On June 10, 1921, Rabbi Irving Reichart was installed as the new Rabbi, and on June 19, the building was formally dedicated. The Temple had a 600 seat sanctuary, and six classrooms for a total of 250 children. The lower floor was dedicated to meeting rooms and a gymnasium. The congregation had grown to 225 families.

On November 9, 1923, Rabbi Aaron Weinstein was installed as Rabbi. Under his leadership, the congregation lived through the Roaring Twenties, the 1929 stock market crash, the years of the Depression and World War II. Rabbi Weinstein resigned because of poor health on March 1, 1946, serving as Rabbi Emeritus until his death on April 26, 1947. Rabbi Alexander Kline served the Congregation until October 21, 1947 when Rabbi Albert Silverman was installed as our religious leader.

In 1949, the decision was made that in order for us to survive as a congregation, we had to move. The property was sold to the American Legion for $75,000 and the land at 188th Street was purchased. The new building site was dedicated on October 1, 1950. Construction started and the cornerstone was laid on June 21, 1953. The building was completed during the summer of 1954 and a three day dedication program took place on September 17, 18, and 19, 1954.

On April 9, 1970, Rabbi Silverman tendered his resignation. While the Search Committee looked for his successor, Rabbi Chaim Etrog acted as our spiritual leader. After interviewing many Rabbinical candidates, the Search Committee chose Rabbi Ronald Millstein. He was installed on January 1, 1971. The congregation matured and grew during the years of Rabbi Millstein’s tenure. Temple Menorah of Little Neck and Temple Beth El of Laurelton were merged into our Temple.

In June of 1995, Rabbi Millstein announced his retirement. After 25 years of dedicated service to this congregation, the Board of Trustees unanimously decided to honor Rabbi Millstein by naming the Sanctuary, The Rabbi Ronald Millstein Sanctuary. Once again, the Search Committee was formed.

From September 1996 to June 2000, Rabbi Lester Polonsky assumed the position of spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Jamaica as the fourth Rabbi to serve the Temple since its founding.

From September 2000 to June 2002, our fifth Rabbi, Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum served our Congregation.

In August, 2002, Rabbi Valerie Lieber joins us as the sixth and current religious leader of the Temple Israel Community.

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