Temple Beth Israel (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)

Temple Beth Israel (Hebrew: בית ישראל) was a Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 905 College Avenue in Niagara Falls, New York, in the United States. 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 most recent building in 1967, and soon afterwards membership peaked at over 180 families, but by 2008 had been reduced to 50. 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. Samuel Porrath served as rabbi from 1931 to 1934, and, though employed elsewhere, would subsequently often serve as interim rabbi; he was appointed "rabbi emeritus" in 1968. Melvin Kieffer was the congregation's longest serving rabbi, from 1947 to 1957. Haim Cassorla, Beth Israel's last rabbi, served from 1988 to 1995. In May 2011 the congregation stated it would disband by the end of the year.