Beth Israel Congregation

Story

Beth Israel Congregation is a Conservative synagogue located at 385 Pottstown Pike (Route 100) in Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was founded in Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1904 as Kesher Israel by Eastern European immigrants, and formally chartered as "Beth Israel" in 1916. It constructed its first building in 1923, and expanded it after World War II.In 1979, Beth Israel became the first Conservative congregation to hire a woman (Linda Joy Holtzman) as a rabbi. Holtzman served until 1985, and was succeeded by Michael Charney. The congregation purchased its current property in 1989, and completed its facility there in 1995., Charney is Beth Israel's spiritual leader.Early historyBeth Israel was founded in 1904 as Kesher Israel by Jewish immigrants to Coatesville, Pennsylvania from Eastern Europe. It established a Sunday school and purchased a cemetery in 1907, and was formally chartered as "Beth Israel" by the Chester County Court of Common Pleas in 1916.The congregation purchased land on Fifth Avenue and Harmony Street in Coatesville in 1923, and constructed a new synagogue building there, completed in 1924. After World War II, an extension to the building added a chapel/library and classrooms, and expanded the kitchen and social hall.Elihu Schagrin was rabbi from 1945 to 1953. Born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1918, he was ordained at the Reform Jewish Institute of Religion in 1946. During his tenure at Beth Israel he also served as chaplain of Coatesville's Veterans Affairs Hospital, and, from 1949 on, was president of the Greater Coatesville Inter-Racial Committee. In 1953 he moved to Temple Concord of Binghamton, New York.