Knesseth Israel Congregation

Story

Knesseth Israel Congregation is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the state of Alabama. The first Orthodox congregation to organize in Birmingham in 1889, the synagogue is currently located at 3100 Overton Road, Mountain Brook, Alabama. Eytan Yammer, a graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah served as rabbi from 2010 through 2016 and was named by The Forward as one of its 33 most inspiring American rabbis in 2015.HistoryAfter incorporating in 1889, the first building for the congregation was constructed in 1903 at cost of $15,000 on the southwest corner of 17th Street North and 7th Avenue North, Birmingham at the heart of what was then a Jewish neighborhood populated by immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe.In 1955 the congregation moved to a then-remote site at 3225 Montevallo Road in what is now Mountain Brook. A pillar erected in the yard of the $200,000 synagogue on Montevallo Road (which was considered incomplete, with further plans for a 1200-1500 seat sanctuary) was intended to serve as the cornerstone of a more permanent building. A second phase, adding a social and recreational wing, was undertaken in 1969.In May, 1984 then Rabbi Harry (Tzvi) Rosen (who went on to edit Kashrus Kurrents for the Star-K) discovered that one of the torahs had been stolen from the synagogue. While talking with local police about the theft, he received a phone call asking for ransom money to return the torah scroll, at which point the police called in the FBI. While the investigation was ongoing, early the following month the Rabbi received another phone call indicating that the missing torah had been found in a Salvation Army donation bin.