Religious Institutions and Schools
Congregation Beth Israel
1630 Bancroft Way
Photo: Hal Reynolds
Congregation Beth Israel is the oldest traditional Jewish synagogue in the East Bay. Today it represents the largest orthodox synagogue in Northern California. From 1915 to 1942 a small group of Jews met for Friday night and holiday services in rented spaces above storefronts in downtown Berkeley. In 1924 the cornerstone was laid at Bancroft Way and Jefferson Street for the Berkeley Hebrew Center. It became Congregation Beth Israel in 1959 when Saul J. Berman began serving as its first rabbi.
According to the synagogue's website, its connection to the growth of Jewish student life and organizations on the UC Berkeley campus during the 1950s and 1960s brought a new level of Jewish intellectual tradition and study to the congregation that continues today.
The synagogue was updated and enlarged in 2005. The current architecture preserved many of the original features and drew upon the European and Russian roots of its founders.