Union Temple of Brooklyn

Union Temple of Brooklyn
Union Temple of Brooklyn
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue (1921–2021)
Status	Closed; merged with Congregation Beth Elohim
Location
Location	17 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Country	United States
	Location of the former synagogue and NHRP building in New York City
Geographic coordinates	40°40′24″N 73°58′4.5″W / 40.67333°N 73.967917°W
Architecture
Architect(s)	Arnold Brunner
Type	Synagogue
Style	Neo-Classical
Date established	1921 (as a congregation)
Completed	1929
	Union Temple of Brooklyn
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	Less than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
NRHP reference No.	15000232
Added to NRHP	May 18, 2015

The Union Temple of Brooklyn was a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 17 Eastern Parkway between Underhill Avenue and Plaza Street East in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, across the street from the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. On March 26, 2021 Union Temple merged with Congregation Beth Elohim.^[2]

Union Temple was the result of the merger of two nineteenth century congregations, K. K. Beth Elohim and Temple Israel. Most recently, the synagogue was led by Rabbi Stephanie Kolin.

The building was designed by Arnold Brunner and completed in 1929 as the community house for a planned temple next door, which was never built because of the Great Depression; the 11-story building has been used for the congregation's worship since, except, in the past, on High Holy Days, when the Brooklyn Academy of Music was utilized. In 1942, a theatre in the building was remodeled to be a sanctuary.

In 2015 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

K. K. Beth Elohim

Founded in 1848 by German and Alsatian Jewish immigrants living in the village of Williamsburgh, K.K. Beth Elohim was the first Jewish congregation established in Brooklyn and the first on Long Island. Prior to its. closure, it was a member congregation of the Union for Reform Judaism.

The congregation first worshiped in a private home on Marcy Avenue. In 1860 a former church building on South First Street was purchased and remodeled for use as a synagogue, it was afterwards used as a school offered elementary education in English and German, in both secular and religious subjects. The school closed when public education began in Brooklyn.^[2]

A new synagogue was built on Keap Street south of Division Avenue in 1876. Known as the Keap Street Temple, for many years it was the largest synagogue in Brooklyn.^[3] It is among the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in the United States.^[4]

Raphael Benjamin was rabbi of the synagogue from 1902 to 1905.^[5]

Temple Israel

Temple Israel was founded in 1869. Until 1872 services were held in the Y.M.C.A. building on the corner of Fulton Street and Galatin Place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In that year the congregation purchased a former church building on Greene Avenue. Temple Israel dedicated a larger and more magnificent new building on the corner of Bedford and Lafayette Avenues in 1891.^[2]

Raphael Lasker served as rabbi of the Temple from 1871 to 1876.^[6]

Union Temple

Temple Israel and K.K. Beth Elohim merged in 1921, deciding to erect a new temple in the newly fashionable location of 17 Eastern Parkway (Brooklyn). Plans were drawn up by Arnold Brunner for a Neo-Classical temple with an adjacent eleven-story community house. The community house was erected first, and dedicated in 1929. Because of the Great Depression, the planned Temple was never built.^[7] Instead, the congregation continued to worship in the Community House. During the High Holy Days the congregation worshiped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In 1942, the theater on the ground floor of the Community House was remodeled as a sanctuary, designed after the old synagogue in Essen, Germany burned by the Nazis.^[2]

Inside

A memorial plaque in honor of Mickey Marcus is located in the lobby of the Union Temple of Brooklyn where his funeral service was conducted. It reads:

"Killed in action in the hills of Zion while leading Israeli forces as their supreme commander in the struggle for Israel's freedom—Blessed is the match that is consumed in kindling flame/ Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart/ Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor's sake/ Blessed is the match that is consumed in kindling flame—Dedicated by his fellow members of Union Temple of Brooklyn December 9, 1949."

Victim of anti-semitic hate speech

On November 1, 2018, events at Union Temple were cancelled after "Kill All Jews" and graffiti was found inside. New York mayor Bill de Blasio said it was "the vilest kind of hate."^[8] Police accused James Polite,^[9] a Brooklyn native.^[10]

Tenants

The German School Brooklyn (GSB), a German government-recognized German international school, was on the facility's fifth floor. The school is not a part of the temple's congregation even though it shares a building.^[11] Due to its steady growth, GSB has since moved to its own building on 760 Sterling Pl in Crown Heights.^[12]

Notable members

Nathan S. Jonas (1868-1943) – Banker and philanthropist
Sidney Tedesche (1889/1890–1962) – Rabbi of Union Temple from 1929–1954; emeritus rabbi from 1954–1962. An expert on the Egyptian Jewish community in Alexandria during the era of Hellenistic Judaism, and a PhD. He published translations of Greek works including 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, and the Book of Esdras.^[13]^[14]
Max Rose (born 1986) – US Congressman of New York's 11th congressional district from 2019–2021, and a US Army Bronze Star recipient.

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 5/18/15 through 5/22/15. National Park Service. May 29, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "History" Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine on the Union Temple of Brooklyn website
^ American Guild of Organists Archived September 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ Gordon, Mark W. "Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on United States Nineteenth Century Synagogues", American Jewish History 84.1 (1996) 11–27. 2019 article update.
^ Landman, Isaac, ed. (1940). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York, N.Y.: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 185 – via Google Books.
^ Adler, Cyrus; Haneman, Frederick T. "LASKER, RAPHAEL". The Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
^ Applebaum, Diana Muir. "Building Bust, The unbuilt synagogues of the Great Depression", Tablet Magazine (August 20, 2009)
^ Ryan W. Miller (November 2, 2018). "Anti-Semitic graffiti at Brooklyn synagogue prompts event shutdown". USA Today. Retrieved November 5, 2018. Graffiti that read, "Kill All Jews," was found inside Union Temple around 8 p.m. Thursday, police said. "Broad City" star Ilana Glazer was slated to interview journalist Amy Goodman and New York state Senate candidates Andrew Gounardes and Jim Gaughran, the New York Post reported. But audience members were soon sent home. New York mayor Bill de Blasio called it "the vilest kind of hate" and condemned it as a hate crime.
^ William K. Rashbaum; Ali Winston (November 2, 2018). "Ilana Glazer Event at Synagogue Is Canceled After Anti-Semitic Graffiti Is Found". New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2018. The police announced Friday night that they had arrested a 26-year-old man, James Polite, on charges that he wrote the anti-Semitic graffiti. He faces charges of criminal mischief, which the police classified as a hate crime, and making graffiti. Mr. Polite was taken to a hospital in Brooklyn for a psychiatric evaluation. Earlier in the day, the police released a photograph of a suspect, taken by a security camera inside the temple.
^ Palmer, Emily (December 14, 2017). "After Years in Foster Care, Intern 'Adopted' by City Hall Catches a Break". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2018. He was in kindergarten the first time he was pulled from his mother's home in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
^ "Contact and Location". German School Brooklyn. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020. The German School Brooklyn is located [...] on the 5th Floor of the Union Temple building on Eastern Parkway.
^ "German School Brooklyn signs new property". CityKinder. January 27, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
^ "Sidney Tedesche, Rabbi, Dies at 72; Retired as Director of Union Temple in Brooklyn in '54". The New York Times. May 19, 1962.
^ "Union Temple of Brooklyn: History". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)