View source for Temple Beth Israel (Eugene, Oregon)

{{For|other synagogues named "Beth Israel"|Beth Israel (disambiguation){{!}}Beth Israel}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name =Temple Beth Israel
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| location =1175 East 29th Avenue,<br />[[Eugene, Oregon]], {{flag|United States}}
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| latitude =44.025871
| longitude =-123.075364
| religious_affiliation =[[Reconstructionist Judaism]]
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| leadership =Rabbis: Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin,<br />Maurice Harris<ref name=homepage/>
| website =[http://www.tbieugene.org/ www.tbieugene.org]
| architecture =yes
| architect =Mel Solomon and Associates,<br />TBG Architects & Planners<ref name=Harwood/>
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| general_contractor =McKenzie Commercial Construction<ref name=KVAL/>
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| year_completed =2008<ref name=Haist/>
| construction_cost =$6 million<ref name=Haist/>
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| capacity =900+<ref name=Haist/>
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'''Temple Beth Israel''' ({{lang-he|בית ישראל}}) is a [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] [[synagogue]] located at 1175 East 29th Avenue in [[Eugene, Oregon]]. Founded in the 1920s or early 1930s<ref name=founded/> as a [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] congregation,<ref name=Zuckerman89/> Beth Israel was for many decades the only synagogue in Eugene.<ref name=Zuckerman87/> The congregation constructed its first building on Portland Street in 1952,<ref name=Reichman/> and occupied its current [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design|LEED]]-compliant facilities in 2008.<ref name=Reichman/><ref name=Schirmer/>

In the early 1990s conflict between feminist and traditional members led to the latter leaving Beth Israel, and forming the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] Congregation Ahavas Torah.<ref name=Zuckerman91-93/><ref name=AhavasTorahAboutUs/> Beth Israel came under attack from [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] members of the [[Volksfront]] twice, in 1994 and again in 2002. In both cases the perpetrators were caught and convicted.<ref name=ADL/>

{{As of|2008}}, led by rabbis Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin and Maurice Harris, Beth Israel had almost 400 member households, and was the largest synagogue in Eugene.<ref name=homepage/><ref name=Haist/>

==Early history==
Temple Beth Israel ({{lang-he|בית ישראל}}) was founded in the 1920s or early 1930s<ref name=founded>According to [[#refHaist2008|Haist (2008)]], in 2008 the congregation was 87 years old, indicating a founding year of around 1921. According to the [[#refKVAL2008|KVAL-TV website]], June 11, 2008, "The Temple Beth Israel congregation has been in the Eugene community since 1927." According to the [http://www.tbieugene.org/ Synagogue website], Temple Beth Israel was founded in 1934.</ref> as a traditional [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] synagogue.<ref name=Zuckerman89>[[#refZuckerman2003|Zuckerman (2003)]], p. 89.</ref> In 1952 the congregation constructed a one-story synagogue building on Portland Street, and from that time until the 1990s, Temple Beth Israel was the only synagogue in Eugene.<ref name=Zuckerman87>[[#refZuckerman2003|Zuckerman (2003)]], p. 87.</ref><ref name=Reichman>[[#refReichman2007|Reichman (2007)]].</ref>

==Schism==
In the early 1990s serious divisions developed among the members of the congregation over a number of issues, including personal antagonisms, the rabbi, political differences over the [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]], and
<blockquote>a myriad of additional Jewish cultural/religious issues, such as the acceptance of intermarried couples, adherence to kosher dietary laws, the use of modern language and music during worship services, rewriting of certain prayers such as the ''[[Aleinu|Aleynu]]'' to make them less ethnocentric, and so on.<ref name=Zuckerman88>[[#refZuckerman2003|Zuckerman (2003)]], p. 88.</ref></blockquote>
However, the biggest source of division, which underlay all others, was "the roles and rights of men and women in the synagogue."<ref name=Zuckerman88/>

In the mid-1970s the congregation's original rabbi died, and during the 1980s the new rabbi and his feminist wife supported a number of changes to the liturgy and ritual. These included allowing women to [[Torah reading|read from the Torah]] and [[hazzan|lead the prayers]], and changing prayers to be more [[Gender-neutral language|gender inclusive]] - for example, using gender-neutral terms and pronouns for [[God]], and adding references to the [[Matriarchs (Bible)|Biblical matriarchs]] in prayers like the ''[[Amidah]]'', which traditionally only mentioned the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|Biblical patriarchs]]. While most congregation members approved of these changes, a minority resisted them.<ref name=Zuckerman89-90>[[#refZuckerman2003|Zuckerman (2003)]], pp. 89-90.</ref>

In the early 1990s a group of [[Baal teshuva|newly observant]] members began holding more traditional services in a back room of the synagogue, complete with a ''[[mechitza]]'', a partition separating men and women. The "more feminist-minded" members strongly objected to having a ''mechitza'' anywhere in the Temple Beth Israel building, even if it were not in the services they attended. The latter group eventually circulated a petition which stated that either the ''mechitza'' would have to be taken down, or those members who wanted it would have to leave. Faced with this opposition, in 1992 the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] members left, renting new premises and hiring their own rabbi, creating Eugene's second synagogue, originally called "The [[halakha|Halachic]] [[Minyan]]", and in 1998 renamed "Congregation Ahavas Torah".<ref name=Zuckerman91-93>[[#refZuckerman2003|Zuckerman (2003)]], pp. 91-93.</ref><ref name=AhavasTorahAboutUs>[http://www.minyan.us/index_files/AboutUs.htm About Us], Congregation Ahavas Torah website.</ref>

==Attacks by neo-Nazis==
On March 20, 1994, Chris Lord, an individual associated with the [[Volksfront]] and [[American Front]], fired ten rounds with an assault rifle into the temple, damaging the interior.<ref name=ADL>[[#refADL|Volksfront - Criminal Activity]], Anti-Defamation League.</ref> The attacks were prompted by a newspaper article about several members of Eugene's Jewish community, including a lesbian. Community organizations, including a local gay rights group, responded by standing vigil outside the synagogue during [[Passover]] services.<ref name=Comstock>[[#refComstock2002|Comstock (2002)]], p. 116.</ref> Lord and an associate were caught and convicted, and Lord was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.<ref name=ADL/>

On October 25, 2002 Jacob Laskey, his brother Gabriel Laskey, Gerald Poundstone, Jesse Baker, and one other man, all members of the Volksfront, drove to Beth Israel with the intent of intimidating the congregants. While a service with 80 members attending was taking place, the men threw rocks etched with [[Nazi]] [[swastika]]s through the synagogue's stained glass windows, then sped off. The men were caught, pleaded guilty, and convicted, and served sentences ranging from a 6-month work release term and five years probation, to eleven years and three months in federal prison for the ringleader, Jacob Laskey.<ref name=SalemNews>[[#refSalemNews2007|The Salem News]], November 14, 2007.</ref><ref name=USDOJselcases>[[#refUSDOJselcases|Selected Case Summaries, U.S. v. Laskey, Department of Justice]].</ref><ref name=RFIFv19>[[#refRFIFv19|''Religious Freedom in Focus'', Volume 19]].</ref><ref name=RFIFv29>[[#refRFIFv29|''Religious Freedom in Focus'', Volume 29]].</ref>

==East 29th Avenue building==
Originally sized for 75 families, Temple Beth Israel's Portland Street building had been renovated and enlarged over the years to accommodate 250 families and 150 students. Despite these additions, and the loss of members to Congregation Ahavas Torah, the synagogue was not large enough, particularly during the [[High Holidays]], when extra space had to be rented.<ref name=Reichman/> In 1998, the congregation began planning for a new facility.<ref name=Haist>[[#refHaist2008|Haist (2008)]].</ref>

In 2003 the congregation got a permit to begin construction of a new facility on a vacant {{convert|1.37|acre|sing=on}} plot of land at the northwest corner of East 29th Avenue and University Street.<ref name=Harwood>[[#refHarwood2003|Harwood (2003)]].</ref> An initial capital campaign raised more than $1.8 million, which fully paid for the land, and by August 2007 an additional $1.7 million had been raised towards anticipated overall project costs of $5 million.<ref name=Reichman/>

The environmentally sensitive building was designed by Mel Solomon and Associates of Kansas City and local company TBG Architects & Planners,<ref name=Harwood/> and built by McKenzie Commercial Construction of Eugene.<ref name=KVAL>[[#refKVAL2008|KVAL-TV website]], June 11, 2008.</ref> The building used "energy efficient heating, ventilation and lighting":<ref name=Reichman/> specific design issues with the building's energy efficiency included the fact that the largest room in the building, the sanctuary, was also the least-used, and, in accord with Jewish tradition, had to face east (towards [[Jerusalem]]).<ref name=Reeves>[[#refReeves2005|Reeves (2005)]].</ref>

On June 8, 2008 the congregation dedicated its new {{convert|24000|or|26000|sqft}}<ref name=KVAL/><ref name=Haist/> building at 1175 East 29th Avenue. The facility included a sanctuary, commercial kitchen, banquet facilities, and classrooms, and housed the synagogue, the Lane County Jewish Federation, and the local Jewish Family Service. The project ended up costing $6 million, of which $4 million had been raised.<ref name=Haist/>

Made of concrete, steel, and wood,<ref name=Haist/> the building achieved [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design]] compliance "through the integration of stormwater management strategies, high efficiency irrigation, the use of recycled and/or recyclable materials, and drought tolerant plantings."<ref name=Schirmer>[http://www.schirmerassociates.com/projects/temple_beth_sust.html "Temple Beth Israel - Eugene, Oregon"], Schirmer + Associates, LLC website, Portfolio - Sustainability. Accessed September 10, 2008.</ref> Completely recyclable materials used in the structure included carpeting and wood beams.<ref name=Reichman/>

==Recent events==
In 2008 Temple Beth Israel participated in Banners Across America, an "interfaith witness against torture coordinated by the [[National Religious Campaign Against Torture]]," as part of the Jewish Campaign Against Torture. Organized by [[Rabbis for Human Rights]]—North America in honor of Torture Awareness Month, the Jewish campaign included over 25 synagogues which hung banners protesting "the use of abusive interrogation techniques by the American military and intelligence community".<ref name=Kahn-Troster>[[#refKahn-Troster2008|Kahn-Troster (2008)]].</ref>

{{As of|2008}}, Temple Beth Israel was the largest synagogue in Eugene,<ref name=homepage>[http://www.tbieugene.org/ Synagogue website].</ref> with a membership of almost 400 families, and the [[Talmud Torah]] and [[pre-school]] had 200 and 40 students respectively.<ref name=Haist/> Temple Beth Israel is a member of the Community of Welcoming Congregations, "an Oregon and SW Washington interfaith ministry and advocacy organization working toward full inclusion and equality for transgender, lesbian, bisexual, gay and questioning persons."<ref name=CWC>[[#refCWC|Community of Welcoming Congregations, Our Member Congregations]].</ref> The rabbis were Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin and Maurice Harris.<ref name=homepage/> Harris is one of the signators of The Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science From American Rabbis, part of the [[Clergy Letter Project]] which "encourages and embraces the teaching of evolution in schools".<ref name=ClergyLetterProject>[[#refCLP|Clergy Letter Project, Jewish Letter, Signatures]].</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=24em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|colwidth=37em}}
* [http://www.tbieugene.org/ Synagogue website]. Accessed September 10, 2008.
* [http://www.minyan.us/index_files/AboutUs.htm About Us], Congregation Ahavas Torah website. Accessed September 10, 2008.
* <span id="refADL" class="citation">[http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/volksfront/crime.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=3&item=volksfront Volksfront - Criminal Activity], Extremism in America, [[Anti-Defamation League]]. Accessed September 10, 2008.</span>
* <span id="refCWC" class="citation">[http://www.welcomingcongregations.org/?page_id=16 Our Member Congregations], Community of Welcoming Congregations. Accessed September 10, 2008.</span>
* <span id="refComstock2002" class="citation">Comstock, Gary David. ''Unrepentant, Self-Affirming, Practicing: Lesbian/Bisexual/Gay People Within Organized Religion'', [[Continuum International Publishing Group]], 2002. ISBN 082641429X</span>
* <span id="refHaist2008" class="citation">Haist, Paul. [http://www.jewishreview.org/node/13283 "Temple Beth Israel celebrates new home"], ''Jewish Review'', Volume 50, Issue 21, July 1, 2008.</span>
* <span id="refHarwood2003" class="citation">Harwood, Joe. [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Temple+Beth+Israel+to+build+new+synagogue,+school.(Business)-a0105638412 "Temple Beth Israel to build new synagogue, school"], ''[[The Register-Guard]]'', July 15, 2003.</span>
* <span id="refKahn-Troster2008" class="citation">Kahn-Troster, Rachel. [http://www.rhr-na.org/story/banners_update "More than 25 synagogues hang Stop Torture banners in honor of Torture Awareness Month"], [[Rabbis for Human Rights]] North America website, June 2, 2008. Accessed September 10, 2008.</span>
* <span id="refKVAL2008" class="citation">KVAL Web Staff, [http://www.kval.com/news/19768089.html "Torah moved to new Temple Beth Israel"], [[KVAL-TV]] website, June 11, 2008.</span>
* <span id="refReeves2005" class="citation">Reeves, Carol. [http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/05/30/news/religion/satrel01.txt "Extending care for the Earth"], ''[[Corvallis Gazette-Times]]'', May 27, 2005.</span>
* <span id="refReichman2007" class="citation">Reichman, Lynn. [http://www.jewishreview.org/node/68 "Eugene’s Temple Beth Israel halfway to new home"], ''Jewish Review'', Volume 49, Issue 24, August 15, 2007.</span>
* <span id="refSalemNews2007" class="citation">[http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november142007/rascist_sentenced_111407.php "White Supremacist from Oregon Sentenced for Attack on Synagogue"], ''[[The Salem News]]'', November 14, 2007.</span>
* [http://www.schirmerassociates.com/projects/temple_beth_sust.html "Temple Beth Israel - Eugene, Oregon"], Schirmer + Associates, LLC website, Portfolio - Sustainability. Accessed September 10, 2008.
* <span id="refUSDOJselcases" class="citation">[http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/selcases.htm Selected Case Summaries, U.S. v. Laskey], Cases, Criminal Home Page, Civil Rights Division, [[United States Department of Justice]] website. Accessed September 10, 2008.</span>
* <span id="refRFIFv19" class="citation">[[United States Department of Justice]], [http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/religdisc/newsletter/focus_19.htm#1 "Guilty Pleas, Sentencing in Synagogue Attack Case"], ''Religious Freedom in Focus'', Volume 19, August/September 2006.</span>
* <span id="refRFIFv29" class="citation">[[United States Department of Justice]], [http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/religdisc/newsletter/focus_29.htm#1 "Oregon White Supremacist Sentenced for Rock Attack on Synagogue"], ''Religious Freedom in Focus'', Volume 29, November 2007.</span>
* <span id="refCLP" class="citation">[[Michael Zimmerman (biologist)|Zimmerman, Michael]]. [http://www.butler.edu/clergyproject/Jewish_Clergy/RabbiSignatures.htm#H Signatures], [[Clergy Letter Project]], Jewish Letter, [[Butler University]]. Accessed September 10, 2008.</span>
* <span id="refZuckerman2003" class="citation">Zuckerman, Phil. ''Invitation to the Sociology of Religion'', [[Routledge]], 2003. ISBN 0415941261</span>
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tbieugene.org/ Temple Beth Israel] (official website)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel}}

[[Category:21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Eugene, Oregon]]
[[Category:Culture of Eugene, Oregon]]
[[Category:Neo-fascist terrorism]]
[[Category:Reconstructionist synagogues in the United States]]
[[Category:Synagogues in Oregon]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations]]

[[pl:Synagoga Beth Israel w Eugene]]
[[Category:2Fix]]