[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 1996

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Temple Adas 
Israel in Sag Harbor, NY, a cornerstone of the Jewish religious and 
cultural life on Long Island's East End that is celebrating its 100th 
anniversary this year.
  From its early days as the Temple Mishkan Israel, Adas Israel has 
been the focal point of the Jewish experience on Eastern Long Island. 
Not only has it served the spiritual and cultural needs of its 
congregants, but the temple has fortified the cultural diversity of our 
entire East End community.
  The history of Temple Adas Israel in many ways illustrates the Jewish 
immigrant experience in the United States at the turn of the century. 
Like the vast majority of their compatriots, Sag Harbor's early 
immigrants established a toe-hold in the community, formed mutual-aid 
benefit societies, and founded cemeteries. As their numbers grew, they 
built a synagogue. They also struggled to redefine Jewish family life 
in a new world.
  The first Jewish immigrants moved to Sag Harbor from New York City in 
the early 1880's when the Fahy watch factory moved to the former 
whaling port, bringing hundreds of good factory jobs. Jewish immigrants 
from Russia, Hungary, Poland, and Germany, drawn to America by this 
country's promise of religious and political freedom, flocked to Sag 
Harbor, attracted by the Fahy watch factory's promise of economic 
opportunity.
  In 1896, when Nissan Myerson paid $350 for the land along Elizabeth 
Street where the temple was to be built, the 50 families of Sag 
Harbor's Jewish community established what would become Long Island's 
oldest Jewish house of worship in continuous use. The synagogue was 
built 2 years later and formally dedicated during the celebration of 
Rosh Hoshanah in 1898. Legend has it that Temple Mishkan Israel 
received its first Torah from Teddy Roosevelt when the Long Island 
native returned to America with the 1,200 Rough Riders he led up San 
Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. Quarantined at Montauk, 
Jewish brigade members held services with a Torah they procured, the 
Torah that Roosevelt donated to the temple when the brigade departed.
  A bedrock of Eastern Long Island's Jewish community, the temple 
attracted Jews from Montauk, East Hampton, Riverhead, and Westhampton. 
When Sag Harbor suffered economic decline after the watch factory was 
consumed by fire in 1925, many families moved from the village, and the 
temple saw a similar drop in its congregation.
  In 1948, the year of modern Israel's birth, when the post-war boom 
began to regenerate Sag Harbor, descendants of Temple Mishkan Israel's 
founders revived the synagogue. Renamed Temple Adas Israel, the 
synagogue was soon again a vibrant focal point of the community. 
Leaving its Orthodox roots, for conservative then reform practices, the 
temple earned a reputation as a center of liberal Judaism, attracting 
hundreds of summer Hampton residents to high holy day services.
  Throughout its 100 years, the temple has preserved its community's 
Jewish heritage, providing for its spiritual sustenance, and that 
commitment to cultural strength persists. Jewish community life on the 
East End has changed much since the founding of Temple Adas Israel 100 
years ago. What remains constant is the temple community's commitment 
to maintain their religious and cultural heritage, while enriching the 
entire East End of Long Island. Congratulations to the Temple Adas 
Israel. Mazel Tov.

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