[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN RECOGNITION OF TEMPLE ISRAEL OF SCRANTON'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. MATT CARTWRIGHT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 2022

  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Madam Speaker, today I honor Temple Israel of 
Scranton and its congregation who will be celebrating the 100th 
anniversary of the Temple's founding June 10-12, 2022. The congregation 
was organized in July 1921, but the celebration to mark this joyous 
occasion was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  On July 14, 1921, a group of Jews gathered at the YMCA in response to 
urging by their peers to establish a modern synagogue in the City of 
Scranton. The result of that founders meeting was Temple Israel, a 
synagogue that ``would comply with the thoughts of the American Jew and 
would be conducted in accordance with the best traditions of Judaism.'' 
On September 21, 1921, Rabbi Alfred H. Kahn was installed as the first 
rabbi. During the final months of 1921, a Hebrew School was organized, 
the Temple was granted its charter, and the constitution and by-laws of 
the Temple were adopted.
  On April 11, 1923, plans to build a new Temple began, and a committee 
to oversee the process was formed with Isadore Finkelstein as chairman. 
Over the next three years, the committee drafted a report, raised 
funds, approved architectural plans, and hired contractors. On May 18, 
1926, they broke ground for the new Temple, and on September 11, 1927, 
Rabbi Max Arzt dedicated the Temple in the afternoon and an evening 
banquet followed. The celebrations continued throughout the week with a 
Hebrew School Night, Ladies' Auxiliary Night, Open House Night, the 
Dedication Ball, and culminated with religious services on Friday and 
Saturday.
  Rabbi Arzt, who served Temple Israel from 1924 to 1939 before joining 
the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, was 
not the only prominent clergy member to lead the congregation. Other 
distinguished clergy include Rabbis Simon Shoop and David Geffen and 
Cantor William S. Horn, who served 50 years as cantor and youth 
instructor for the Temple Israel Junior Congregation and Hebrew School, 
which educated thousands of Scranton's Jewish youths over the past 100 
years.
  Today, Temple Israel remains the only Conservative Synagogue in 
Lackawanna County and boasts a vibrant and welcoming congregation in 
the heart of the City of Scranton. Rabbi Miriam Spitzer, one of the 
first female rabbis, and Cantor Vladimir Aronzon, who has served for 
more than two decades, are the Temple's current clergy. They, along 
with the dedicated volunteers who serve as officers and on the board of 
directors, work tirelessly to foster an environment and community to 
meet the spiritual, educational, and social needs of their members.
  I am honored to join with Rabbi Spitzer and the entire Temple Israel 
congregation in celebrating 100 years of worship in the City of 
Scranton. Temple Israel has been an essential part of the Scranton 
community and Lackawanna County at large as a center for Jewish 
thought, learning, and worship. This multigenerational congregation 
that celebrates diversity, spirituality, and community has welcomed 
countless worshipers over the years, and I know it will continue to be 
a beacon of Jewish faith and tradition for many generations to come.

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