History of Temple B'nai Israel

In the early years of the 20th century, Jews gradually began moving into Pinellas County. After World War II, there was a surge of Jewish families. From 1946-1949, the Jewish people of Clearwater and North County wanted to form their own congregation to play together and pray together in a Jewish setting.

On September 15, 1949, 48 people, including Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jews, became charter members of the community that we now call Temple B'nai Israel. This small group built the first Temple at 20 South Betty Lane in Clearwater and the congregation continued to prosper as more Jewish families moved into the community. In 1956, there was a split in the congregation; Temple B'nai Israel became Reform, and the Conservative members left to form their own congregation, Congregation Beth Shalom of Clearwater.

In 60 years, Temple B'nai Israel had only four rabbis. In 1956, Rabbi Harry R. Richmond came out of retirement for a four year period until he retired again. He was an extraordinary person and, among other interesting facts, was the only Jewish chaplain to serve in both World War I and World War II.

Rabbi J. Marshall Taxay served as our Rabbi from 1960 until he retired in 1969.

Rabbi Arthur I. Baseman served as our Rabbi from 1969 until 2008. During this time, Arthur and Charlie Rutenberg gave the beautiful piece of land on South Belcher Road to the congregation, and the entire congregation worked together to build our beautiful Temple.

Our new rabbi, Rabbi Daniel Treiser, joined our Temple family July 1, 2008. Prior to coming to Clearwater, Rabbi Treiser was the Associate Rabbi of Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation, Florida.

Temple B'nai Israel, then and now, is a congregation of people dedicated to the improvement of the lives of others as a means of honoring God. During the last 60 years, we have continued to grow and provide for the needs of the Jewish community of Clearwater and Pinellas County. It is one of the largest congregations on the West Coast of Florida. New families in the community as well as existing families join together as an active part of this wonderful extended family.

Does this brief history intrigue you?
Dr. Herman Koren's book "Histories of the Jewish People of Pinellas County, Florida - 1883-2005," is a complete story of the Jewish community of Pinellas County, and is available in the Sisterhood gift shop at the Temple.