Beth El Synagogue is a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

. It is the only synagogue in Newfoundland, and the easternmost synagogue in

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. ,

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (, , ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for human r ...

Charities Committee, 2008, p. 1. The Hebrew Congregation of Newfoundland was founded in 1909 as an Orthodox congregation meeting in rented spaces in town. The earliest members were Jews from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; later, many

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

who had defected from the Soviet Union became members during the Cold War.Newfoundland
, Atlantic Jewish Council website. Accessed November 28, 2010. The current synagogue building at the corner of Elizabeth and Downing was constructed from 1959 to 1961, and features include an open courtyard.

Edmond de Rothschild Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (Hebrew: הברון אברהם אדמונד בנימין ג'יימס רוטשילד - ''HaBaron Avraham Edmond Binyamin Ya'akov Rotshield''; 19 August 1845 – 2 November 1934) was a French memb ...

was made an honorary member of the synagogue in 1966 for his contributions to its construction. In 2001, the building underwent extensive renovations. , the congregation had 25 member families. The president was Dr. Michael Paul.

References

American diaspora in Canada American-Jewish diaspora Conservative synagogues in Canada Russian-Jewish culture in Canada Synagogues completed in 1961 Synagogues in Newfoundland and Labrador {{canada-synagogue-stub