The Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale (CSAIR), founded in 1954, 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 ...

, egalitarian congregation and a member of the

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly, ...

. The synagogue is located in the

Riverdale, Bronx Riverdale is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Riverdale, which had a population of 47,850 as of the 2000 United States Census, contains the city's northernmost point, at the College ...

, neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The congregation's spiritual leader is Rabbi Barry Dov Katz, who was appointed to the position in 1998.

History

The Conservative Synagogue of Riverdale was founded in 1954, with Max Kadushin serving as its first rabbi. The first building to be erected by the new congregation was its

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebr ...

. In 1962, a new sanctuary, designed by architect

Percival Goodman Percival Goodman (January 13, 1904 – October 11, 1989) was an American urban theorist and architect who designed more than 50 synagogues between 1948 and 1983. He has been called the "leading theorist" of modern synagogue design, Philip No ...

, was dedicated and the community started to grow. In 1973, the Conservative Synagogue merged with Adath Israel of the Grand Concourse. When the two joined, a plaque was dedicated: "We loved our house of worship. It enriched our lives and uplifted our souls." CSAIR has daily morning and evening services, regular holiday services, an additional monthly ''

havurah A ''chavurah'' or ''chaburah'' (חבורה Hebrew: "fellowship", plural ''chavurot'') is a small group of like-minded Jews who assemble for the purposes of facilitating Shabbat and holiday prayer services, sharing communal experiences such as life ...

'' alternative service, extensive child-focused religious and educational services, the Marsha Dane Hebrew School, and various adult education programs.

2000 terror attack

On October 8, 2000, the eve of

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

, a group of four

Palestinian-American Palestinian Americans ( ar, فلسطينيو أمريكا) are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinians, Palestinian descent. It is unclear when the first Palestinian immigrants arrived in the United States, but it is believed that the ...

men attacked the synagogue with

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...

s, which they threw through the synagogues glass door. Mazin Assi, one of the attackers, was convicted of attempted

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, weapons charges, and

hate crimes A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

, and sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison. Assi said he threw the firebombs at "the rich

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in Riverdale" because he alleged they send money to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

for "killing people." When Assi appealed, arguing that his act was not a hate crime and therefore he should not attract the longer sentence that a hate crime attracts, the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

unanimously rejected his argument and ruled in 2010 that a person can be guilty of a hate crime even if the violence is directed at a building, rather than a person. The ruling upheld two lower court rulings that had reached the same conclusion. Assi, who had grown up in the Palestinian territories, had already sought

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

twice, and been denied parole twice.

Notable members

Ruth Westheimer Karola Ruth Westheimer ( Siegel; born June 4, 1928), better known as Dr. Ruth, is a German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper. Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish fami ...

(born 1928), better known as Dr. Ruth,

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

sex therapist Sex therapy is a strategy for the improvement of sexual function and treatment of sexual dysfunction. This includes sexual dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation or delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, lack of sexual interest or arousal, ...

, talk show host, author, professor,

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

, and former

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

Notable rabbis

Norman Salit Norman Salit (June 8, 1896 – July 21, 1960) was an American lawyer, rabbi, and Zionist who served as the president of the Synagogue Council of America. Biography Salit was born to a Jewish family on June 8, 1896, in Brooklyn, New York, the so ...

(1896-1960)

References

External links