Temple Beth El was an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

synagogue formed in 1965 in Syracuse, New York. It originally belonged to the Orthodox Union, then about 1997 it joined the Union for Traditional Judaism. Later, in 2002, it changed to 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 in ...

affiliation, and held its final service on January 27, 2007.

Arson attack

The Temple building, but not the sanctuary, was heavily damaged in an arson attack on October 13, 2000. Palestinian-American Ramsi Uthman was convicted in the attack. Uthman, who was born in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

parents, is a naturalized

U.S. 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 territori ...

citizen. Ahed Shehadeh was convicted of aiding and abetting the arson. According to Shehadeh's testimony, after Uthman set fire to the Temple, he yelled "I did this for you, God!" In exchange for his testimony Shehadeh received a five-year prison sentence, and was released in 2008. Uthman received the maximum possible sentence of 25 years, to be served in New York's

Attica Correctional Facility Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum security campus New York State prison in the Town of Attica, New York, operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. It was constructed in the 1930s in response ...

, although he will be eligible for

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 ...

in 2021. He was convicted of a hate crime. The building reopened in 2001 after repairing some $700,000 of damage from the attack.

Closure and sale

In 2007, due to declining membership, the synagogue has closed and was sold. The membership voted to join Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, a Conservative synagogue at 18 Patsy Lane in DeWitt. In October 2007, the Slavic Full Gospel Church began using the building.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth El (Syracuse, New York) Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2000 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations in the United States Islam and antisemitism Religious buildings and structures in Syracuse, New York Former synagogues in New York (state) Orthodox synagogues in New York (state) Conservative synagogues in New York (state) Religious buildings and structures in the United States destroyed by arson Arson in New York (state) Union for Traditional Judaism