Temple Israel is a Reform congregation in Manhattan. It was incorporated in 1873 by German Jews.It purchased its first synagogue building Fifth Avenue and 125th Street in 1887, constructed its own at 201 Lenox Avenue and 120th Street in 1907, and constructed another at 210 West 91st Street in 1920. Its current Brutalist style building, at 112 East 75th Street on the Upper East Side, was completed in 1967.Since its founding, Temple Israel has been served by only five senior rabbis: Maurice Harris, William Rosenblum, Martin Zion, Judith Lewis, and David Gelfand ., its senior rabbi is Gelfand, and its cantor is Irena Altshul.Early historyTemple Israel was incorporated in 1873 as Yod b'Yod congregation by German Jews. An early trustee was Cyrus L. Sulzberger, father of New York Times publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger. The members were typically shopkeepers, traditionally observant, and first worshiped above a printing shop on East 125th Street in Harlem. They soon established a Hebrew school called "Gates of Learning" for the 45 children of the congregation. The congregation rented a larger space on 124th Street in 1874, and in 1876 leased a former church on 116th Street, between First Avenue and Second Avenue. In 1880, the congregation purchased the building on 116th Street.
