Temple Beth-El () is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 800 North Palafox Street, in downtown Pensacola, Florida, in the United States. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Florida.
Beth-El is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, and has led the congregation in Reform services since the temple's foundation. The current rabbi, since July 2021, is Joel Fleekop.
History
The first Jews who migrated to northwest Florida originally stopped at Milton, to the east, because Milton was a national hub for lumber production and distribution in the South (the first Jews to the area were skilled in lumber production; they came from heavily wooded areas in what is now southern Germany).
In 1933 Temple Beth-El moved into its third and current building, designed in the Art Deco style.
<!-- Notability questioned. *C. J. Heinberg (1901 – 1990) physician, first mayor of Gulf Breeze -->
Gallery
<gallery>
Bethelsign.jpg|The Temple's placard, with the name in Hebrew script below.
Temple Beth-El 1912.jpg|1912 temple at 37 East Chase Street.
</gallery>
See also
- History of the Jews in South Florida
- List of the oldest synagogues in the United States