Congregation Beth Israel, Reform synagogue in Meridian, United States

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue in Meridian, Mississippi, using a modern building opened in 1964. Its front windows incorporate glass salvaged from the education building bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1968. The congregation, founded in 1868, has no full-time rabbi and numbers fewer than forty members, mostly elderly.

The congregation was founded in 1868 by ten families and built its first permanent building in 1879 in a Middle Eastern style. A Greek Revival structure followed in 1906, and the community moved into the current building in 1964.

The congregation is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and traces its name to Beth Israel, the house of Israel. Its former rabbi Judah Wechsler, who led from 1887, campaigned for public schooling for Black children, and the Wechsler School was named for him. Paula Ackerman, widow of Rabbi William Ackerman, led the congregation for three years from 1951 without ordination, conducting Shabbat services, sermons, marriages and funerals.

It is best to contact the synagogue in advance to find out about service times or community events before your visit. As an active place of worship for a small community, access outside of scheduled times may be limited.

The 1968 bombing of the education building was carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Glass salvaged from the wreckage was later set into the front windows of the current synagogue, where the pieces can still be seen.