List of Synagogues Named Young Israel

The name Young Israel refers both to the national movement and to local congregations affiliated with it or historically associated with it. Available sources do not provide a single comprehensive, current branch directory. The 2001 synagogue census supplies aggregate figures, while historical directories and later program lists document particular congregations at specific dates.[2][3] Older names and addresses therefore establish historical presence, not necessarily current operation at the same location.

Young Israel's origins trace to 1912, when fifteen young men and women began meeting on Manhattan's Lower East Side and organized English-language Friday-night lectures on Jewish topics.[1] By 1915, they had established a congregation designed to attract young American Jews, offering synagogue honors without payment and modeling the community partly as a Jewish community center.[1] Another account places the movement's earliest activity at the Jewish Theological Seminary and credits professors Israel Freidlander and Mordecai M. Kaplan and Rabbi Judah Magnes as founders, describing its purpose as uniting Orthodox Jewish youth of the Lower East Side.[4]

These early congregations emerged in response to dissatisfaction with existing synagogue culture. American-raised Orthodox Jews objected to poor decorum, the auctioning of Torah honors, and the absence of congregational singing.[5] Young Israel congregations responded with English sermons, congregational singing, lectures, and social events for young adults; the early congregations employed neither rabbis nor cantors.[5] The movement incorporated in 1926, reported 35 affiliated synagogues in 1939 and 100 in 1971, and by 1994 reported more than 200 congregations worldwide, including branches in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and several South American countries.[4]

A 2001 census counted 150 U.S. synagogues affiliated with Young Israel, representing 4.0% of all U.S. synagogues and 10.0% of Orthodox synagogues.[2] Of those 150, 115 had no overlapping affiliation, 33 also belonged to the Orthodox Union, and two also belonged to Lubavitch.[2] Later organizational snapshots are not directly comparable: one reference overview reports 146 North American congregations, while a 2021 report said the NCYI provided services to 135 synagogues.[1][6]

Young Israel's early model combined traditional Orthodox worship with features intended to engage English-speaking American Jews, including English sermons, congregational singing, educational lectures, and social programs.[5] The national organization sets minimum halakhic requirements for the separation of men and women during worship, prohibits synagogue parking on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, and requires officers of member congregations to be Sabbath-observant Orthodox Jews.[1]

The NCYI describes itself as a grassroots association shaped by lay leaders, branch rabbis, congregation presidents, national delegates, and professional staff. Its activities have included synagogue support, rabbinic training and placement, youth and senior programming, educational publications, and an interest-free revolving loan fund for congregational development.[1]

Young Israel became an important institutional response to the challenge of maintaining Orthodox observance among American-raised Jews who felt alienated from the language and customs of immigrant-era synagogues.[1][5] In the 2001 census, it ranked as the third-largest Orthodox synagogue group in the United States and accounted for one-tenth of the Orthodox congregations counted.[2] Its concentration in metropolitan New York and the development of Yisrael Hatzair in Israel also gave the movement both a strong regional base and an international reach.[2][1]

The Young Israel network has been heavily concentrated in the northeastern United States. Of the 150 U.S. congregations counted in 2001, 81 were in the New York metropolitan area; Miami was the only other metropolitan area with at least ten, recording exactly ten.[2] JewishGen's Miami-Dade County listings include Young Israel of Greater Miami and Young Israel of Sky Lake.[7]

Beyond New York and Florida, Young Israel congregations have been documented across numerous states. In New England, Young Israel of Brookline in Massachusetts hosts a weekly adult Torah study group on Thursdays,[8] while Young Israel of Worcester, formally known as Congregation Beth Judah, is listed at 889 Pleasant Street in Worcester.[9] Young Israel of Malden and Young Israel of Sharon appear in a JewishGen memorial-plaques inventory alongside a Young Israel entry in Brookline.[10] In Connecticut, Young Israel of Stamford and Young Israel of West Hartford partnered with the Orthodox Union's SPIRIT program in 2020.[3]

A cemetery listing records a Young Israel of New Haven section at Brockett Court in East Haven, indexed with 48 graves as of June 1994. A separate, qualified note mentions a supposed yahrzeit tablet at a Young Israel Synagogue at 292 Norton Street in New Haven but says there was no burial marker and that the funeral home had no knowledge of the matter.[11]

In the Mid-Atlantic region, Young Israel of East Brunswick in New Jersey appears in a list of East Brunswick congregations.[12] Young Israel of Fort Lee in New Jersey was identified as the site of a protest against an Israel solidarity event on November 5, 2023.[13] In Maryland, Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac and Young Israel Shomrei Emunah of Greater Washington in Silver Spring serve the Washington-area Orthodox community.[14] Young Israel of Elkins Park in Pennsylvania was among the congregations that partnered with the Orthodox Union's 2020 pandemic-era programming.[3]

In the South, Young Israel of Memphis is listed at 531 S. Yates Road in Memphis, Tennessee,[15] and Young Israel of Houston is identified as an Orthodox synagogue in Houston.[16] Young Israel of Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale was among the 2020 SPIRIT program partners.[3] On the West Coast, Young Israel of San Diego,[17] Young Israel of Orange County in Irvine,[18] Young Israel of North Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, and Young Israel of Century City in Los Angeles have been documented.[19] In the Midwest, Young Israel of Southfield in Michigan participated in the 2020 Orthodox Union program.[3]

Young Israel also has a presence in upstate New York. Young Israel of Greater Buffalo is listed as an Orthodox congregation in Amherst.[20] A Syracuse congregation established in 1945 merged with Shaarei Torah in 1984.[21]

New York City and its suburbs host the largest concentration of Young Israel congregations. In Brooklyn, a 1959 communities report documented Young Israel of Brooklyn at 563 Bedford Avenue, Young Israel of Bushwick at 143 McKibbin Street, Young Israel of Williamsburg at 730 Willoughby Avenue, Young Israel of Botanic Gardens at 1060 President Street, Young Israel of Eastern Parkway at 937 Eastern Parkway, and Young Israel of New Lots and East New York at 515 Hegeman Avenue.[22] These are historical directory entries rather than confirmation of current addresses.

More recent sources list Young Israel of Kensington and Young Israel of Midwood as Orthodox congregations in Brooklyn,[23] while Young Israel Beth-El Borough Park appears in JewishGen's synagogue-records finding aid.[24] Young Israel of Avenue K was targeted by anti-Israel protesters during an Israeli real-estate event on March 28, 2024.[13]

In Queens, a 1958 communities report named Young Israel of Sunnyside at 41-12 45th Street in Long Island City, Young Israel of Jackson Heights at 86-15 37th Avenue, Young Israel of Forest Hills at 71-45 Yellowstone Boulevard, Young Israel of the Rockaways at 208 Beach 75th Street in Arverne, and Young Israel of Wavecrest and Bayswater at 2401 Far Rockaway Boulevard.[25] Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, Young Israel of Queens Valley, and Young Israel of Hillcrest have appeared in later program listings.[3] Young Israel of Holliswood and Young Israel of Jamaica Estates have also been identified as Orthodox congregations in Queens.[26] Young Israel of Staten Island is an Orthodox congregation on Staten Island.[13]

In Westchester County, Young Israel of Scarsdale appears in Congressional Record index entries associated with community honors.[27] Young Israel of Scarsdale and Young Israel of White Plains were also communal partners of the 2019 Westchester Jewish Film Festival.[28] Young Israel of New Rochelle was targeted by protesters during an Israeli real-estate event on September 14, 2025.[13]

On Long Island, Young Israel of Woodmere in Woodmere and Young Israel of East Northport are documented congregations.[19][10] Young Israel of New Hyde Park and Young Israel of Hillcrest participated in the 2020 Orthodox Union SPIRIT program.[3]

Young Israel of Teaneck in New Jersey began as a neighborhood minyan formed after a snowy Shabbat in December 1991. It affiliated with the NCYI in December 1993, and 25 member families purchased a one-acre property in 1997 and converted part of it into worship space. A 2021 report described the congregation as having grown to approximately 250 member families.[29]

Young Israel has a documented presence in Israel through Yisrael Hatzair, the Young Israel Movement in Israel, which encompasses more than 50 synagogues.[1] The National Library of Israel's catalog records the dedication of a new Ark at the Young Israel Synagogue of Kfar Ganim in Petah Tikva as an item in the Dan Hadani Archive.[30]

Young Israel of Petah Tikva traces its origins to observant immigrants who arrived after the Six-Day War. They initially prayed in private homes, then moved to an old-age home and a school as the minyan grew. The city later provided land for a permanent synagogue, and approximately 90 people attended a 2022 gathering commemorating the community's history.[31]

Young Israel of the Old City of Jerusalem, also identified as the Chazon Yechezkel Synagogue, has been described as being approximately five minutes from the Western Wall.[32] A JewishGen memorial-plaques inventory also places an entry titled "Lechu-Neranena, Young Israel of Coney Island, Brooklyn, New-York" under Ra'anana, an ambiguous record that should not be read as a straightforward congregation directory entry.[10]

Several Young Israel congregations have been targeted by anti-Israel protests documented by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL reported at least 30 protests targeting U.S. synagogues between October 7, 2023, and January 2026.[13] Incidents involving Young Israel congregations included a November 5, 2023, demonstration outside Young Israel of Fort Lee; a March 28, 2024, protest outside Young Israel of Avenue K in Brooklyn; a November 4, 2024, protest at Young Israel of Staten Island; and a September 14, 2025, protest at Young Israel of New Rochelle.[13] At a January 8, 2026, protest outside Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, demonstrators chanted, in the ADL's account, "Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here!"[13]

Young Israel of Bal Harbour, a small Orthodox congregation in Surfside, Florida, was a plaintiff in religious land-use litigation against the Town of Surfside over zoning rules that prohibited synagogues in the tourist and business districts where it met.[33] A Department of Justice brief described the congregation's evidence that service attendance tripled during the part of the year when seasonal residents and tourists frequented the oceanfront area. The brief presented this evidence in connection with the importance of walking-distance access for Sabbath-observant congregants.[33]

Political tensions within the movement contributed to the 2019 disaffiliation of Young Israel of Toco Hills in Atlanta. Ninety-three percent of participating members voted to separate and adopt the name Kehillat Ohr Hatorah.[34] The break occurred amid public disputes over political statements by NCYI leaders, although the congregation's president denied that national politics guided the membership's decision.[34]