We are a Reform Jewish Temple serving the Atlanta south side communities of:
Clayton County, Coweta County, Douglas County, Henry County, south Fulton County, Spalding County,
Fayetteville, Griffin, Jonesboro, McDnough, Newnan, Senoia, Peachtree City, and Stockbridge
Our Vision
A warm and welcoming community
Congregation B’nai Israel will be a welcoming, inclusive, family-oriented place of worship and gathering where all members feel engaged in a community committed to keeping Jewish tradition alive, relevant and exciting; where we support the spiritual, cultural, social and personal needs of our diverse community; and reach out to improve the world we live in.
Our Mission
A home for inclusiveness
Congregation B’nai Israel is a spiritual home for the Jewish community, also welcoming interfaith families on the south of Atlanta. Rooted in Reform Judaism and the value of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, we support our members through uplifting worship, lifelong learning, meaningful life-cycle events, and a deep sense of shared heritage.
As part of the Union for Reform Judaism, we honor the dignity of every individual. We strive to be a place where all—regardless of background—feel embraced, respected, and empowered to help repair the world.
Our History
Founded in 1981
Congregation B’nai Israel was born from a chance meeting of Southside Jews in the fall of 1981. That spark led to a gathering in the Sears Community Room at Southlake Mall on November 13, 1981, and from there, a community began to grow. What started with five families has become a vibrant, active Reform congregation serving the Southside of Atlanta for over 40 years.
For two decades, we held services at Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church in Riverdale, transforming it into a synagogue every Shabbat and holiday. In 1989, we purchased land in Fayetteville and, after years of fundraising and dreaming, broke ground in April 2002. Our beautiful synagogue was completed just in time for Erev Rosh Hashanah that same year.
We are proud to house two remarkable Torah scrolls: one, a Holocaust Torah on permanent loan from the Westminster Torah Trust in England, originally confiscated by the Nazis in Czechoslovakia; the other, our own Sefer Torah, commissioned and completed in 1998 in a moving ceremony with the scribe present. Together, they connect us to generations past and future.
Our community has been shaped by incredible clergy, including Rabbi Emeritus Louis Feldstein, Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser and Cantorial Soloist, Susan Burden. We remember with love Susan Levine (z”l), our first Cantorial Soloist, who helped build the welcoming spirit that defines us to this day.
Our story is still unfolding. Come be a part of it. Plant your Jewish roots with us at Congregation B’nai Israel.
