Bellingham's Jewish community celebrates 100 years

A series of centennial events are planned. The first is a history talk Sept. 21 by Tim Baker, who has been researching the local Jewish community for a dozen years.

Beth Israel is one of the oldest synagogues in Western Washington. The oldest in Washington was dedicated in Spokane on Sept. 14, 1892. Seattle's first synagogue opened four days later.

The roots of Beth Israel trace back to the late 1800s, when Jewish immigrants from two small towns, or shtetls, in Lithuania, known as Skopishok and Rakishok, settled here, possibly drawn by the Klondike gold rush.

The first Jewish services held in Bellingham were in 1900. Six years later, the Jewish community of 25 or so families bought a vacant church at 1406 F St., uphill from today's Lighthouse Mission, and remodeled it into a synagogue.

Bellingham's first rabbi, Joseph Polakoff, a Russian immigrant, was hired the following year, and Beth Israel was incorporated as an Orthodox congregation in 1908.

Orthodox Jews were not permitted to drive or ride on the Sabbath, so Bellingham's early Jews lived in the Lettered Streets neighborhood so they could walk to services.

Many also worked or owned businesses in Old Town. Local Jewish businesses included outfitters for the gold rush, tailor shops and second-hand stores.

Over time, many of the Jewish families were joined as their sons and daughters married within the faith.

"It was like one big family here," Baker said. "Everybody knew each other. A lot of people were related."

In 1925, Beth Israel moved into a new synagogue at 2200 Broadway, its home today. Beth Israel's torah scrolls were carried under a canopy through the Lettered Streets district to the new building.

During the 1950s, under Rabbi Fred Gartner, Beth Israel transitioned from Orthodox to Conservative Judaism, with little apparent disruption among its members. Among other things, that meant women and men could sit together during services.

In 1986, members voted to become a Reform synagogue, joining the Union for Reform Judaism.

Seven years later, some members left Beth Israel to start the Conservative Congregation Eytz Chaim. Eytz Chaim later disbanded, and the return of some Eytz Chaim members has contributed to Beth Israel's recent growth to more than 200 families, said Enger, Beth Israel's first woman rabbi.

General population growth also is a factor, as is Beth Israel's effort to offer a broader range of activities and programs, including monthly services for tradition-minded members.

"We're trying to be inclusive, knowing one thing is not going to work for everyone," Enger said.

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