Temple B’nai Israel has been a Reform congregation since its founding in 1854 and was one of the original members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

Temple B’nai Israel has been a Reform congregation since its founding in 1854 and was one of the original members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now the Union for Reform Judaism. Only 10 years after the founding of Albany three Jewish families of German extraction settled in the small town. They incorporated the United Hebrew Society of Albany. The corporate charter was for the purpose of purchasing property to build a synagogue, exercising religious worship and establishing a cemetery. For fourteen years worship services were held in the Mayer and Welch Buildings at the corner of Broad Avenue and Washington Street.

By 1876 there were approximately 100 Jews living in the area. The congregation reorganized and re-incorporated, building its first temple in 1882. That structure was replaced with a new one in 1886. A century later, in March of 1996 the congregation broke ground for the new facility it uses today. That synagogue was completed in 1999 and continues to serve a congregation of about 85 member households.