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Documented Jewish presence in Kingston dates from the middle of the 19th century. Among the earliest arrivals were the brothers Joseph and Abraham Nordheimer who later moved to Toronto. They remain known among pianists and musicians for promoting music and producing the high quality Nordheimer pianos.

Simon Oberndorffer came to Kingston, via New York, in 1857. He started a cigar factory and became one of the main founders of the Orthodox Beth Israel Congregation in 1908.

Until 1960, the vast majority of the congregants were merchants or businessmen from Central and Eastern Europe.

During the 1960's, however, the expansion of Canadian universities attracted numerous Jewish academics to Queen's University at Kingston. Within a short fifteen years, Beth Israel's composition changed to a bimodal membership: the old-timers/merchants and the newcomers/academics-professionals. In 1975, the strain of accommodating to such a rapid and drastic change brought about the split of the membership into the Orthodox Beth Israel Congregation and Iyr-Ha-Melech, the Reform Congregation.

Today, Beth Israel remains an umbrella synagogue which accommodates members whose actual orientations range from Agnostic to Orthodox.

Beth Israel 100th Anniversary Celebration

Shown at right is the Yartzeit Scroll that has recently been restored by Queen's University Archives. This is only one of the many treasures that are being reclaimed as part of an ongoing project with Queen's Archives. The scroll was used from when Beth Israel Synagogue opened in its original Queen Street location until the mid-1960s. It will be on display during Beth Israel's 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2010.