Welcome New Clubs

The Middle Atlantic Region of the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs is proud to welcome and partner with both Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel Men's Club of downtown Philadelphia and Congregation Beth El Ner Tamid Men's Club of Broomall, PA as its newly affiliated clubs.

Temple Beth Zion- Beth Israel
Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel is the product of three merged Philadelphia area congregations. Temple Beth Israel dated back to its original founding in 1840,with its well-known white-domed building standing in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood of Philadelphia.

It was an older and historic congregation that began as Orthodox congregation and geared towards the increasing number of Polish and German immigrants in the City and held the distinction of being especially welcoming to those with disabilities. It had the honor of being the third oldest Jewish Congregation in Philadelphia and later, over time, proudly one of the founding kehillah of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism.

Temple Beth Zion was a post-World War II modern era Center City Philadelphia shul founded in 1945 and the first Conservative congregation to be located in downtown Philadelphia. After outgowing their original building, the congregation purchased the current site of BZBI in 1954 and renovated the former Gothic Church building into the vibrant Jewish facility that is enjoyed by the congregation today.

The third congregation, Neziner Synagogue, had its roots in the Society Hill neighborhood of Old City Philadelphia. Originally reaching out to those immigrating from Eastern Europe and Russia, the congregation grew further until, with gentrification, many Jews began to move out of the Society Hill area to other parts of the City and beyond. In 1984, the congregation merged with BZBI.

The resurrected Men's Club of Beth Zion Beth Israel, under the leadership of club president Matthew Whitehorn, is looking forward to sponsoring community events, group trips to sporting events, bringing back their congregation's participation in the FJMC World Wide Wrap and Shoah Yellow Candle programs along with incorporating an annual Men's Club Shabbat and further educational programs. Our region wishes the club well in their further endeavours and looks forward to strongly supporting on all.

Congregation Beth El Ner Tamid
Beth El Ner Tamid originally began as an offshoot of Beth El of West Philadelphia, whose leadership saw the need to establish a Synagogue in the Philadelpha suburbs. Founded in 1956 as Congregation Beth El Suburban, the congregation had no building at first and met at various locations in the Broomall community, including a firehouse on West Chester Pike, the local Presbyterian Church and even the Paxon Hollow Country Club. Later on, with members offering their homes as bank collateral, the congregation built their dedicated Synagogue property located on Paxon Hollow Road.

In 1992, with shifting demographics in the Delaware County area, the Synagogue merged with Congregation Ner Tamid of Springfield and later in 2000 with an additional merger joining forces with Temple Israel of Upper Darby. CBENT (Congregation Beth El Ner Tamid) has continued to be a staple to the Delaware County Jewish community ever since. They continue to provide child care, religious school, daily minyan and services, and as well a wide range of social, religious, and community events.

The congregation is proud of its many fundraisers to help keep its dues, Hebrew School and other programs affordable for their congregants. And also especially proud of its interfaith work with
groups in the area to help strengthen their bond with the local community and to help work together to help build awareness and solve community problems together.

The Beth El Ner Tamid Men's Club, under the strong leadership of club president Marc Belitsky, is very active and offers social, religious, cultural, educational and sporting events, including their softball team league participation, that are of particular interest to a multitude of generations of their Synagogue community. They proudly lend their support to their community and beyond with various Mitzvah projects, helping to build the Synagogue Sukkah, host an annual latke party for their Religious School students and as well help with the Purim Carnival and Car Wash. While previously not an affiliated member of FJMC, the club generously distributes annually Shoah Yellow Candles to their congregants and holds a Men's Club Shabbat. Our region is honored and excited to join forces with this truly dedicated Men's Club.