Touro Synagogue (Newport, R.I.)

The Touro Synagogue or Congregation Jeshuat Israel (Hebrew: קהל קדוש ישועת ישראל) is a synagogue built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States,[2][a] the only surviving synagogue building in the U.S. dating to the colonial era, and the oldest surviving Jewish synagogue building in North America.[3] In 1946, it was declared a National Historic Site.[4]

The first congregation was made up of Sephardic Jews, who are believed to have come via the West Indies, where they participated in the triangular trade along with Dutch and English settlements. They practiced a Spanish and Portuguese Jewish liturgy and ritual. In the late eighteenth century, when warfare threatened, the congregation transferred the deed and Torah scrolls to Congregation Shearith Israel in New York for safekeeping. Since the late 19th century, the congregants have been primarily Ashkenazi.

In 2012 the two congregations went to court to try to resolve which owned the synagogue and its contents, as the Newport congregation wanted to sell some items to raise money for restoration of the building. In 2017 the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the New York congregation owned it; as the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case, this ruling stands. Touro Synagogue was designed by Peter Harrison, a noted British architect and Rhode Island resident. The Touro Synagogue was built from 1759 to 1763 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation in Newport under the leadership of Cantor (Chazzan) Isaac Touro. The cornerstone was laid by Aaron Lopez, a Newport-based philanthropist for Jewish causes Other notable leaders include Abraham Pereira Mendes and Henry Samuel Morais (1900–01).

Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, is the nation's oldest synagogue. The Jewish community of Newport was founded in 1658 by a small group of Sephardic Jews seeking religious freedom. In 1758, Isaac Touro, a Dutch Jew, became the community's spiritual leader. Shortly after, the congregation purchased land and hired Peter Harrison to design the Synagogue. The building was dedicated in 1763, and since then, has continued to serve Newport's Jewish community.