Temple Israel has occupied 2004 East 22nd Place in Tulsa since 1955. This Reform congregation was founded in December 1914 and affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism in 1915. Its first building rose at the corner of 14th and Cheyenne Streets in 1919, when membership numbered 54 families.
Early rabbis included Jacob Menkes, Charles Latz, Samuel Kaplan, Jacob Krohngold, and Benjamin Kelsen. In 1932 the congregation built a new house of worship on South Cheyenne, served by rabbis such as Hyman Iola, Abraham Shusterman, Randall Falk, and Morton C. Fierman. By 1943 membership had reached 170 families; it continued to grow, peaking at 585 families in 1985, then declining to 425 by 2011 and 375 by 2019.
In 1955 Temple Israel moved to this current building on East 22nd Place, designed by Percival Goodman. Rabbis who have served in this building include Norbert Rosenthal (1951–1976), Charles Sherman (1976–2013), Karen and Micah Citrin (2013–2016), Jim Simon (2016–2018), and Michael Weinstein (2018–present). It remains Tulsa's oldest synagogue and the city's only Reform synagogue.
Picture Percival Goodman's 1955 design still serving as Tulsa's oldest and only Reform synagogue.