Riverdale Jewish Center

40°53′17″N 73°54′46″W / 40.88806°N 73.91278°W / 40.88806; -73.91278ArchitectureFounderYeshiva UniversityDate established1954 (as a congregation)Websiterjconline.org

The Riverdale Jewish Center, abbreviated as RJC, is an Modern Orthodox synagogue located at 3700 Independence Avenue, in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, New York, United States.^[1]

History

The synagogue was founded by the Communal Services Division of Yeshiva University and has always identified itself as a bastion of that institution.^{[citation needed]}

Its rabbis included its founder Jacob Sable, Irving Greenberg, Yehezkel Hartmann, Joshua Shmidman, Abner Weiss, and Jonathan Rosenblatt.^[2][3]

In May 2015, the New York Times claimed that Rosenblatt had a history (in the 1980s and 1990s) of inviting teenage boys to play squash or racquetball often accompanied by sitting in a sauna naked together.^[4] There were no allegations of sexual touching or criminal conduct;^[5] and Rosenblatt retained his position as rabbi of the RJC.^[6][7]

The Senior Rabbi is Rabbi Dovid Zirkind and the assistant rabbi is Rabbi Tzvi Benoff.^{[8][self-published source?]}

The charter school Atmosphere Academy uses part of the building during the week for 8th grade classes.^{[citation needed]}

Attacks on the synagogue

In the 2009 New York City bomb plot the New York City Police Department foiled a plot by American Muslims to bomb the synagogue.^[9] On May 30, 2009, New York Governor David Paterson announced he would give the Center and the Riverdale Reform Temple $25,000 each to improve their security.^[10]

In 2021, the synagogue was subject to vandalism, including rocks thrown through the synagogue's windows.^[11][12]

Notable members

• Irving Greenberg^{[citation needed]}
• Joseph Lieberman^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Official website