Noted People
Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel has been the spiritual home of numerous distinguished businessmen and professional.
Department store families such as Gimbel, Rosenwald, (Sears) and Snellenberg have all had multigeneration affiliations with the congregation. The famed Guggenheims also belonged to KI during their early years in Philadelphia. In 1934, Albert Einstein accepted an honorary membership in front of a crowd of 1,000 members. Our Elkins Park Religious School Building was donated by the Paley family, founders of CBS.
Documents pertaining to the affiliation of these distinguished families to KI is available in our Archives.