The synagogue is designed in the Art Deco style which was popular in the 1930s. The temple area follows reform tradition by having an elevated or raised bimah with a choir loft above and behind the ark. It has a gallery – but unlike traditional synagogues the gallery was not in order to separate women from men but to provide additional accommodation.
The main building was kept to one side of the land on the prominent eastern corner, to allow as much of the remainder to house hall, school, parking, etc.
The complex houses a library of Judaica including archives of the history of progressive Judaism in South Africa. Being the first Reform synagogue in South Africa, it had to cater for further communities throughout the country by housing a library, archives and other facilities not normally associated with temple design.
South Africa’s Progressive movement of Judaism (also known as Progressive Reform Judaism) began in 1930s. Rabbi Moses Cyrus Weiler was the first progressive Jewish Rabbi to arrive in South Africa, sent to Johannesburg in 1933 by the World Union for Progressive Judaism to the movement in Southern Africa. Weiler became the founding Rabbi of Temple Israel, where he served for almost 25 years, and more broadly of the Progressive movement of Judaism in South Africa.
The site in Hillbrow was purchased in 1933 by the Jewish Reform Congregation for the erection of a “Liberal Jewish Synagogue” in Johannesburg, the first in South Africa.
The building was designed by the prominent architectural practice of Kallenbach, Kennedy and Furner, and officially opened in 1936.
From its inception, Temple Israel placed strong emphasis on equality between men and women and in 1936 the synagogue established its own temple sisterhood. The women of the Temple Israel sisterhood founded the MC Weiler School in Alexandra as an important outreach programme for assisting disadvantaged children.
The school was officially opened in 1949, and named in honour of Rabbi Weiler. In his book Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela remarks on the commitment of the United Reform Jewish Congregation to countering the inferior ‘Bantu’ education offered by the Nationalist government of the day. By 1954 there were 266 pupils, rising to 800 in 1963. The school has continued to grow as part of Temple Israel’s ongoing legacy, accommodating over 1 000 learners in 2004. The school exists to this day, supervised by the Sisterhood of the Reform (Progressive) Judaism in South Africa.
In addition, Temple Israel in partnership with Africa Tikkun, has utilised the hall and classrooms on the west side of the property, as an outreach to benefit the wider community. This includes a preschool for eighty children, adult literacy and sewing classes. Future plans will target a community centre and skill development for young adults in the area.
In 1983 a unit of the ANC’s armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) detonated a bomb outside the synagogue in an attempt to prevent the then State President Marais Viljoen from attending the Temple’s anniversary. The attack was carried out at night so that nobody would be injured, but caused extensive damage to the building. Years after the incident, while testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, former MK Special Operations Director Abubaker Ismail apologized to the Jewish community for the attack.
During its heyday, services at Temple Israel attracted large crowds. As there was barely enough space to accommodate all the congregants, services were at times extended to the Skyline Hotel. Since the 1980s, faced by the decline of the area and an exodus of Jews, Temple Israel experienced sharply dwindling numbers. The shul has nevertheless stayed open for Jews remaining in Hillbrow and surrounding areas.
General Protection: Section 34 (1) Structures under the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999.
A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.
Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.
