Greenport's Congregation Tifereth Israel to debate rabbi's future before High Holy Days

A historic synagogue in Greenport may part ways with its longtime leader, an attorney for the temple told Newsday.

Congregation Tifereth Israel plans to hold a meeting with congregants Monday to discuss the future employment of Rabbi Gadi Capela, said Richard Zuckerman, an attorney for the synagogue.

The synagogue's board of directors initially terminated Capela “for cause” in early August, Zuckerman told Newsday.

The synagogue notified Capela of his termination in a letter dated Aug. 2, and it was to take effect on Aug. 12, Zuckerman said. The synagogue then sent the rabbi another letter on Aug. 24 indicating the termination was changed to a suspension, Zuckerman said. Zuckerman declined to share the letters with Newsday or provide the board's reasoning for the discipline.

The rabbi’s termination was first reported by The Suffolk Times, which cited a letter to the congregation noting the situation “became unavoidable based on a long-continuing atmosphere of contentious conduct and breaches of his contractual obligations.”

The letter also referenced “extended deliberations” and “failed attempts to resolve these issues with the rabbi,” according to The Suffolk Times.

Zuckerman said the Sept. 15 congregation meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will likely include a discussion and vote on the rabbi's continued employment. Discussion of the rabbi's future comes just before the Jewish High Holy Days. The period of religious observance starts on Sept. 22 with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. The holiday marks a 10-day period of reflection ending on Oct. 2 with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Capela, who has led the conservative congregation since 2013, said the decision has damaged his reputation, and he expressed concerns about how the board handled the matter without input from synagogue members.

“They were trying to circumvent the congregation,” Capela said in a brief phone interview on Tuesday. “They have no cause ... they’re trying to punish me for having a voice in the congregation.”

He declined to comment further on the suspension.

Sara Bloom, the synagogue’s president, said deliberations over the rabbi's future are “not going to derail the future of this synagogue."

“We have activities ongoing, we have the holidays coming up, we have a rabbi, we have a cantor,” she said in an interview on Thursday. “We are making plans to move our synagogue forward.”

The synagogue has brought in Rabbi Debra Cantor to lead services for the High Holy Days. This year’s holidays will hold extra weight, Bloom said, given the rise of antisemitism around the world.

“To come together, to be together on these High Holidays, particularly in light of these situations, is something that all people should do and particularly Jews on the High Holidays,” Bloom said.

According to the synagogue’s website, Capela, 53, was raised in Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces for four years before moving to New York in 1995. He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2012.

He also founded Project Genesis, a Jewish-Christian education program, in 2006. According to his biography on the synagogue website, Capela is passionate about leading interfaith pilgrimages to Israel and "promoting interreligious harmony in the Holy Land."

Founded by several Jewish families in 1892, Congregation Tifereth Israel built its current synagogue in 1903, according to its website. The late Victorian building on Fourth Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Tifereth Israel serves about 130 members, according to Bloom, and is the “synagogue of record on the North Fork.” She described the synagogue’s sanctuary as an “intimate space” with a balcony.

“If you were to walk into that sanctuary, you could feel the history walking in there,” Bloom said. “People who come to our synagogue do so because they enjoy being in that environment, in that atmosphere.”