Monsey Memories: Rabbi Abraham Israelitan

Yitzy Fried
R’ Avraham was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the year 1910. His parents were Isaac (a merchant in Philadelphia) and Lena (Margolis) Israelitan.
He studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and he
obtained a degree from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Sometime after 1935, he became the rabbi of Songs of Israel
of Nyack, and he was a very active figure in Rockland County.
By 1940, Rabbi Israelitan was back in Philadelphia,
appointed as the rabbi of Temple Beth El in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. The Daily
Item writes about his installation in November of 1940. “Rabbi Israelitan
comes to Sunbury from Rockland County, New York, where he served as the
spiritual leader of Congregation Sons of Israel of Nyack. He was the vice
president of the Rockland County Peace Association and Jewish chaplain of the
Rockland State Hospital for the mentally ill.
Upon his passing in the year 1987 in the Tacony section of
Philadelphia, we read the following in the Philadelphia Inquirer: Rabbi
Abraham H. Israelitan, 77, spiritual leader of Temple Menorah, 4301 Tyson
Avenue, died yesterday at the Northern Division of Albert Einstein Medical
Center. He lived in the Tacony section.
“A Philadelphia native, Rabbi Israelitan was a graduate of
Tulsa University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. He came to Temple Menorah
after World War II and served the congregation for 39 years. He was the author
of a textbook for junior and senior high school students entitled Israel
Speaks for Democracy. He also put together a published calendar with a
quote from a prominent person each day of the year.
“Rabbi Israelitan was a member of the Board of Rabbis of
Greater Philadelphia and the Rabbinical Assembly. He was a chaplain of the
Graduate Hospital and a member of the Zionist Organization. Services will be
held on Sunday at Temple Menorah.”
Rabbi Israelitan was buried in King David Memorial Park in
Philadelphia following a lifetime in the clergy, leading congregations in the
United States.