Abraham I. Rosenberg Papers

Abraham Isaac Rosenberg (June 2, 1912-February 10, 1985), a native of Poland and descendent of a line of rabbis, first came to Savannah, Georgia, from Baltimore, Maryland in 1944 as a military chaplain for Jewish soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Stewart. In 1944, he began over forty years of service as rabbi to Congregation B'nai B'rith Jacob and served during the congregation's move to its present site at 5444 Abercorn Street. Rosenberg helped design the stained glass windows and murals which decorate the synagogue. He helped found the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, a worldwide program for Orthodox Jewish pre-teens and teenagers, in 1955. Locally, he was involved in Savannah's civil rights movement during the 1960s, the Chatham Clinic for Alcoholism, and the Chatham-Savannah Mental Health Association. In 1972, Rosenberg received the Chief Rabbi Herzog Gold Medal Award from the Religious Zionists of America. Rosenberg was married to Sylvia Rabinowitz with whom he had a son, Jules Rosenberg, and a daughter, Judy Rosenberg Sklar. Rosenberg died in 1985, and in 1986, Congregation B’nai B’rith Jacob dedicated the Abraham I. Rosenberg Education Complex in honor of his work in establishing educational programs for Savannah's Jewish children.