(JTA) — A synagogue in Atlanta that said it would open for daily prayers reversed course shortly after its original announcement.
Chabad Israeli Center Atlanta – Congregation Beit Reuven, an Orthodox synagogue with many Israeli members, backtracked on Thursday after announcing the previous day that it would reopen, the Forward reported.
The synagogue was the first in the country to announce that it was reopening after social distancing restrictions connected to the coronavirus pandemic were lifted, according to the Forward.
In the email about reopening, administrators said daily prayer services would be held three times a day starting Sunday. But Beit Reuven’s director, Rabbi Mendy Gurary, in an email the following day, said the synagogue would remain closed. The second email came hours after the Forward reported about the planned reopening.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp last week said that houses of worship would be allowed to operate under certain conditions.
“We originally made the decision based on the governor’s announcement of reopening public places such as malls, gyms and houses of worship,” Gurary wrote in the email. “Chabad in Georgia has decided to take extra precautionary measures.”
