[6] Abraham Lincoln Krohn was rabbi of Beth Israel from 1938 to 1953, and during his tenure the congregation grew from under 100 to almost 600 member families.

A formal congregation was established by Barnett E. Marks, a lawyer from Chicago, who held services in a room over Melczer's saloon, and also organized a Sunday School to provide a Jewish education for his two sons.

[5][11] That year the congregation raised $14,000 (today $239,000) and hired the architectural firm Lescher, Kibbey and Mahoney to design and construct a synagogue building near Central Avenue and Culver Street, in Downtown Phoenix.

[2][9] The building, a simple, stuccoed, gable-end-to-the-street Mission Revival Style structure, was constructed in 1921–1922, and an annex added in 1930.

The synagogue served as a cultural center for the Jewish community, including hosting communal Passover Seders, at a time when Jews faced discrimination at hotels and other places of public gathering.

[8] He adopted the Reform Judaism's Union Prayer Book and its religious school curriculum, and added choir music to the services.

[8] Born in 1893 and named after Abraham Lincoln, Krohn was one of eight children of Russian Jews who had immigrated to the United States.

According to Ira Morton of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society: The organizations he served in the capacity of president or board member include B'nai Brith, the Urban League, the Maricopa Mental Health Association and Child Guidance Clinic, Phoenix Public Library, Phoenix Elementary School District, the American Red Cross, the Roosevelt Council of Boy Scouts, the United Fund (later changed to United Way) and the Jewish Family Service (now Jewish Family & Children's Service), which Krohn founded.

Krohn also served as president of the Valley of the Sun Symphony Orchestra, which later became the Phoenix Symphony, moderator of a Phoenix town hall lecture series, lecturer in biblical literature at Arizona State University and as a civilian chaplain for neighboring military bases and hospitals during World War II.

[7]During Krohn's tenure the congregation began calling itself "Temple Beth Israel",[17] and under his leadership the synagogue flourished.

[6] During World War II, Beth Israel provided religious services for servicemen stationed at Luke Air Force Base, and hosted dances for the military personnel there.

[7] Krohn had also been active in interfaith work,[6] and in June, 1958 was named Man of the Year by the National Conference of Christians and Jews at its annual dinner.

[21] Plotkin had started his rabbinic career as assistant rabbi of Temple De Hirsch in Seattle, his first pulpit after ordination.

There he met his future wife Sylvia Pincus, whose family were long-time members of Temple De Hirsch.

They married a year later, and shortly after moved to Spokane, Washington, where Plotkin became senior rabbi at Temple Emanuel.

He was a strong Zionist at Hebrew Union College, at a time when the movement was unpopular there, and was later a staunch supporter of Israel.

He founded the Jewish Studies program at Arizona State University and taught there, and volunteered for 25 years as a chaplain at Phoenix Veterans Hospital.

[21][23] Beth Israel added a "cultural and educational wing" to its Flower Street building in 1967, and in it Sylvia Plotkin founded a Jewish museum.

[24] The museum had three galleries: one "house[d] artifacts from a Tunisian synagogue, a second [held] a Judaica collection that chronicle[d] the history of Arizona Jewry and a third [was] used for exhibitions.

[2] Tabaknek left to join Temple Shalom in Succasunna, New Jersey in 2000, and was replaced by Andrew Meyer as cantor and Michael Sokol as "cantorial soloist".

Meyer had previously served for five years as spiritual leader of Temple Beth Emeth in Scottsdale, Arizona.

[18] For financial reasons, Levin's job as museum director was reduced from 25 to 12 hours per week in 2004, and the position made volunteer in 2005.

[18][34] Located in the historic former synagogue building at 122 East Culver Street, Phoenix, the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center was named in honor of both Rabbi Emeritus Albert Plotkin who had served as rabbi for nearly forty years, and Lawrence Cutler, a major donor to the synagogue.