As the congregants’ children and grandchildren moved to the suburbs, Beth El’s membership aged and dwindled.
Last year, the 1,200-seat sanctuary attracted barely 50 worshippers, most in their 70s and 80s.
Around the same time as this decline, a trickle — and then a stream of Iranian Jews — arrived in Los Angeles. They now number an estimated 30,000, the largest such concentration in the United States.
The synagogue complex changed hands earlier this month upon payment of $2.8 million and will now be known as the Hollywood Temple Beth El/Iranian American Jewish Center.
More than 600 Iranians each week and 2,500 during the High Holy Days are expected to attend traditional services in Persian and Hebrew. A smaller auditorium will be available to the remaining members of the old Ashkenazi congregation.