Letter to the Editor – September/October 2025

To the Editor:

“PILOT Program Could Ease Tax Burden,“ by Max Colice (Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter, July/August 2025) is an interesting discussion of the possibility that entities exempt from taxes, such as religious organizations and private schools, could make a meaningful contribution to Belmont’s bottom line. As part of his piece, Colice lists the 10 top tax-exempt entities. Last on the list is the Jewish Community Center; the name is not one that is commonly known.

In fact, the Jewish Community Center is the Beth El Temple Center located at 2 Concord Avenue. It came into being when the Belmont and Watertown Jewish Community Center built and opened a Reform synagogue. The link that follows contains information about it provided by the Massachusetts Historical District Commission: www.belmont-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4916/2-Concord-Avenue-PDF.

Speaking as a Beth El congregant, I note that listing Beth El Temple Center as the Jewish Community Center is more than a little confusing. It seems improbable that Colice does not know that the address listed with the town is Beth El Temple Center; Beth El is the only synagogue in Belmont. However, in the unlikely event he did not know this, the difference in the two names should have prompted him to investigate this.

Of more serious concern is Colice’s apparent assumption that Beth El Temple Center is not contributing to the town. Again, please be aware that I speak as a congregant and do NOT represent the synagogue. I do, however, attend the various congregational meetings; budgetary information is some of the information provided to attendees.

Beth El operates on a very tight budget. Nevertheless, the congregation believes that it should be contributing to the town. Accordingly, it donates service by making the building available without charge to the town for a variety of activities. For example, the Belmont Department of Health has held many, if not most, of its vaccination clinics at Beth El since Governor Charlie Baker closed down an excellent three-town vaccination clinic set up by Arlington, Lexington, and Belmont during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the new library has been under construction, Beth El has been the polling place for Precinct 1.

That Colice appears not to have investigated this takes away from his article and the point he is trying to make. Colice should have investigated more deeply, and he should also have placed a monetary value on the contribution that Beth El Temple Center already makes to the town of Belmont, a contribution that amounts to a PILOT payment.

Judith Feinleib, a Beth El Temple Center congregant, is also a Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member and writes the “If I May” blog. She has a doctorate in political science and, as an independent consultant, helps people with social media posting, writing, and in-house and external corporate communications.

Editor’s Note:  The Belmont Assessor’s Office lists the owner of the property at 2 Concord Avenue as “Jewish Comm[unity] Center.”