Alexandria’s Beth El Hebrew Congregation has named a new senior rabbi, the congregation announced in a news release.

Rabbi David Spinrad will begin his new post on July 1 after longtime senior rabbi Brett R. Isserow retires after 16 years at the congregation. 

Spinrad will join Beth El Hebrew from The Temple in Atlanta. He has also served as director of the Rothschild Social Justice Institute, where he has led initiatives related to racial justice, refugee resettlement, Muslim-Jewish relations, gun sense, public education, poverty and homelessness, LGBTQ equality and inclusivity, women’s rights and the environment. 

Spinrad will become the sixth rabbi of the longstanding Alexandria congregation. Beth El Hebrew was founded in 1859, which makes it the oldest reform congregation in Northern Virginia.