4. Jewish History of Egypt

Jewish History of Egypt

Virtual

In the summer of 2017, a Diarna research team to Egypt was granted unprecedented access to digitally document 13 synagogues as well as other Jewish historical sites. Most of these structures had been closed or otherwise off-limits, a status they held, in some cases, for decades. Follow in the footsteps of Diarna’s researchers as you explore this online exhibit of synagogues in Cairo and Alexandria, poignant reminders of Egypt’s enduring Jewish cultural heritage.

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Virtual Tour

Ma'alla Cemetery in Aden

Located at the foot of an ancient volcano, the Ma'alla Street cemetery is the most modern of Aden's (عدن ,עדן) four Jewish cemeteries. Located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, the cemetery's graves face north toward Jerusalem - an unusual orientation as most Jewish cemeteries in the world face east or west towards Jerusalem. Featuring hundreds of tombs in all shapes and sizes - some with gold inscription plates - the cemetery served the community from 1860 until Aden's last Jews were evacuated by the British in 1967. With no new burials in over four decades, the Ma'alla Street cemetery stands as a silent testament to a once vibrant Jewish community at the southern tip of Arabia - one with roots going back over 2,000 years. In recent years the cemetery appears to have been repeatedly vandalized.
Virtual Tour

Jewish Algeria

The Great or Grand Synagogue, also known as the Great Temple1, in Algiers was built by Napoleon III and inaugurated in 1865 as a monumental house of worship for the Jews of Algeria’s capital, Algiers. The Great Synagogue is an icon that has been called the “greatest symbol of Algerian Judaism.” Located in the heart of the city’s Casbah, the synagogue is also known as “Synagogue de Rue Randon” (its location) or “Synagogue Bloch” (in memory of Algiers’ one-time chief rabbi). To this day local Muslims refer to it as the “mosque of the Jews” (“Djamaa Lihoud”), and it has in fact been converted into a mosque. On December 11, 1960, the synagogue was attacked by Algerian independence fighters and desecrated– an incident that signaled the beginning of the end for Algerian Jews. Sidi Bel Abbès is located in northwestern Algeria, along the Mekerra River, in the center of the vast plain between Jebel Tessala in the north and the Daya Mountains in the south. Jews from Oran, Tlemcen, and Mascara began to settle there in 1851, and by 1868, Sidi Bel Abbès's Jewish population numbered about 800. The Jewish community grew to 2,941 in 1921, and about 3,200 in 1954. By the time of Algerian independence in 1962, however, a majority of the Jews from Sidi Bel Abbès settled in France, and Israel.
Virtual Tour

Jewish History of Libya

Inside the Dar Bishi Synagogue in Tripoli, Libya, paint peels from the walls and refuse litters the floors. The entrances and most of the windows have been covered with bricks, although the windows high up in the synagogue's dome remain open, letting sunlight in to illuminate the ruined room below. Despite the efforts of Dr. David Gerbi, a Libyan Jew who returned to Tripoli in 2011 after more than 40 years abroad, the synagogue remains closed and empty. However, it has escaped the fate of many of Libya's synagogues, which have been repurposed into other buildings or demolished entirely. The Bahri (בחרי, بحري) Synagogue and mikveh in Yefren is on the edge of the city, near the ridge, had a mikveh in the compound as well. There seems to have been a larger room and smaller room with the larger room having multiple columns and archways to support the ceiling and a second story for ladies. There were minimal windows in the prayer room. There are some ceiling inscriptions in this synagogue as well.
Virtual Tour

The Moroccan Jews

Jewish heritage tours of Morocco typically cycle through Casablanca, Tangiers, Fes, and Marrakesh. But the Jewish Moroccan heartland lies south of these metropolitan centers, in the towns and villages of the Atlas mountains and Sahara desert. Here, Jewish life punctuated the landscape, legendary rabbis helped sustain rural communities, and a distinctive Judeo-Amazigh (Berber) culture developed over the course of two millennia. Decades after the community’s dissolution, the once-vibrant Jewish heritage these sites embody is ubiquitous yet hidden, seemingly indelible but inevitably fading. Where it still exists, it does so behind unmarked walls, just off treacherous dirt trails, deep within mountains, in the annual pilgrimages (hillulot) that attract hundreds of expatriates — and increasingly only in the memories of aging Muslim former neighbors as well as the superstitions that they have bequeathed to their children and grandchildren. D’fina means “covered” or “buried” in the Moroccan dialect, a fitting–and, in some cases, literal–description of what remains.
Virtual Tour

Jewish Tunisia

During her trip, she encountered both sides of Tunisia’s Jewish heritage: the vibrant and colorful synagogues and communities of Djerba and Tunis, and the eerily empty synagogues and schools of the country’s interior such as in Matmata and Tatouine.See what she saw as you take your very own journey to Tunisia through this interactive Diarna exhibit. The Bet Yaakov Synagogue of Tunis is a modest building on a narrow, pleasant little street, la Rue de Loire, in the center of Tunis. The Synagogue lies flush with the rest of the buildings on the street, and distinguishes itself as a religious site only by a decorative Star of David on its facade, and a Hebrew inscription above the door, בית ׳עקב, Bet Yaakov. The inside of the building is similarly modest, and quite small, especially when compared to more grandiose Tunis synagogue constructions like the Great Synagogue of Tunis, consecrated in 1938. The Matmata, who became famous for their troglodyte habitats, were a tribe that Jews were actively involved in for a very long time. The Jewish community at Matmata developed and adopted the local habitat mode and installed a semi-troglodyte synagogue that still remains today. It is built in local stone and half-buried into the earth, with its integration into the astonishingly barren landscape of the valley punctuated with cavities being remarkable. The synagogue is only identifiable by the skylight, which acts as a portal to the space underground.
Virtual Tour

National Assembly at Dhaka

At first glance, the Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (National Parliament House) of Bangladesh looks like something out of high fantasy or even science fiction. A monolithic, almost sculptural, concrete building, perforated by huge geometric windows, rises from an artificial lake in the heart of Dhaka like a mythical fortress or a monument left behind by aliens. Designed by American Jewish architect Louis I. Kahn and completed in 1982, the building and surrounding area comprise one of the largest legislative complexes in the world. Kahn’s biographer described the building as “one of the twentieth century’s greatest monuments, and…without question Kahn’s magnum opus.”
Virtual Tour

Discover Urmia and Hamadan

Urmia was home to Aramaic speaking Jews who referred to themselves as Nash-Didan. Some graves and tombstones are still extant. The wall around the cemetery was built a few years ago by a local family. Urmia also had three synagogues, (one of which was the Kalimiyan Synagogue) and an Etihad (later Kalimiyan) school.
Virtual Tour

Jewish Baghdad

An elementary school for boys founded in 1931 by Masuda Yosef Saleh, replacing the Karem Ha-Yeladim School.The school also housed prayer services on Shabbat and Holidays. In 1939 the community provided the school with a new buildling, and by 1950 the school had 393 students, 12 teachers, 9 classes. It is currently a storehouse. In 2016, the Hebrew sign which said כנסת מסעודה סלמאן was still in-situ.
Virtual Tour

The Jews of Beirut

Its stucco roof is shattered. The Ten Commandment tablets at the building’s peak have crumbled and graffiti has been spray-painted in the sanctuary. Nonetheless, the Maghen Abraham Synagogue still stands, having survived more than a decade of Civil War street battles and the near-complete disappearance of Lebanon’s Jewish community. Visible from the sea amidst shiny skyscrapers, the abandoned synagogue is a decaying monument to Beirut’s once-thriving Jewish Quarter, which it once anchored. One of over a dozen synagogues that existed in Beirut—and one of several abandoned synagogues that remain scattered across Lebanon—Maghen Abraham may yet be restored if funds can be raised. In the meantime, its shell evokes both a destroyed past and a ruinous future waiting to be fulfilled.
Virtual Tour

University of Ife

The University of Ife was constructed by the Israeli architect Arieh Sharon between the years 1962 and 1972 with the assistance of architects Eldar Sharon and Harold Rubin. The university is considered one of the premier academic institutions in Nigeria and has produced major award-winning scholars and researchers. The architectural design sets an African sensibility within a European context and effectively underscores the mission of the university. As Sharon stated, "form follows function." The language developed on the Nigerian campus thus integrated local artistic and other motifs in Modernist buildings. The University of Ife: The University of Ife, today known as the Obafemi Awolowo University, was established in 1962 in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. This public university is now considered one of the best universities in Africa, and is home to Nobel Laureate and National Merit Award winning staff members, United Nations publications, and the buildings of Israeli architect Arieh Sharon. Structurally, the University of Ife includes a central campus (with academic, administrative, and service areas), student residential area (with 10 undergraduate hostels and a postgraduate residence hall), staff quarters, and a Teaching and Research Farm.
Virtual Tour

Jewish Sites in Karachi

In the 1920s and 30s, the Edward House was the place to be in Karachi. More specifically, the Café Grand, located on the ground floor of the immense building constructed by Iraqi Jewish architect Moses Somake. Run by confectioner Herbert Cumper, Café Grand was a ritzy, jazzy venue known for its delectable menu and frequented by Karachi’s most famous artists and writers.1 The café closed decades ago, and these days the building now houses offices, shops, and a few residential blocks. Until 2000, one of Café Grand’s signs remained on the building, a last reminder of former glories.2 Moses Somake Although Moses Somake’s buildings are among the most famous and recognizable in Karachi, little is known about the architect who designed them. Somake was born on June 6, 1875, possibly in Lahore. Sources describe him as an Iraqi Jew, but differ as to whether he was born in Iraq or was of Iraqi heritage but born in India. He spent most of his life in Karachi before emigrating to England in the mid 1940s, and died on April 6, 1947.3 During his years in Karachi he designed over a dozen buildings, including mansions, hotels, and a mosque that was never built.4 Many of the buildings still remain: some, including the Karachi Goan Association Hall and the BVS Parsi School, still fulfill their original purpose, while others are neglected or have fallen into disuse. Even the buildings that are virtually abandoned are still recognized as some of Karachi’s most beautiful and striking landmarks, emblematic of a style described as “hauntingly beautiful”.5 Somake’s buildings preserve the past through their uses as well as their designs, recalling the greater religious diversity that existed in Karachi in the early 20th century, when a Jewish architect could be commissioned to design a mosque, a building for a predominantly Christian club, and a school for Zoroastrian students.
Virtual Tour

Discover Khaybar

Just off the main road heading north—about 95 miles outside of Medina—are the remains of Khaybar, a striking oasis that is home to the "Masada of Arabia." At the summit of what is still known as the "Mountain of the Jews" is the Jewish fortress of Qamos. Essentially forgotten by Jews today, this ancient center of Jewish life is remembered throughout the Muslim world, and particularly by Shia, as the scene of a pivotal battle in early Islamic history. Khaybar was divided into three districts—Nataah, Shaq, and Katibah—each of which contained several villages and citadels, often perched on the high ground overlooking the extensive date palm groves, corn fields, and other crops below. The region's volcanic soil and moderate climate made it well-suited for agriculture. In addition to cultivation, the residents were accomplished traders, metal workers, and silk garment producers. These highly prized skills enabled Khaybar to thrive and amass great wealth, especially in comparison to the other communities of the Hijaz.
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השפה העברית בחלקה, תורגמה בעזרת גוגל. לפיכך, מתנצלים מראש אם נמצאו טעויות. תיאמנו את פריסת הדף. אנו עושים כל מאמץ לשיפור מיטבי של התרגום. מקווים שתהנו מהאתר!
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