Great Synagogue of Rome

14 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Fczarnowski/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Fczarnowski/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Great Synagogue of Rome (Italian: Tempio Maggiore di Roma) is the largest synagogue in Rome. The Jewish community of Rome goes back to the 2nd century B.C when the Roman Republic had an alliance of sorts with Judea under the leadership of Judah Maccabeus. At that time, many Jews came to Rome from Judea. Their numbers increased during the following centuries due to the settlement that came with Mediterranean trade. Then large numbers of Jews were brought to Rome as slaves following the Jewish–Roman wars in Judea from 63 to 135 CE.   read more…

Rykestrasse Synagogue in Berlin

13 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  15 minutes

Nave © Mazbln/cc-by-sa-3.0

Nave © Mazbln/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rykestrasse Synagogue, Germany’s largest synagogue, is located in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood in the Pankow borough of Berlin. Johann Hoeniger built the synagogue in 1903/1904. It was inaugurated on 4 September 1904, in time for the holidays of and around Rosh Hashanah. The synagogue stands off the street alignment and is reached by a thoroughfare in the pertaining front building.   read more…

Great Synagogue of Barcelona

12 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  7 minutes

Menorah © Nikodem Nijaki/cc-by-sa-3.0

Menorah © Nikodem Nijaki/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona (Catalan: Sinagoga Major de Barcelona; Spanish: Sinagoga Mayor de Barcelona) is believed to be an ancient synagogue located in the Jewish quarter of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Medieval rabbi Shlomo ben Adret, leader of Spanish Jewry of his time, was the rabbi of the synagogue for 50 years during the late 13th century.   read more…

Kadoorie Synagogue in Porto

11 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  5 minutes

© ComunidadeIsraelitaPorto/cc-by-sa-4.0

© ComunidadeIsraelitaPorto/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue (Portuguese: Sinagoga do Porto/Sinagoga Kadoorie Mekor Haim) is a synagogue of the Jewish community of Porto, situated in the civil parish of Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos, the municipality of Porto, in the Portuguese northern district of Porto. Constructed along the Rua Guerra Junqueiro beginning in 1929 and inaugurated in 1938, it is the largest synagogue in the Iberian Peninsula.   read more…

Grand Synagogue of Paris

10 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Luiza Fediuc/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Luiza Fediuc/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Grand Synagogue of Paris (French: Grande Synagogue de Paris), generally known as Synagogue de la Victoire (English: Synagogue of Victory) or Grande Synagogue de la Victoire (English: Grand Synagogue of Victory), is situated at 44, Rue de la Victoire, in the 9th arrondissement. It also serves as the official seat of the chief rabbi of Paris.   read more…

Córdoba Synagogue

7 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

West wall © Américo Toledano/cc-by-sa-3.0

West wall © Américo Toledano/cc-by-sa-3.0

Córdoba Synagogue (Spanish: Sinagoga de Córdoba) is a historic edifice in the Jewish Quarter of Córdoba (part of the UNESCO World Heritage “Historic centre of Córdoba“), Spain, built in 1315. The synagogue’s small size points to it having possibly been the private synagogue of a wealthy man. It is also possible that Córdoba’s complex of buildings was a yeshivah, kollel, or study hall. Another possibility is that this was the synagogue of a trade guild, which converted a residence or one of the work rooms into the synagogue. The synagogue was decorated according to the best Mudejar tradition.   read more…

Babi Yar

30 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Soviet POWs covering a mass grave after the Babi Yar massacre, October 1, 1941 © history.kby.kiev.ua - Johannes Hähle

Soviet POWs covering a mass grave after the Babi Yar massacre, October 1, 1941 © history.kby.kiev.ua – Johannes Hähle

Babi Yar or Babyn Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany‘s forces during its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. The first and best documented of the massacres took place on 29–30 September 1941, killing some 33,771 Jews. Other victims of massacres at the site included Soviet prisoners of war, communists and Romani people. It is estimated that a total of between 100,000 and 150,000 people were murdered at Babi Yar during the German occupation.   read more…

Geula in West Jerusalem

26 August 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  < 1 minute

Malkhei Yisrael Street © Yoninah/cc-by-sa-3.0

Malkhei Yisrael Street © Yoninah/cc-by-sa-3.0

Geula (lit. Redemption) is a neighborhood in the center of West Jerusalem, Israel, populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on the east and the West Jerusalem city center on the south.   read more…

Portrait: Alfred Dreyfus, a French artillery officer

23 August 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  13 minutes

Alfred Dreyfus © bildindex.de

Alfred Dreyfus © bildindex.de

Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry from Alsace whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. The incident has gone down in history as the Dreyfus affair, the reverberations from which were felt throughout Europe. It ultimately ended with Dreyfus’ complete exoneration. The case remains interesting to this day because it is based on allegations, assumptions and circumstantial evidence without any real probative value, making it a political issue, including in the Jewish community of France itself, which has an impact into modern times. No matter from which direction you look at the affair, there is always a residual doubt and thus an indissolubility. The material for exciting, entertaining and complex cinema films with the possibility of shooting numerous sequels, but for Alfred Dreyfus himself and his family, of course, pure disaster.   read more…

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