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JEWISH HERITAGE EUROPE
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GREECE NEWS PAGE
Ioannina - Funds sought for Synagogue Repair (September 2006)
Jewish Museum of Rhodes Reopens (July 2006)
The Jewish Community of Ioannina, Greece, is fundraising for the repair of recent damage to their 19th-century Romaniote Synagogue.
The damage was caused by extremely wet winter weather. Moses Eliasaf, President of the Community, says the water damaged exterior masonry and has caused leaks that now threaten the interior.
The Kahal Kadosh Yashan, or Old Synagogue, is the only one to survive in this northern Greek city, and one of the best preserved Jewish historic sites in the country. Although temporary repairs have been carried out, more permanent work is urgently required if further damage this winter is to be prevented. The cost of the restoration is estimated at 11,700 Euro. The Ioannina community's sister congregation in New York, the small but active Kehila Kedosha Janina, has promised to help raise funds.
The synagogue is located at 16 Iounstinianou (Justinian) Street in Ioannina, to the rear of what was once the city's Jewish quarter. The stone structure was built in 1829 on the site of an older synagogue, probably built in the 17th century when the Jews moved into this area.
The sparse and spacious interior of the building is divided into three parallel sections. The Ark (ehal) and bimah face one another across the length of the central section. A dome covers the central part of this nave. Seating is arranged in benches along the side spaces of the synagogue. The synagogue interior is one of the best preserved and most beautiful in Greece.
Rosh Hashanah events in Ioannina
From 20-27 September, Yanniotes from around the world will gather in their native or ancestral city to celebrate Rosh Hashanah in Ioannina. Isaac Dostis, the founder of the Museum at Kehila Kedosha Janina, will lead this tour.
The visiting group will stay at a new Jewish-owned bed and breakfast in Ioannina, the family home of Toula Matsa, the youngest daughter of the late Joseph Matsas.
In addition, New York-based photographer Vincent Giordano, who has been filming and photographing New York's Kehila Kedosha Janina congregation and their building as part of his project Before the Flame Goes Out, will be spending several weeks in Ioannina this Autumn. As part of a project sponsored by the International Survey of Jewish Monuments, he will document the synagogue and cemetery, record histories of community members, and film many community activities. ISJM has received contributions from private foundations in England and the United States to support this work.
For further information, see:
Rosh Hashanah: kehila_kedosha_janina@netzero.net
Kehila Kedosha Janina: www.kkjsm.org/
Before the Flame Goes Out: www.romaniotelegacy.org/
On 28 April 2006, after two years of restoration, the Jewish Museum of Rhodes re-opened to the public. The Museum is in the Old City of Rhodes, in rooms adjacent to the Kahal Shalom synagogue. It is located in what, until the Holocaust, were the women's prayer rooms of the synagogue. The Jews of Rhodes were then deported to Auschwitz and the rooms became vacant.
In 1997 the Jewish Museum of Rhodes was established utilizing two of the rooms, whose roofs had become damaged in the intervening decades, allowing water into the building. The museum was created to advance public awareness and appreciation of the unique history of the Rhodes Jewish community with a photographic collection which documents pre-war Jewish life in Rhodes.
In 2004 the Jewish Community of Rhodes undertook the long needed repair of the roof and interior restoration. In addition, the Museum has expanded from the original two rooms into the four additional rooms, making it now six rooms.
For more information about the museum and the historic Kahal Shalom Synagogue see:
www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/
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