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| Kol haKEHILA is an independent publication, published
four times a year. Its purpose is to inform the general public on the state
of the Jewish monuments in Greece today. Its goal is to encourage support,
research and assistance towards the preservation of the Jewish monuments
throughout Greece. Readers of Kol haKEHILA are encouraged
to contribute information on research, documentation, preservation, exhibitions,
new publications, and all other information relevant to the history, architecture,
current state and preservation of the Greek Jewish monuments. Production
and distribution of Kol haKEHILA is made possible through
your support.
This issue was written and edited by Elias V. Messinas. Special thanks to all those who supported Kol haKEHILA and contributed information. Editor: Elias V. Messinas, AssocAIA, RA, Architect-researcher Address: Kol haKEHILA, POB 8062, Jerusalem 91080, Israel E-mail: elias.messinas@aya.yale.edu |
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| Greek synagogues are modest buildings. Like their counterparts in Turkey,
they are often hidden behind walls, accessed through small doors from the
market or side streets. Their importance is not so much their architecture:
they are the remnants of an ancient tradition, which in most parts of Greece
has been lost. They are also the remains of thriving communities that perished
during World War II. Their preservation and study is an obligation, and
perhaps, a last opportunity to preserve a tradition which is being lost
to immigration, assimilation, and ignorance.
I returned to Greece in the summer of 1993, after spending ten years abroad studying and working in Israel and the United States. Coming from a world where Jewish heritage was considered worthy of preservation, I was shocked to find that the conservation of Greek synagogues was not on the agenda of Greek or Greek Jewish officials. The extent to which this was not an issue was revealed when I started to reveal in articles the endangered state of Greek Jewish heritage, only to be told that I was threatening the well being of the community! Despite this indifference, I began surveying and studying the remaining synagogues in Greece, supported partially by the World Monuments Fund and a seed grant from the Jewish Museum of Greece. The Romaniots, the original Jewish population of the eastern Mediterranean, Constantinople, the Balkans, and Asia Minor, have been living in the area since antiquity. Both the Greek historian and geographer Strabo and the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria report that organized Jewish communities existed throughout the known world in the first centuries A.D. In Greece, substantial communities are known to have existed in Thessaly, Beotia, Macedonia, Aetolia, Attica, Argos, Corinth, most parts of Peloponnese, and the islands of Euboea and Crete. In the first century A.D., Greek Jewish communities were visited by St. Paul the Apostle during the course of his second journey, where he preached Christianity in the synagogues at Philippi, Thessaloniki (Salonika), Veroia, Athens, and Corinth. During the Byzantine and early Ottoman times the Jewish presence in Greece was maintained, but little is known of their life, customs, and architecture. Our knowledge is mostly through laws issued either to persecute or defend them, and through travelers' diaries, such as Benjamin (Ben Jonah) of Tudela, a Jewish traveler of the second half of twelfth century. Benjamin visited the Greek Jewish communities in Corfu, Arta, Patras, Corinth, Thebes, Egripo (Halkida), Salonika (Thessaloniki), and Drama. The year 1492 marked an important revival of Jewish life in Greece, as many of the expelled Sephardic Jews of Spain , and later Portugal, found refuge in the Greek territories and cities of the Ottoman Empire. The long fighting between the Ottomans and the Byzantines had caused most major Greek cities to lose their Jewish populations. In addition, the Ottomans invited or forced Jews to their new capital, Istanbul, to increase its population and revive its trade. The territorial changes in the Balkans throughout the early twentieth century brought changes in the composition and character of the Jewish communities of Greece. Salonika, a Jewish city throughout Ottoman times, became part of Greece in 1913 after the Balkan Wars weakened the Ottoman Empire strategically and territorially. During the 1930s, 31 Jewish communities were dispersed throughout Greece. The largest, Salonika, had more than 50,000 Jews, and no less than 60 synagogues and midrashim (oratories) to serve a diverse community with roots in antiquity, medieval Spain, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and North Africa. The German occupation of Greece annihilated 87 percent of Greece's Jews and destroyed most of its synagogues. Fortunately, a great many artifacts, religious objects, and costumes of the Romaniot and Sepharadi communities have been preserved, many of which were bequeathed to the Jewish Museum of Greece. Important knowledge on Greek Jewish customs, cuisine, costumes, the history of the numerous communities was preserved. Jewish architecture, on the other hand, has not been nearly as fortunate. By the end of World War II, the Jewish community lost a great deal of its community property. Synagogues were destroyed, cemeteries were bulldozed and built over, and property was taken from legal owners. Except for very few photographs and descriptions of survivors, little evidence of these buildings remains. In the post-war years, many more synagogues have been lost , mostly because there has been no Jewish community to use and maintain them. Early Greek synagogues were built by traveling builders' guilds (called isnaf) of the Byzantine and later Ottoman times. These builders established a very distinct architectural style that can be found in northern Greece, the Balkans, Anatolia, and elsewhere in lands that lay within the Ottoman Empire. This tradition was maintained until the mid-nineteenth century, when social and economic reforms were introduced in the Ottoman Empire that exposed it more to European influence. These influences also brought more progressive styles in synagogue architecture, found, for example, in Salonika, as early as the 1890s. The layout of Greek synagogues is also a product of influences from abroad, as these communities were at a crossroads of international trade. The bi-polar type of the Romaniot synagogues is a product, most probably, of Italian influences. In this type, the bimah, or reader's table, is located against the western wall of the synagogue, while the eihal on the eastern. The central bimah, in Sephardic synagogues derives from the Spanish tradition, and the Reform style, of the later Greek synagogues of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, where the bimah and the eihal are located adjacent to each other on at the east end of the synagogue, has its roots in the Reform movement of mid-nineteenth century Germany and Europe. The most effective means of preserving Greece's Jewish architecture is to preserve the buildings themselves. Unfortunately, this effort began only too late, after the Sephardic synagogue of Didmoticho, in Thrace, northern Greece, an astonishing building greatly influenced by the Signora synagogue in Izmir, was demolished in 1985. Also shortly after two more synagogues were demolished in Thrace, northern Greece, in 1994 and 1995 respectively: the Beit El synagogue in Komotini, , a fine example of Balkan construction dating from the mid-nineteenth century, unique for its exposed roof lantern, and the synagogue in Xanthi, an impressive basilica dating from 1926, influenced by the Reform synagogues of Europe and Edirne (Andrianople) in Turkey. These two buildings were demolished shortly after I had the opportunity to survey them in their dilapidated state. Together with their survey and complete photographic documentation, I collected pieces of the buildings, such as floor and roof tiles (the latter made at the famous factory of the Jewish Allatini brothers in Salonika), pieces of the walls with painted floral decoration, a piece of a plaster capital of the columns, and other such "souvenirs." In a way, I was trying to keep their material memory alive, despite the fact that I knew that they were already dead as buildings. Despite this destruction, though, efforts are now under way to preserve three of the most important remaining synagogues in Greece: the synagogue in Veroia, northern Greece, Etz Hayim synagogue in Hania, and Kahal Kadosh Shalom synagogue in Rhodes. The small Jewish communities of Greece, such as Ioannina, Halkida, Trikala, and others, with populations of less than 60 people, are endangered as much as Veroia and Hania were 20 years ago. Soon the communities will disappear and their synagogues will be abandoned. The conservation projects of Veroia and Chania are important case studies and open the way for the preservation of Jewish heritage in smaller Greek communities. Back in 1993, I felt alone in my efforts to preserve Greek Jewish synagogues. Today, only five years later, a new era is dawning for Greek Jewry: the international rediscovery of Greek Jewish heritage is the necessary ingredient to help us preserve it for the generations to come. |
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| After years of neglect and loss of important buildings, Greek Jewry
is entering an era of awareness, care and efforts to preserve the little
that has been left of its history of over 2,000 years. This year, thanks
to the participation and substantial support of international institutions,
three synagogues are in the process of conservation in Greece: the synagogue
in Veroia, northern Greece, Etz Hayim synagogue in Hania, and Kahal Kadosh
Shalom synagogue in Rhodes.
Veroia, located near Salonika, is a small city with ancient history, important not only to Greek Christians, but to Greek Jews as well: Veroia was one of the cities that St. Paul the Apostle visited in 49-52 A.D. during his second journey to Greece to preach Christianity. The synagogue of Veroia, a jewel of Balkan vernacular architecture, remains in a state of neglect, within the fairly well preserved Jewish quarter of the city. This quarter, one of the last remaining in Greece, is unique for its Hebrew inscriptions and verses painted on the exterior walls of the houses. The conservation effort in Veroia, coordinated by the author on behalf of the Municipality of Veroia, has relied for support on two grants from the Getty Grant Program in Santa Monica, CA, and matching funds from the local municipality. The goal of this effort is not only to preserve the last (outside Salonika) and oldest remaining synagogue in northern Greece, an area once scattered with thriving Jewish communities; it is also to create a permanent photographic museum in the basement of the building, presenting the history of the Jewish community, the synagogue, and the conservation program. While the implementation grant requested from the Getty Grant Program is under review, the Hellenic Society "Paideia" of Connecticut, has already pledged to provide for the "seed" funds towards the implementation of the conservation work, by sponsoring the creation of this permanent exhibition. The final phase of the work on the building is scheduled to begin in fall, 1998. Individuals are encouraged to In addition, this synagogue will be nominated for the World Monuments Watch list of endangered sites for 1999 (The conservation project of the synagogue of Veroia will be presented in detail in the next issue of Kol haKEHILA). The synagogue in Hania, Crete, is in the medieval Venetian church of St. Catherine, and is believed to have been transformed into a synagogue in the late seventeenth century. The building has been listed by WMF's World Monuments Watch on its 1996 worldwide list of 100 Most Endangered Sites and in including in WMF's Jewish Heritage Program's list of 10 preservation Priorities. The KIS (owner of the site) and WMF are now sponsoring the restoration of the building with support from individual donors and international foundations. Nikolas Stavroulakis is Project Director for WMF, overseeing a team of architects and conservators. Repair, conservation and restoration of the building will be complete by fall 1998 (already the walls have been structurally repaired and re-plastered, a new roof has been put on, the mikveh has been opened, and the original pavement of the courtyard has been revealed.) A second phase will involve the annex buildings and spaces, creation of a Holocaust memorial, design and installation of new synagogue furnishings, and preparation of exhibition materials. Nikolas Stavroulakis has established a Foundation for the long-term care and operation of the site. The synagogue Kahal Kadosh Shalom in Rhodes, dating from 1575, is the oldest Greek synagogue in use today. This unique building, located in the Jewish quarter of Rhodes, is built and decorated in the traditional 16th century construction techniques of the island. The synagogue is occasionally opened for services by Lucia Soulam-Modiano, keeper of the synagogue. Thanks to the cooperation between Aaron Hasson, Founder and President of the Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation in Los Angeles, and the Jewish community of Rhodes, the synagogue is currently in the process of conservation by a team of local Rhodian architects. |
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| The year 1997, marked by the celebration of Salonika as the
Cultural Capital of Europe, was also very unique to Greek Jewry:
no less than four new museums were established or renovated in Athens,
Salonika (2), and Rhodes, three synagogues were in a process of conservation
in Veroia, Hania, and Rhodes, an exhibition was opened for the first time
on the synagogues of Salonika in Greece and the United States, a long due
Holocaust monument was unveiled in Salonika, and the conservation of the
historic cemetery and museum in Halkida are nearing completion.
An effort was undertaken in Ioannina, recently, towards the preservation of the important Romaniote Jewish history and heritage of the city. This effort was initiated by a group of Athenian Jews of Ioannina decent, who established the Society of the Romaniotes Friends of the Jewish Museum of Ioannina. The goal of this society is the establishment of a Jewish Museum in Ioannina. The Speros Basil Vryonis Center for the Study of Hellenism, in Sacramento, CA, in cooperation with the Foundation for Hellenic Culture, in New York, is organizing for the spring of 1999, the large scale traveling exhibition "Between Two Worlds: European and Ottoman Influences on the Architecture of Greek Synagogues" to be opened at the West Coast and other venues in the United States. Finally, we are focusing our efforts on the conservation of the synagogue in Veroia: the implementation work is scheduled to start in the fall, 1998. Please write to Kol haKEHILA if you wish to support the conservation of this important Jewish monument. |
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Become a partner in this effort! __ YES! I would like to join the effort towards the preservation of Greek Jewish monuments __ Basic
membership $50 per annum - you will receive a gift of postcards depicting
Greek synagogues.
__ YES! I would like to become an active participant in this effort and help in the preservation of Greek Jewish monuments - Please contact us in what form you would wish to help in this effort! __ YES! I would like to support the preservation of Greek Jewish monuments __ Sponsor
$500 or more
In the United States please make your tax deductible checks payable to International Survey of Jewish Monuments and mail to P.O.Box 8062, Jerusalem 91080 Israel Name _________________________________Address _______________________________ Telephone _______________ Fax ________________ E-mail __________________________ Enclosed is my check for $ ______________For the project ________________ / Kol haKEHILA Signature _____________________
Date _________
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