USA: Modern Orthodox / Orthodox Modernism I, Beth David in Binghamton, NY

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Exterior. It was wet morning, and the concrete holds the dampness. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Front elevation drawing. image: Recent American Synagogue (NY: The Jewish Museum, 1963).  

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. One of two concrete columns at entrance to front courtyard. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

USA: Modern Orthodox / Orthodox Modernism I: 
Beth David in Binghamton, NY, Designed by Werner Seligmann
by Samuel D. Gruber

When I stayed over in the Binghamton, New York, the other week, I had an opportunity to attend early morning services at the Orthodox Congregation Beth David.  This small building has long been known by religious architecture cognoscenti as a masterwork of modern design; an example of Orthodox Modernism for the Modern Orthodox. Designed as a light box perched atop a heavy base; the small building is full of big ideas. In its creation of a welcoming unified space Beth David is a forerunner of the many small sanctuaries built since the 1990s that strive for "intimacy" and to create "community." Since it was designed for a small Orthodox congregation the sanctuary dimensions hardly exceed those used for chapels at the some of the large suburban synagogues also built in the 1960s.

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Sanctuary. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

 Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Sanctuary, view of Ark and bimah. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

 

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Plans: Recent American Synagogue Architecture (NY: The Jewish Museum, 1963).

The small building, set on an urban corner, was designed by Werner Seligmann and dedicated in February, 1964, at the time when Seligmann was teaching architecture at Cornell University.  The budget was less than $200,000 and the building lot is only 80 x 120 feet. Seligmann managed to pack a lot into this space and to accommodate the needs an Orthodox congregation, including two kitchens, mikvah, and places for congregants to store books and tallit, and also a well-designed hand washing station near the social hall.

Seligmann would later design the synagogue in nearby Cortland, New York, where he lived, and go on to be Dean of the School of Architecture at Syracuse University (where I knew him slightly in his later years). The scale of Beth David fits in the neighborhood of late 19th and early 20th-century wood frame houses, but the style is distinct. Constructed mostly of poured concrete and concrete block (polished on the inside) Beth David is a superb example of how urban contextualism does not require stylistic imitation, but rather a sympathy for scale and massing. 

As Seligmann's colleague Bruce Coleman has pointed out, Beth David has roots in the work of both Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. The building was, still unfinished, selected for inclusion in the seminal 1963 Jewish Museum exhibition on new synagogue design curated by Richard Meier. Seligmann and Beth David also won a Progressive Architecture citation for religious architecture that same year. In his remarks about the project included in the exhibition catalog, Seligmann quoted Corbusier on form. The sanctuary design, however, especially recalls Wright's work (Unity Temple and even some early house designs. Susan Solomon, in her book Louis I. Kahn's Jewish Architecture (Walthan, Ma: Brandeis univ Press, 2009), offers an enthusiastic appreciation of Beth David and also links it to Louis Kahn's designs. 

Seligmann wrote:  

"...Hierarchy was quite clearly a problem. There was not enough room on the site to organize the whole axially with the sanctuary as the center, but it was possible to contrast the sanctuary to the other functions. Isolation is a powerful way to create hierarchical significance. This was all possible in the design of the Beth David Synagogue by moving the sanctuary to the roof top. ...By form I do not refer to shape, but to the ideas organizing it, just as we talk of form in poetry or music. Form in this sense is a matter of the mind, it is a way in which knowledge is made manifest. Architecture speaks primarily through its form and, as Le Corbusier says, "it will strike a chord in us, when form has been sparked by poetic emotion. Passion creates drama out of inert stone."

Interestingly, Seligmann makes no reference to the Talmudic recommendation that synagogues be located high up, nor does he refer to the tradition of upper story sanctuaries in Germany, his own country of origin (which he may not have know) and Italy (which he probably did). Nonetheless, the experience of reaching the sanctuary is one of "going up" (aliyah).

 

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Plans. Sections. Images: Recent American Synagogue Architecture (NY: The Jewish Museum, 1963).

The upper level is reached from either external steps to the roof, or more regularly from an interior stair lit by a skylight. Both lead to a glass faced vestibule that opens onto the roof and into the sanctuary. Seligmann planned a roof garden at this level, but like him planned garden outside the Cortland synagogue, this was never implemented. Consequently, at both buildings the architects interlined dialog between planned space and natural forms, never got started. It was left for other architects in the 1960s to carry this forward. The flat roof serves as both a podium and a frame for the central elevated sanctuary space. Practically, however, the large expanse of flat roof (which I got to know well, since got locked out there!) has caused problems over the years as do most 1960s flat roofs in the snow, ice and water filled Birmingham weather.
 

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Stair from front courtyard to roof. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. View into vestibule and sanctuary from roof. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

 Binghamton, NY. Beth David. View from sanctuary to roof and neighboring houses. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

The morning was overcast when I visited, but still the sanctuary glowed with light which entered form every side.  The sanctuary reminds me of the bridge of ship, one can look out all sides. For the separation of men and women Seligmann and the congregation eschewed the use of a gallery (which would have made the building that much higher). Instead the women's seating in included in the broad space of the sanctuary, but set slightly higher and to the side, and they face inward.

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. View to bimah. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

 
Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Bimah. Some new rails have been added for the safety of the congregation's aging members. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. View to Ark showing both women's and men's seating. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

A more common version of this plan, a favorite of mine for Orthodox shuls, was used very effectively in the early 20th century at Philadelphia's Mikveh Israel designed by Tachau and Pilcher and dedicated in 1909.  More contemporary with Seligmann's work is the Sons of Israel Synagogue in Lakewood, New Jersey, designed by Davis, Brody and Wisniewski and also included in the Jewish Museum exhibit. Seligmann would surely have known the early design from Rachel Wischnitzer's 1955 book Synagogue Architecture in the United States, and he was probably aware of the the Lakewood synagogue, too. Both these plans, however, have all the men's seating facing center as in traditional Sephardi and early American synagogue designs. Seligmann and the Beth David Congregation mix things up a bit; they use this plan and have facing seats near the bimah, but behind are seats facing front in a more common Ashkenazi fashion.Significantly, there is no mechitza in front of the women's seating and today it is practice to bring the Torah to the women when it is carried throughout the sanctuary.

 

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Sanctuary. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

 

Philadelphia, PA. Former Mikveh Israel. Tachau & Pilcher, archs. (1909). View of sanctuary showing raised women's seating on the sides. Photo: R. Wischnitzer, Synagogue Architecture in the United States (Philadelphia: JPS, 1955).

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Philadelphia, PA. Former Mikveh Israel. Tachau & Pilcher, archs. (1909). Plan: R. Wischnitzer, Synagogue Architecture in the United States (Philadelphia: JPS, 1955).

 
Lakewood, NJ. Congregation Sons of Israel. Davis, Brody, Wisniewski, archs. Women's seating is off the edges of the photo behind a mechitza. Photo: Recent American Synagogue Architecture (NY: Jewish Museum, 1963)

The ground floor consists of a central flowing social area, from which other functional space open. There is a hallway to the small daily chapel on the corner of the lot, and to classrooms.  A curved stair leads to the second floor.

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Ground floor flexible space social area. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Stair to second floor. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

 

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. View across roof with added beams for sukkah and the top part of the daily chapel. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Probably the most used space at Beth David is the small tall chapel set on the corner of the lot, where as a block-like tower it guards the intersection of the two streets. This space is used for daily prayers. It incorporates the Ark and a stained glass window of lions flanking an open book with the Ten Commandments, which were transferred from the congregation's previous home. The ceiling seems to float on a frame of natural light which filters into the space. The reader's table is a permanent fixture made of a cast column of concrete.  Similar but taller columns flank the main entrance to the synagogue courtyard.

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Exterior of daily chapel on corner.  Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Chapel, interior. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Chapel, interior. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Binghamton, NY. Beth David. Chapel, reader's table. Photo: Samuel D. Gruber 2015

Modest changes over the decades accommodate the needs of an aging congregation (shallow front steps changed to ramp, new horizontal rails on the bimah), and a few additions that are less sympathetic (air conditioning fixtures on the roof, and an ornate front door at odds with the modern style). In addition, wood beams have been placed across the front courtyard to allow the seasonal erection of a sukkah.Despite these changes, the building conveys most of the spatial and visual experience as intended and the small congregation appears to maintain much of its original spirit, too.

You can read the history of the congregation here.  

Poland: New Director at Krakow's Galicia Jewish Museum

Krakow, Poland. Galicia Jewish Museum. All photos Samuel D. Gruber, 2008.

Poland: New Director at Krakow's Galicia Jewish Museum

The Galicia Jewish Museum founded in April 2004 in Krakow's Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, has appointed a new director, Kazimierz-born Jakub Nowakowski. Nowakowski has worked at the museum since 2005, most recently as its education direction. The museum is located in a former mill building (see photo above) on the edge of Kazimierz, the former suburb to Krakow's Old Town where Jews were permitted to live, and where a vibrant Jewish culture developed over a period of five centuries. The mission of the museum is "to challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions typically associated with the Jewish past in Poland and to educate both Poles and Jews about their own histories, whilst encouraging them to think about the future."

Nowakowski will replace Kate Craddy who has returned to England, to take up an appointment at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham. Craddy herself became director after the death in 2007 of the museum's founder, the British photographer Chris Schwarz. The museum's core exhibition is formed by Chris's photographs of Jewish heritage sites, taken mainly in the 1990s -- they also form the basis for the book Recovering Traces of Memory, with text by Jonathan Webber.
I congratulate Kate on all she has achieved at the museum, and wish Jakub all the best in his new position.

Nowakowski has an MA in History from the Department of Jewish Studies at the Jagiellonian University, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Management and Marketing from the Kraków School of Economics and Computer Science. He also holds a Tour Leader’s License from the City of Kraków.

In addition to its permanent photographic exhibition, the museum hosts traveling exhibitions about history and art, and also has one of Poland's best Jewish book stores and gift shops, and a hospitable cafe that provides a good rest and meeting place in Kazimierz. My family was pleased to donate one of my mother's (Shirley Moskowitz) monoprints from her Polish synagogue series to the museum in 2009, based on her visits to ruined synagogues in 1993. The wntire series had previously been exhibited at the museum.

The Galicia Jewish Museum employs over 20 full- and part-time staff, in Museum Operations; Education and Research; Projects and Publications; External Relations and Communications; and Finances and Administration. New Museum Director Nowakowski is supported by an active Board of Directors in Poland and a Board of Trustees in the UK, led by Chairman Prof. Jonathan Webber (UNESCO Chair of Jewish and Interfaith Studies, University of Birmingham).

Conferences: Reform Judaism and Architecture Conference Postponed

Conferences: "Reform Judaism and Architecture" Conference Scheduled for October in Braunschweig Postponed

(ISJM) The previously announced international conference "Reform Judaism and Its Architecture“ to be organized at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany this October (2010) has been postponed. According to conference organizers at Bet Tfila – the Research Unit for Jewish Architecture in Europe at the Technische Universität logistical conflicts and financial uncertainties have forced the change. The conference is intended to be a follow-up gathering to the highly successful 2007 "Jewish Architecture in Europe," conference, the proceeding of which have just been beautifully published.


New dates for the conference have not been set, but since the rescheduling will surely affect the availability of some planned speakers, those interested in participating should still contact to the organizers.

Here is the original call for papers:

In 2010, Reform Judaism all over the world celebrates the 200th anniversary of its "mother synagogue", the Jacobstempel in Seesen/Harz, consecrated in 1810 and the first reform synagogue to be built. This anniversary serves as an impetus for Bet Tfila – the Research Unit for Jewish Architecture in Europe – to research the beginnings and expansion of reform synagogue architecture from Lower Saxony in Germany to locations all over the world.

Bet Tfila Research Unit, in cooperation with the Institute for the History of German Jews in Hamburg, therefore invites scientists from various disciplines to discuss the complex subject of Reform Judaism and its architecture at a conference in Braunschweig this fall. The discussion will revolve around 19th century building projects of reform congregations, but will not concentrate exclusively on these topics. Possible subjects could relate to the following questions:
- Was there a single type of a reform synagogue?

- What were the mutual relations between liturgical reforms, on the one hand, and the architecture, or inner space design, on the other hand?
- Viewed from a comparative perspective, what can be deduced from the architectural development of Jewish houses of worship?
- What differences and similarities can be drawn from national, European and international comparisons?
- Are there any specific regional elements which characterize Jewish prayer houses?

In addition to considering purely architectural features, interdisciplinary approaches should also be taken into consideration. Scholars of Judaism, musicologists, historians, and liturgy experts are invited to reflect on the differences and similarities between the Jewish communities (Orthodox, Liberal, and Conservative), and to also draw comparisons to the Christian environment (Protestant, Catholic, etc.).

The conference will be conducted in English. Please send a brief abstract (in German or English – max. one A4 page), as well as a short biography, including a list of publications:

Prof. Dr. Harmen H. Thies

Bet Tfila – Forschungsstelle für jüdische Architektur in Europa
Technische Universität Braunschweig

Pockelsstraße 4
38106 Braunschweig
Germany
Fax +49 (0)531/391-2530
www.bet-tfila.org
info@bet-tfila.org

Tajikistan's synagogue demolished

Tajikistan's synagogue demolished

(ISJM) Reuters News Services has reported the demolition of the only synagogue in Tajikistan - a small one-story wood building in the capital city of Dushanbe. The building was probably erected in the late 19^th or early 20^th century. Demolition of the Jewish complex was first announced in 2004, and commenced in February 2006 when a mikveh and classroom building adjacent to the synagogue were razed. The removal of the buildings makes room for a new presidential palace for President Imomali Rakhmon, who has ruled since 1992, and an adjacent park. The Jewish community had previously proposed that the synagogue be renovated and incorporated into the new urban arrangement, but this proposal was rejected.

Instead, the Community, which only numbers a few hundred individuals, has been offered land in a more remote area of the city with permission to build a new synagogue, but it is far from certain that the small, aged and under funded community will be able to do so. Most Tajiki Jews – especially young people - emigrated to Israel after 1990.

The building belonged to the state because Soviet officials nationalized it in 1951 while allowing Jews to continue to worship there. Tajikistan did not restitute the property as has been done on some occasions in other former Soviet Republics. The destruction of the synagogue should not be seen as a specifically anti-Semitic act. Rather, it is a sign that the Jews in Tajikistan are marginalized and of little account. In such circumstances, an authoritarian government can make plans as it chooses.

Ukraine: New Developments in Jewish Quarter in L'viv

Ukraine: New Developments in Jewish Quarter in L'viv
by Samuel D. Gruber

(ISJM) It is period of uncertainty for the future of the Jewish quarter of L'viv, Ukraine, as properties in and around the historic district become available for new development, including lots adjacent to the site of the 16th century Golden Rose Synagogue. So, last week in L'viv, protagonists involved in the planning and development of the future of the city's historic Jewish neighborhood (part of the larger historic center which is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site) gathered together for a "roundtable" discussion sponsored by .The Center for Urban History of East Central Europe (see: http://www.lvivcenter.org/). Part of the regular Kolo Lvova series, last month's topic was "Around Staroevreiska Street: At the Heart of Lviv's Jewish Heritage," and drew about 20 people, most of whom are in some way stakeholders in the future of the area. This discussion was seen as an important step forward for a area with a contested history, and where there has been a lack of clear process in planning efforts.

Later this fall (October 29-31) The Center for Urban History will also host an exhibition about historic Jewish L'viv (also known as Polish Lvov and Austrian Lemberg) and an international conference "Urban Jewish Heritage and History in East Central Europe."

Participants in last week's discussion included a representative of the city administration; Jewish activist Meylakh Shekhet, who heads the "Yevreiske Vidrodzhennia" (Jewish Revival & Rekindling the Jewish Flame), a Jewish cultural organization housed in premises adjacent to the historic Golden Rose (or TaZ) Synagogue; and Yuri Lukomski, the local archaeologist now at work excavating lots in the area. There were also several writers, artists, and museum experts present.

Importantly, the meeting also drew the local developer who recently purchased a property north of the former synagogue with the intent of constructing a hotel. That project and its impact on the
archaeological record and on the overall appearance of the neighborhood has been the cause of great concern. It is hoped that public interest – locally and internationally – in the fate of the
district will convince the developer to cooperate with local historians, archaeologists and preservationists to create a project appropriate for the location.

The Center for Urban History provides a "neutral" space in L'viv where complex and often conflicting attitudes towards the city and its history can be explored. While there was no specific goal for the discussion, and no specific results came of it, the organizers and participants believe it is an important stage in developing a consistent and open process. . Tarik Amar, Academic Director of the Center, reports that there are plans to form a group of those interested in Jewish heritage to continue these discussions.

I will be reporting more about Jewish L'viv in upcoming posts.

Europe: September 7th set for European Day of Jewish Culture

Visitors to Jewish sites in Florence, Italy on European Day of Jewish Culture, 2003
photos: Samuel D. Gruber

Europe: September 7th set for European Day of Jewish Culture

(ISJM) This year’s European Day of Jewish Culture has been set for September 7, 2008. The day is a celebration of Jewish heritage sites and culture across Europe and is now observed in 30 countries. Developed following a program in Alsace that arranged for dozens of usually inaccessible synagogues, former synagogues and cemeteries to be open to the public, the Day of Jewish Culture now includes almost every conceivable type of cultural event including lectures, concerts, tours, and seminars. But access to Jewish sties for a wide (and mostly local public) and instruction about them remains at the heart of the celebration.

This year, the theme is “Testimonies”, chosen to highlight the cultural “imprint” left by the Jews wherever they have lived in Europe. Thus, the Cultural Day unites those places which retain active Jewish communities and those Jewish spaces without Jews.

Participating countries include Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom. In past years throughout Europe as many as 1,000 volunteers joined to organize and coordinate events.

The official program for the day is posted as it is developed, at www.jewisheritage.org

Each country arranges its day differently. For some, it is the only time that certain places are open. Elsewhere, the Day is used to draw attention to otherwise little-known sites that are now accessible year-round.

Since 2004, the event has being co-organized by B’nai B’rith Europe, the European Council of Jewish Communities and Red de Juderías de España. For more information: www.jewisheritage.org; details of the events online from June 2007 onwards.

Fate of early modern synagogue in Phoenix, Arizona, linked to Holocaust survivors and Steven Spielberg, remains unresolved

Fate of early modern synagogue in Phoenix, Arizona, linked to Holocaust survivors and Steven Spielberg, remains unresolved
by Samuel D. Gruber

Demolition of the former synagogue known in Phoenix as Beth Hebrew (or Beth Hebree), an important early modern American synagogue, is still a likely possibility, despite efforts of local preservationist and developer Michael Levine who has sought to save the building. Many architects and historians in the United States and Europe have written to the Phoenix Mayor and other officials to save the building.

The former synagogue served until recently as the home of the Phoenix's Black Theater, which despite receiving grants to restore the building, decided to sell it instead, preferring new and bigger quarters. Levine unsuccessfully tried to purchase the building in order to save it, but it was recently sold to another buyer who may demolish it outright, or allow it to be destroyed through neglect.

The former Beth Hebrew at 333 E. Portland Street, while a small and seemingly simple building, is large in architectural and historical significance. It was designed in 1954 by Max Kaufman, and is an important and even exemplary example of early modern synagogue architecture in United States, and is among a handful of innovative modern interpretations of the traditional synagogue form which were built across the country – often by small congregations of modest means – in the first decade after World War II. These synagogues, almost all of which were inspired, sponsored or designed by Jewish refugees from Europe, laid the foundation for the widespread acceptance and use of modern architecture not only for synagogues in America, but for religious buildings of all denominations. Synagogue congregations, since they are independent bodies, could quickly decide to build in the new style for both practical and philosophical or religious reasons – they could be stylistic innovators and leaders, not followers. Other religious denominations, which are organized hierarchically, had to wait several years for stylistic (and functional) changes to be broadly accepted before adopting modern designs.

Orthodox Jewish congregations, of which Beth Hebrew was Phoenix's first, were particularly drawn to the modern style for religious and aesthetic reasons since they more strictly interpret the Bible's Second Commandment which forbids many types of decoration. Orthodox Jews also especially value the practical and symbolic qualities of light – in which Kaufman's design excelled. According to the book of Genesis light was a creation of God on the first day. Natural light also facilitates the required (thrice-weekly) reading of the Torah, and daily prayer. Orthodox Jews are also more apt to view the synagogue building as a container for prayer for their community – rather than as civic or public monument (or the sort that had become popular in American in the pre-War period). Such congregations favored intimacy over ostentation, which explains why Beth Hebrew was easily adapted for use as a small theater.

Kaufman's design relates to the first synagogue building of the great German-Jewish refugee architect Eric Mendelsohn – B'nai Amoona (1947-50) in St. Louis, and also to two 1960s synagogues of another Holocaust survivor, Werner Seligman (perhaps not coincidentally, B'nai Amoona is now used a performance space in a community culture center). To understand the continuing influence Beth Hebrew's style on synagogues you need only travel to nearby Scottsdale to see Will Bruder's Kol Ami. Like Beth Hebrew, Kol Ami uses simple forms and inexpensive materials to create a dynamic shape, and open flexible interior space, and it uses light as a dramatic and symbolic element.

The materials of Beth Hebrew are simple, but the design is elegantly refined to serve its function. Sightlines and especially the placement of the high clerestory windows are carefully considered. The high windows of the sanctuary provided light without distraction (as prescribed by many rabbis). There is also a kind of skylight set above the reader's desk where natural light falling on the desk (bimah) could offer dramatic effect, but it also helped the Torah reader to see – especially at the Sabbath morning Torah reading, when the use of artificial lights is discouraged.

Beth Hebrew is important for another reason. Like the mythical bird the Phoenix, for which its home city is named, the synagogue represents a Jewish community of Holocaust refugees that was reconstituted and reinvigorated out of the very real ashes of their destroyed communities, and the ashes of the six million European dead. Phoenix-like, Jewish survivors, led by the real Jewish hero Mr. Elias Loewy, rebuilt their lives in their new home of Phoenix and significantly rebuilt a new Jewish identity and life. Like so many across America after the war, their urge was to sustain identity but break from history – a history that had failed them. Architecturally, this meant finding a style of synagogue that was practical, but also managed to translate traditional forms into a new and modern idiom.

The need to appreciate the aspirations and achievement of these survivors is enough in itself to force us to give this small building great consideration. Loewy's story is as remarkable as any that one is likely to hear from the Holocaust period. He saved hundreds of people in France through his courage and wits, and when he came to Phoenix he continued to aid the needy through the founding of the Jewish Free Loan Society, a critical lifeline for the displaced and forgotten. This Society helped recent immigrants enter the American mainstream quickly and with dignity.

That these same survivors appear to have passed the story of their own survival, and of their optimism about America to a young and creative Phoenix Jewish boy named Steven Spielberg, elevates our consideration of this building to celebration. For I believe, after 20 years working with Jewish and non-Jewish communities in the European countries most affected by the Holocaust, that no single individual has done more to change broad popular perceptions of the events of the Holocaust and their significance than Steven Spielberg. While others have done more to document Holocaust horrors or to identify the names of victims, Spielberg has managed through his talents as a story teller to make the Holocaust part of the mainstream narrative of European history in a way that everyday people can understand and to which they can relate. First through the adaptation of the book Schindler's List – which in many ways has parallels to Loewy's own story – and then through the creation of the Shoah Foundation which has sponsored the video recording of personal testimonies of thousands of Holocaust victims and survivors, Spielberg has given faces and voices to the Holocaust victims, and he has salvaged a considerable degree of humanity out horror. I have never met Steven Spielberg, but I have met hundreds of people in this country, and especially in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, whose lives have been great affected by the stories he has told, and those he has and his foundation have collected. And for the victims themselves, the opportunity to record their stories for posterity has often been a kind of vindication of their own survival, and a valuation of their human dignity. From all that I have heard, it seems that the seeds for this terrific work were planted by the refugee congregation of Beth Hebrew – where 13-year old Steven celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in 1960.

The destruction of this small architectural and historic gem - either by planned demolition or prolonged neglect – will be a loss not only to Phoenix, but to the world. There are many alternative uses for this building. There seem no real gain to the public good in destroying the former Beth Hebrew Synagogue, and a great opportunity to enhance the public good by saving it.

For more on the synagogue and illustrations see:
http://azpreservation.blogspot.com/search?q=synagogue


Take an animated tour of threatened Phoenix synagogue

Ukraine: Kremenets cemetery restoration project identifies hundreds of gravestones as parking lot pavements

Ukraine: Kremenets cemetery restoration project identifies hundreds of gravestones as parking lot pavements

Researchers for the Kremenets (Ukraine) Jewish Cemetery Restoration Project have identified several areas in the town where Jewish gravestones from the large cemetery are being used as parking lot paving, first installed during the Second World War by the occupying Germans, and in place ever since. Two areas adjacent to the former Gestapo headquarters have been identified. In addition, it is thought that a large area around the Lyceum – used by the Germans as a military hospital – also has buried matzevot. A project has been developed to move these stones, which probably date from the 18th and 19th century and number in the hundreds, back to the cemetery and to photograph and transcribe their inscriptions as part of a larger project to document, protect and preserve the historic site. The group seeks funds for retrieving the stones and creating a memorial (still to be decided).

The Kremenets Cemetery project was begun in 2004. The project began with photos of the 3,200 individual matzevot that were visible, and continued with removal of excess vegetation from the 25,000 square meter site. Detailed maps identifying site constitutions, types of vegetation and the location and condition of all gravestones and other notable features were then prepared by a team led by L'viv-based Professor V.P. Kucheryavyi developed the plan. Their report and other results of Phase I of the Project are online at http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kremenets/web-pages/kjcp.html. The plan provides an exemplary effort of site documentation which should be required before similar cemeteries before any repair or conservation work is undertaken. The examination of the site in phase I more than doubled the number of known gravestones at Kremenets. It also documented the effects of wartime vandalism of the cemetery and the subsequent half century of neglect.

Reports detailing the full results of Phase I and other aspects of the projects are on the website of the KJCPC:
(http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kremenets/web-pages/kjcp.html).

Phase II of the Kremenets Jewish Cemetery Project is designed to begin with some stone conservation and gravestone re-erection on the site. This will be done within the confines of a stone conservation training program which will involve local workers and create a ongoing and economically useful conservation program. The hope of local officials is that these skills can then be transported to other needy sites in Western Ukraine. The training course in Kremenets will be followed by a pilot project in the old part of the cemetery. If done properly, this work will set a new, and much needed standard for Jewish and non-Jewish cemetery restoration work in Ukraine. The primary partners in this effort are the Kremenets-Pochayiv State Historical-Architectural Preserve, the municipality of Kremenets, and the nascent Jewish community in Kremenets. Some grants have been received, but additional funds are needed before Phase II can begin.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Ron Doctor, director of the project
at rondoctor@earthlink.net

Jamaica: Documentation of 18th Jewish Cemetery at Hunt's Bay

Jamaica: Documentation of 18th Jewish Cemetery at Hunt's Bay
(Ainsley Henriques, Rachel Frankel, Anne Hersh and Samuel Gruber contributed to this article)

In January (2008), Caribbean Volunteer Expeditions (CVE) sponsored a successful project to inventory and document existing conditions of the historic Hunt's Bay Jewish Cemetery, the oldest known Jewish cemetery in Jamaica. ISJM provided logistical support and funds to purchase equipment necessary for the survey.

The cemetery was the burial place for Jews, many fleeing the Inquisition and anti-Semitism in Europe. They came to Port Royal, the 17th century entré port, a desolate sandy spit at the end of what is now known as the Palisadoes peninsula enclosing Kingston Harbor. They found freedom to worship with few restrictions (but higher taxes). Burial at Port Royal were not allowed, so Jews rowed the dead (as in Amsterdam & Venice) across the harbor to the now isolated cemetery at Hunt's Bay. Neglected for the most of the last century, the cemetery was overgrown and unkempt. Aware of the need to care for the historic site where the oldest grave known dates to 1672, Ainsley Henriques of the United Congregation of Israelites Shaare Shalom Synagogue of Jamaica arranged for it to be cleared. CVE's mission is to assist Caribbean agencies and organizations with historic preservation projects. CVE has worked in many Caribbean countries over the past sixteen years and has worked on Jewish cemetery documentation in Spanish Town and Falmouth, Jamaica. The United Congregation of Israelites Shaare Shalom Synagogue of Jamaica together with the Jamaican Heritage Center contributed the boundary survey of Hunt's Bay Cemetery in digitized and hard format, services of a professional local photographer and local transportation for CVE team, all of whom were volunteers, who paid their own expenses.

ISJM member and architect Rachel Frankel, who served as one of the leaders for the Falmouth Jewish Cemetery documentation project, led the work at Hunt's Bay. Ms. Frankel has previously worked extensively in documenting the Jewish sites of Suriname, especially the remains of the 1685 Bracha v'Shalom synagogue, and three historic Jewish cemeteries.

The documentation at Hunt's Bay includes:

• A map of the cemetery
• Photographs of each gravestone (in color digital and black and white 35mm)
• Assessment of the art, architecture and condition of each grave
• Transcription and translation of the multi-lingual epitaphs, checked against the work published in The Jews of Jamaica by Barnett and Wright.
• Indices of names, dates, etc.

All documentation from the project is now being sorted, analyzed and digitized. At the completion of the project, hard and digitized copies will be presented to The United Congregation of Israelites Shaare Shalom Synagogue of Jamaica as well as to the AJA (American Jewish Archives) in Cincinatti. The AJA will also receive the original field notes. ISJM will assure the material is publicly accessible – much of it on-line.

Concurrent with the documentation project was the XIth annual conference of the Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean (UJCL), held at Kingston. The UJCL represents Progressive and Conservative congregations in Aruba, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Surinam. Trinidad and Tobago were admitted for membership during the Kingston conference. The highlight of the conference was a tour the Hunt's Bay Cemetery. The entire conference traveled to the cemetery, inspected the graves, heard a short set of lectures on the work being done by the CVE volunteers and then held hands in a large circle and recited the Mourners Kaddish. The project has inspired UJCL members to call for more Jewish heritage documentation and preservation in the Caribbean and South America. ISJM encourages its members to step forward to help achieve this goal.
Photos and Links

For an audio and visual tour of the project see Marco Werman's report on Public Radio International's The World from Febraury 25, 2008 at:
http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/16200&answer=true

On the Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean (UJCL) conference in Kingston see:
http://wupj.org/Publications/Newsletter.asp?ContentID=112#CONVENES

For more on the Jewish community of Jamaica see: United Congregation of Israelites
http://www.ucija.org/

For extensive photos of Hunt's Bay Cemetery taken by one of the volunteers see:
http://picasaweb.google.com/alonigi/HuntSBayCemetery