Greece: Vandalism of Jewish Cemeteries in Wake of Gaza War

Greece: Vandalism of Jewish Cemeteries in Wake of Gaza War

(ISJM) According to news reports gravestones were vandalized at the Jewish cemetery of Ioannina in northern Greece last Monday night (January 19). "Three tombs were desecrated and damaged Monday evening in the cemetery," said President of the Central Jewish Council of Greece (KIS) Moisis Constantinis. Constantinis and KIS accused the police of failing to heed calls for increased security at the cemetery, which has been vandalized three times before in recent years (There is a certain irony here, since ISJM has recently received reports that KIS is considering selling some neglected cemeteries elsewhere in the country - reports that need to be confirmed). In general the Jewish cemeteries in Greece are in poor condition, and many have been totally abandoned. The Ioannina cemetery (of which parts were photographed for ISJM by Vincent Giordano) is one of the best preserved in the country.

KIS also reported that anti-Semitic inscriptions were found on tombs in a Jewish cemetery in Athens earlier this month and on a Jewish monument in Corfu four days after the Gaza conflict began. A large segment of the Greek population has long offered large and vocal support for the Palestinian cause. During periods of greatest armed conflict between Israel and Palestinians Jewish sites in Greece have often been targets for expressing anti-Israel (and anti-Jewish) sentiments.

During the Gaza War several sites in Europe have been the targets of anti-Israel and anti-Semiitc vandalism. These include the historic synagogues in Pisa, Italy and Maribor, Slovenia.

Italy: Archaeology of Jewish Settlement in Alghero, Sardinia

Italy -- Archaeology of Jewish Settlement in Sardinia

Ruth Ellen Gruber reports that there was a conference this weekend about Jewish history in Alghero, a small town on the northwest coast of Sardinia where Jews settled in the mid-14th century. One of the principal speakers was Mauro Milanese, an archeologist who has directed excavations in Alghero's old Jewish quarter.

Click here for Ruth's blog.

Italy: Biella Synagogue Restored

Italy: Biella Synagogue Restored

Ruth Ellen Gruber writes about the restoration of the synagogue in Bielle (Piedmont), Italy.
The gem-like synagogue in Biella, near Torino and Vercelli in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy, has been rededicated after "important and decisive" restoration.

Dating from the early 17th century, the synagogue, at vicolo del Bellone 3, occupies the top floor of a medieval house in the heart of what was the historic Jewish quarter. The sanctuary is small and rectangular in shape, focused on a splendid 17th-century Ark and an oval, waist-high carved wooden enclosure around the Bimah.

The €350,000 restoration, overseen by the Jewish community in Vercelli and funded in part by the Piedmont Region and a local bank, included structural consolidation and repair of the roof, which threatened collapse, as well as restoration of the elaborate Ark, the women's gallery and other interior fittings. Further restoration work is planned.

For Italian readers, you can see fuller details by clicking HERE. You may also contact the president of the Vercelli Jewish community, Rossella Bottini Treves, at comebravc.presid@libero.it

The Biella synagogue is one of about 16 beautiful synagogues in Piedmont, many of which have been restored in recent years and can be visited. You can find some information on the Jewish Community of Torino web site.

Posted by Ruth at 8:07 PM

On a related note, Yeshiva University Museum has recently published a new volume about the Jews of Piedmont, inclduing a brief essay of mine about the synagogues.

Spain: Inauguration of Exhibition "Lorca, Lights of Sepharad"

Spain: Inauguration of Exhibition "Lorca, Lights of Sepharad" on January 29th, 2009
by Samuel D. Gruber

(ISJM) Next week, the government of the Spanish Region of Murcia will open a new exhibition about the medieval synagogue and Jewish quarter of Lorca. The exhibition presents and interprets the archaeological evidence and material finds of excavation that began in 2003 in the precinct of Lorca’s 15th-century castle. Archaeologists, led by Ana Pujante Martínez and Juan Gallardo, uncovered the remains a synagogue and of houses of the surrounding Jewish quarter. Remains of the synagogue and one of the houses are being conserved to be incorporated into a museum.

The Jewish quarter, the synagogue and the many identifiably Jewish objects found in their rubble constitute one of the most important Jewish archaeological finds in recent decades. Plans are being discussed to have the exhibition travel abroad after 2010.

The synagogue consisted of a main prayer hall 134 square meters in size with built in benches around the perimeter, large enough to accommodate 70 worshipers. An Aron ha-Kodesh was situated on the east wall, and foundations to support a bimah were found in the center of the room. The prayer hall was preceded by an open courtyard, which led to a small vestibule with a place for washing. Above this was a small gallery of 8 square meters – presumably for women - which had collapsed into the vestibule area. The small space makes one wonder, however, whether women may have been accommodated elsewhere in the hall, perhaps separated by a temporary divider – now gone.

The museum of the synagogue will be part of the future luxury Parador hotel which will open in the castle, situated up the hill from the former Jewish quarter The remains of the synagogue and surrounding buildings were found when construction began on the luxury hotel which will be situated in the castle. Published plans call for the synagogue to be protected by a structure 43 meters long and 27 wide, with a total area of over one thousand square meters and a height ranging between five and 2'10 meters. This protective cover will keep a constant temperature to prevent thermal changes affecting the archaeological remains. I will be visiting the site next week in conjunction with the exhibition opening and will learn more about its future.

In 2006, some of the glass finds from the Jewish quarter and synagogue excavations were presented at the conference "The glass of the Middle Ages and Andalusí" held at the Royal Factory Crystals of La Granja. The synagogue lamps dating from the 15th century have been restored for the new exhibition. These glass lamps are considered among the most important recent archaeological finds in Spain. At least 15 lamps have been reconstructed using nearly 3,000 shards of glass uncovered in the excavation. These lamps are a tangible link to the appearance of medieval synagogues previously known Conservation work was funded by the Patrimonio Histórico de la Dirección General de Cultura y del Museo Arqueológico Municipal (Heritage Service of the Directorate General for Culture and the Municipal Archaeological Museum).


A video view of the excavation can be seen on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Soh8Jln5g

To read more see:

Un 'tesoro' excepcional entre los muros de la sinagoga

http://www.arqueologiamedieval.com/noticias/noticias.asp?ref=1042