Menarsha Synagogue

The Menarsha Synagogue (Arabic: كنيس المنشارة;^[1] Hebrew: בית כנסת אלמנשה),^[2] also known as the Great Synagogue of Damascus,^[3] is a former synagogue in Damascus, Syria completed in the 19th century. In 1949, it was the target of a terrorist attack.^[4] The building stands today, but has not been used as a synagogue since the anti-Jewish pogroms in the 1940s.

Location

The synagogue is located in the Jewish Quarter of Damascus on the east side of al-Mansha Street (Arabic: شارع المنشأ), a north-facing cross street of Talat al-Hijara Street (Arabic: شارع تلة الحجارة), opposite to the northern end of the large historical state of Beit Farhi Muallim.^[5]

History

The Menarsha Synagogue was built in the second half of the 19th century.^[6] On August 5, 1949, the synagogue, which was filled with people for Shabbat services, was the target of a terrorist attack that killed 12 people, most of them children.^[7] The attack on the synagogue a year after the establishment of the State of Israel led to a mass exodus of Jews from the city, mostly to the newly-formed State of Israel. A second wave, mostly to the United States, occurred in 1992 when the government of Hafiz al-Assad allowed Jews to leave the country.^[8] There are very few Jews in the city in modern times, which has led to the closure and inactivity of the synagogue.^[6] The last active synagogue in Damascus was the Elfrange Synagogue.

Architecture

The building the synagogue is contained in is a three-Nave hall building on a rectangular ground plan. Its arches rest on white columns with a round cross-section. There is a memorial plaque in the synagogue for the 12 victims of the 1949 terrorist attack.^[9]

References