Athens Jewish Synagogue

This is the oldest synagogue in Athens. It was built in 1906 and is currently used only during the High Holidays. The synagogue is maintained by the Jewish Community of Athens. The recent earthquake of September 1999 caused serious damage, mainly to the roof of the building. The supportive structure of the roof needs immediate intervention. The building must be restored in order to maintain its typical romaniote character.

BETH SHALOM SYNAGOGUE OF ATHENS

It was built in the late 1930s and was renovated in 1975. It is the main synagogue of Athens. The synagogue is maintained by the Jewish Community of Athens. The recent earthquake of September 1999 caused some damage to the building.

SYNAGOGUE OF THESSALONICA

The Synagogue of the Monasteriotes was founded with a donation by lda Aroesti to the memory of her husband Isaac. Families from Monastir in Yugoslavia who had settled in Thessalonica after the Balcan Wars (1912-1923) and World War I (1914-1918), also contributed to the Synagogue’s building and furnishing. The foundations were laid in 1925 and construction lasted two years. The Synagogue was officially dedicated by the Chief Rabbi of Thessalonica Chaim Raphael Habib on 27 Elul 5687 (1927).

During the Nazi occupation the Monasteriotes’ Synagogue was the center of the ghetto that was created in the inner city. When the entire Jewish population was deported to the death camps, the Red Cross as a warehouse, thus avoiding destruction by the Nazis, used the Synagogue.

Immediately after the liberation in November 1944, the few Jews that had been saved by Christian friends and those who had joined the National Resistance Forces found refuge in Synagogue. When normal Community life was restored it became the central Synagogue of Thessalonica.

In June 1978 the earthquake that shook the city caused extensive damage to the building and its services were suspended until the delicate task of its restoration was completed, with funds provided by the Greek Government that considered it as one of the historical monuments of Thessalonica. Today it is in operation for the religious needs of the Thessalonica Jews.

“YAD LEZICARON” SYNAGOGUE

This Synagogue was opened in 1984, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. It was built on the site of the small “Bourla” prayer house (Caal de la Plaza) that had been operating since 1921 to meet the religious needs of the numerous Jews who worked in the nearby market place.

“SAUL MODIANO" SYNAGOGUE

There is also a small synagogue in the Old People’s Home for their religious needs.

“SIMON MARKS" MUSEUM

It is situated on Vas. lrakliou Str, in the Modiano market area, the center of the Jewish community from the time of the first settlement of the Spanish Jews in 1942, and until World War ll. Until the fire of 1917, the area included the Jewish quarter, the historical synagogues, and the most distinguished school of the community. The Museum houses a copy of the permanent exhibition “Thessalonica - The Metropolis of Sepharadism”, from the Beth Lohamei Hagettaoth Kibbutz in Israel, incorporating details of the history of the Jews and their fields of activity up to the time of the Holocaust. Another section of the Museum, houses the “Holocaust Exhibition”, from the Auschwitz Foundation in Brussels.