Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., August 07, 2009 Av 17, 5769 | | Israel Time: 16:50 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Maccabiah Travel Week's End Anglo File
Share |
Last update - 10:18 27/05/2009
Beirut shul to be refurbished, and even Hezbollah's on board
By Yoav Stern
Tags: Israel News, Magen Avraham 

The ruined main synagogue in central Beirut is due to be renovated in the coming weeks, after an agreement between various religious denominations and permission from the Lebanese government, planning authorities and even Hezbollah. Several dozen Jews still living in Lebanon will fund the project, along with others in the Diaspora.

Renovations will include mending the gaping hole in the Magen Avraham synagogue's roof and repairing the chandeliers that once hung from it. The Torah ark and prayer benches will also be refurbished to their former states.


P
Advertisement
eople involved in the project told Haaretz Tuesday by telephone that renovations were scheduled to begin "within weeks."

The job will be funded by a $200,000-donation from private donors, as well as $150,000 from Solidere, a construction firm tasked with rebuilding central Beirut from the destruction of the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War. The company is privately owned by the family of Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister assassinated in 2005.

The project received the green light after political officials and community leaders became convinced it could show that Lebanon is an open country, tolerant of many faiths including Judaism.

Solidere's reconstruction contract stipulates that any places of worship must not be razed, but remain under the ownership of the religious community it serves, people involved in the renovation told Haaretz. The company has budgeted $150,000 for the rebuilding of each house of worship.

Lebanon's Jewish community is one of the country's 17 officially recognized faiths. The several dozen people in its remaining Jewish community hold few religious activities other than prayer services during the High Holidays. Many Jewish residents are in middle age or older, and affluent. Many live outside Lebanon, mainly in Europe.

"The Jewish community never served as a target for anyone in Lebanon. All the Jews who left the country did so of their own free will. We're not talking about renewing prayer in the synagogue, but only about renovation as a symbol of the great diversity of Lebanon and the history of the community," one source said.

Yitzhak Levanon, a Herzliya-based writer and translator who studied at the American University in Beirut in the late 1920s and early 1930s, told Haaretz: "The story of the Jews in Lebanon is over. It cannot be returned."

Since it was built in Moroccan style in the 1920s, the synagogue has served as a focal point for Lebanese Jewry.

Levanon said the Wadi Abu Jamil area once held eight synagogues, and Magen Avraham was by far the largest. But over the years the community dwindled due to emigration, including to Israel, and the synagogue was seriously damaged in fighting between Muslim and Christian forces during the civil war. Looters stripped the building of its Torah ark and prayer benches, and even gutted its electrical system.

Related articles:
  • Biden: U.S. military aid to Lebanon hinges on election results
  • Egypt tycoon sentenced to death over Lebanon diva killing
  • More Jewish World stories
    • PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
    Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Sex and the settlements
    Report: 'Sex and the City' star ousted over endorsement of Israeli firm in West Bank
    A puppy named Sadat
    Ex-Egyptian president's family angry over U.S. film with dog named 'Anwar Sadat'
      1.   What a Waste. For 12 people? Propaganda 06:01  |  Liliane 27/05/09
      2.   a bit of solace and joy to the jews remaining in lebanon 09:20  |  eric 27/05/09
      3.   muslims and jews did live in peace 09:36  |  muslims-- 27/05/09
      4.   everyone suffered immensely during civil war 09:38  |  muslim-- 27/05/09
      5.   Renovating Beirut synagogue 10:44  |  Avraham 27/05/09
      6.   To "muslims"- about Jews in muslim countries 11:01  |  Avraham 27/05/09
      7.   Who needs or wants his blessing????? 11:54  |  Jo 27/05/09
      8.   Avraham 12:03  |  sam 27/05/09
      9.   to muslim and muslims 12:05  |  Harry 27/05/09
      10.   Refurbishing the shul in Beirut. 12:16  |  Stephen. 27/05/09
      11.   Lebanese Jews 12:18  |  Lebanese Jew 27/05/09
      12.   MOST OF THE FUNDING FOR THE SYNAGOGUE 12:25  |  indrajaya 27/05/09
      13.   Avraham the lebanese jew 13:00  |  northern neighbor 27/05/09
      14.   Jews in Lebanon 17:51  |  Anonymous 27/05/09
      15.   re: Yitzhak Levanon 21:13  |  andrew r 29/05/09
      16.   Jews Ignorant of their history 13:59  |  Lebanon 30/05/09
      17.   Armenians 14:14  |  Lebanon 30/05/09
      18.   israeli air forces bombed this synaguogue 00:09  |  Rafael 01/06/09
      19.   Mazal Tov from Beirut 15:08  |  Jean 02/06/09
      20.   I agree with no. 19 07:32  |  Omar 04/06/09
      21.   ignorant if you think hizbollah rules 08:50  |  lebanese like jews 30/06/09
      22.   Lebanese Jews number 19:01  |  kh 15/07/09
      23.   Beliefs vs Cause 19:30  |  Rolf 02/08/09
      24.   Jews in Lebanon 16:01  |  Avi 07/08/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    hotel Jerusalem
    David Citadel Hotel, come stay at the finest of Jerusalem hotels.
    Master's Program in Desert Studies
    An innovative, multidisciplinary, international program specialized in Desert Research
    Dead Sea Cosmetics .Summer Specials
    Velvet Hand Cream just $14.90
    Handmade In Tel Aviv
    Itay Noy, Timepiece Maker
    ISRAEL ARMY SURPLUS STORE
    IDF insignia,Uniforms, Paladium Boots Watches, Israel Army T-shirts & Collectibles
    Dead Sea Salt Beauty and skin care
    From the Dead Sea Coupon cofe Haaretz for 10% off!
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    More Headlines
    15:31 Settlers sue State over Hebron evacuation damages
    13:22 PA officials: U.S. wants borders to top peace talks
    05:50 Editorial / Israel does have a Palestinian partner
    10:27 How Nixon helped Israel seal its nuclear ambiguity
    10:28 Chavez calls Lieberman 'mafia boss,' denies links to Hezbollah
    11:28 Jerusalem man, 50, becomes fifth Israeli to die from swine flu
    00:15 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel
    13:01 Happy hour culture is coming to Tel Aviv
    07:02 IDF soldier dies after hit by comrade's errant bullet
    07:22 Arafat-Israel murder conspiracy is back from the dead
    07:32 Poll: More Israelis would prefer Livni as prime minister
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved