Beit Yehuda Synagogue

35°47′7.82″N 5°48′40.83″W / 35.7855056°N 5.8113417°W / 35.7855056; -5.8113417

Beit Yehuda Synagogue
1901 Baedeker map of Tangier, showing the synagogue just north of rue Es-Siaghine ("Main Street")
Religion
AffiliationJudaism (former)
Status
  • Closed (as a synagogue);
  • Repurposed
Location
LocationTangier
CountryMorocco
Interactive map of Beit Yehuda Synagogue
Architecture
TypeSynagogue architecture
Completed1890

The Beit Yehuda Synagogue, also known as Assayag Synagogue, is a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Tangier, Morocco. The synagogue was completed in 1890.

Last used as a synagogue in the c. 1950s, the building has housed the Jewish Museum of Tangier, a Jewish museum and cultural landmark, since 2022.

Overview

Unlike other Moroccan cities, Tangier had no walled Jewish quarter or mellah.[1]: 93  Even so, its synagogues were clustered in a neighborhood on the southwestern side of the medina,[2] known as Beni Idder for the family that initiated its development.[1]: 92 

The Beit Yehuda Synagogue was founded in 1890 slightly north of Beni Idder on the other side of rue Es-Siaghine. It remained in service until the late 1950s. It was then abandoned for about six decades.[3]

The former synagogue's revival as a museum was one of the cultural initiatives launched by the Moroccan government in the wake of the Israel–Morocco normalization agreement of December 2020.[4] The renovation was led by architect Malika Laâroussi, and the creation of the museum by museographer Isabelle Timsit.[5] The museum was inaugurated on 19 August 2022.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 López Soler, Mónica (2013), Les couleurs de la memoire : Routes d´architecture pour voyageurs émotifs (in French), City of Málaga
  2. ↑ Garriga, Jordi Mas (March 3, 2017). "Map of Synagogues of Tangier". Discovering Tangier.
  3. ↑ "Jewish Memory Museum inaugurated in Tangier". The North Africa Post. August 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Jewish History Museum Inaugurated in Moroccan Port Town". The Algemeiner. August 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Assayag synagogue to house Jewish Museum of Tangier". European Jewish Congress. June 21, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kasraoui, Safaa (August 21, 2022). "Morocco Inaugurates Museum Dedicated to Jewish History in Tangier". Morocco World News.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.