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Italy |
Greece |
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Rhodes |
Carpentras Synagogue
Books
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
Maps
A valuable site to help find a person, maps, etc. Type in the name of any
country you wish to research. This service is free.
http://www.webhelp.com/home
Global Gazetteer
A great web site. It is a directory of 2,880,532 of the
world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked to a map for each
town. A tab separated list is available for each country
www.calle.com/world/
Greece
Athens - photo taken by Ted Margulis
Jewish life in Greece dates back 2400 years. The first Greek Jew whose name
is known was "Moschos, son of Moschion the Jew," a slave identified in an
inscription dated to approximately 300 BCE-250 BCE. This information was
found in an inscription unearthed in Oropos, a small coastal town between
Athens and Bocotia. Jews later became traders, craftspeople, farmers and
silk growers. When the Romans gave the Jewish community autonomy, the Jews
became known as Romaniotes, some of whose descendants still live in Greece
today.
Out of 77,377 Jews living in Greece, before WW II, only 10,000 survived the
Holocaust.
Remains of an ancient Greek Synagogue
Books
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
"Jewish Sites and Synagogues of Greece"
Authored by Nicholas Stavroulakis and Timothy DeVinney and published by
Talos Press. Excellent introduction to Jewish travelers.
"Legacy of Courage"
Authored by Dr. Frederic Kakis. Most Holocaust survival stories are based on
characters who, by the grace of God, survived the horrors of the Death Camps
and were able to describe the brutality and torture they had have endured as
well as the fate of million of other innocent victims that died in the gas
chambers.
This book describes a very different survival story. It is the tale of a
Jewish family during German occupation of Greece, who decided early on, that
the best way to escape deportation and ultimately survive was to resist. It
is a story of intrigue, courage and adventure at time humorous, at times
sad, but always interesting and exciting.
ISBN 1-4017-1358-X Paperback
"War-Time Jews: The Case of
Athens" - (Eliamep)
A brief monograph on why and how Greeks rescued Jews in Athens in WW II.
General Greece
Information
http://www.serbianna.com/columns/savich/107.shtml
Greece is the home of the longest continuous Jewish presence in the European
Diaspora, going back 2,300 years. The Jews who first settled in Greece,
called themselves Romaniotes and preserved their distinctive synagogue
rites, liturgy and dress long after Sephardic Jews -- expelled from Spain
and Portugal -- became the majority.
Jewish communities existed in Thessaly, Beoetia, Macedonia, Aetolia, Attica,
Argos, Corinth, and throughout much of the Peloponnese, and on the islands
of Euboea and Crete. There were synagogues in Philippi, Thessalonica,
Veroia, Athens and Corinth. Benjamin (Ben Jonah) of Tudela, a Jewish
traveler of the second half of the twelfth century, visited Jewish
communities in Corfu, Arta, Patras, Corinth, Thebes, Egripo (Halkida)
Salonika and Drama.
More than 65,000 Jews were murdered during the
Holocaust. Only 13% of the population survived.
There is a synagogue in New York, the Kehila Kedosha Janina, which is
located on Manhattan's Lower East Side
280 Broome Street off of Allen St.
New York 10002
Fax:1 212 673 4441
The only synagogue in the
Western hemisphere, built by the Jews in 1927, and still operating today
http://www.kehila-kedosha-janina.org/contents.htm
At this site, there is a great deal of information, in a Newsletter format
including info on: Congregation Kehila Kedosha Janina 'The Janina Cemetery'
located in Ioannina; The Museum (Open 11 a.m. to 4 p. m. on Sundays or by
appointment) including a list of over 200 names of the rescuers of Greek
Jews in Yad Vashem's archives; Romaniote Piyuttim (poems); Corfu
Holocaust Memorial; and more.
There is an article printed in the January/February 2001 issue of The Jewish
Monthly, published by B'nai Brith, that offers a great deal of information
about these Jews.
The Association of
Friends of Greek Jewry (AFGJ)
An organization established to help preserve what is left of the Jewish
presence in Greece. Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos is the AFGJ president.
E-mail AFGJ@msn.com
http://www.kkjsm.org/association/association.html
Athens
The Jews of Greece's largest city
were integrated into the Greek community and because of this fact, it helped
save many of the Jews from the Nazis. Today, it is the largest Jewish
community and dates from the first century C.E. After the sixth century,
Jewish life left, and in 1705, the city had 20 Jewish families, the
descendants of exiles from Spain. In 1834, after the Greek War of
Independence against the Ottoman Empire (1821-1829) it attracted some
families from Germany. In 1917, after the Balkan Wars and especially after
the great Thessalonica fire, more Jews came to Athens.
Several attempts were made by the Germans to deport the Jews, but were
thwarted by the Greek community by hiding Jews in their homes.
Unfortunately, 1,500 Athenian Jews were deported. After the war, there were
about 5,000 Jews in Athens; of these, 1,500 later emigrated to Israel.
Beth Shalom Synagogue
Athens 'old' synagogue and is at
5 Melidoni
Telephone 325 2773
Rabbi is Jacob Arar, chief rabbi of Athens since 1968.
http://www.isjm.org/country/greece/bethshalom.htm
A site in the ancient Greek agora (marketplace) is said to be a synagogue
from the third century, destroyed in the sixth century. Nearby are Athens'
two surviving synagogues facing each other on Melidoni Street in Thission, a
neighborhood once populated by Jews.
The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece
36 Voulis
Athens 10557
Telephone 324 4315
e-mail hhkis@hellasnet.gr
http://www.kis.gr/home_en.html
Etz Hayim Synagogue
Built in 1904, is at 8 Melidoni. It is also known as the 'Ioanniotiki
Synagogue (i.e. Jews from Ioannina). To visit, contact the Athens Jewish
Community on the ground floor (325-2773)
http://www.etz-hayyim-hania.org/_synag/reconstr.html
Part of the Jewish Cemetery in
Athens
http://www.yvelia.com/kolhakehila/archive/sites/athens/athens_j_sites_
001.htm
Jewish Cemetery
Located on Agios Giorgiou and is part of the city's Third
Cemetery in the Nikea quarter has a memorial to the Jewish soldiers who died
in the Greco-Italian War, 1940-41 and another to the Jewish communities of
Greece destroyed by the Nazis in WW II. It has been in continuous use since
the 1940s.
http://www.hadassah.org/news/content/per_hadassah/archive/2003/03_
APR/traveler.htm
The Jewish Club
Headed by Rachel
Raphael-Sasson, holds lectures, Hebrew classes and community gatherings and
is located at
9 Vissarionos, corner Sina;
Telephone 360 8896. Rachel can be reached at 211 3371; Cell Phone: 094 452
1848; e-mail rasraf@hellasnet.gr
Jewish Museum of Greece
Founded in 1977, the museum has artifacts from more than two millennia,
reflecting the life, customs, rites and traditions of Greek Jews.
39 Nikis (near Syntagma Square)
Telephone 30-210-322 5582; fax 323 1577; Interesting and colorful site
www.jewishmuseum.gr
Nea Genia (New Generation)
Reports Jewish news countrywide
http://www.hadassah.org/news/content/per_hadassah/archive/2003/
03_APR/traveler.htm
http://www.hri.org/news/greek/mpeb/2000/00-04-07.mpeb.html
Chalkis
There is a Jewish presence today.
It is located on the Island of Eubea
http://www.isjm.org/country/greece/chalkis.htm
Chios
An island in the Aegean Sea that
at one time had a Jewish Community. Also review my Rhodes information.
Search this site for information
http://sephardichouse.org/
Euboca (Evia)
A one hour bus ride northeast of
Athens and is an island where the Jews of Chalkis (today Chalkida) claim
theirs is the oldest Jewish community in Europe, dating back to the Second
Temple period. There are about 150 members and they have a white stucco
synagogue and community headquarters at 35 Kotsou as well as a cemetery on
Mesapion Street. Some graves are as old as 1539. Jossif Ovadia can arrange a
visit to the synagogue and cemetery. Telephone 0221 74567 or 24990
http://tinyurl.com/6ey4z6
ETSI - Sephardi Genealogical
and Historical Society
The purpose of "ETSI" is to help
people interested in Jewish Genealogical and Historical Research in the
Sephardi World. "ETSI's" field of study covers the Ottoman Empire (Turkey,
Greece, Palestine, Syria, Libya, Egypt); North Africa (Algeria, Morocco,
Tunisia); Spain, Portugal, Italy and Gibraltar. The study of every Sephardi
community or family who lived in other regions is equally within the
society's aim
E-mail laurphil@wanadoo.fr
Europages
Business 2 business company
directory and business in Europe, yellow pages access, international and
European business directory (professional services, addresses and business
classifieds
http://www.europages.net
Florina
"List of Jews Deported From
Florina by the Nazis";
"Florina, Remembrance of a
Forgotten Community"; "Florina - Nostalgia de Una Communidad Olvidada" -
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/translations.html
Greek Jewish Hero of War Memorialized
http://www.bsz.org/agreekjew.htm
Books
"Illusions of Safety"
Authored by Michael Matsas tells
us of the duplicity of the American government, but it also includes stories
of Greek Jews and how they fared during WW II and the Holocaust. The book is
available through the Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue Museum
http://www.kehila-kedosha-janina.org
Ioannina
There is a Jewish presence today.
http://members.tripod.com/~Yiannina/Romaniotes.html
Jews of Greece - History and
Demography
http://www.bsz.org/agreekjew.htm
Kol ha Kehila: the Newsletter of the
Jewish Monuments in Greece
http://www.he.net/~archaeol/online/features/greece/index.html
www.yvelia.com
Larissa
There is a Jewish presence
http://www.kkjsm.org/archives/Jewish%20Presence%20in%20Thessaly%20and%20Larissa.html
Museums of Athens (The Small)
http://www.bsz.org/agreekjew.htm
Patras
Once had a Romaniote synagogue.
The carved wooden interior is now located in the Jewish Museum of Athens.
http://www.greecetravel.com/jewishhistory/ancient.html
"Preserving Jewish Heritage in Greece"
An interesting site featuring an
article detailing, from an archaeological view, remnants of Jewish life in
ancient and recent times in Greece
http://www.he.net/~archaeol/online/features/greece/index.html
Romaniote Jews
Pronounced roe-MAH-ni-ote, currently number somewhere around 8 to 10,000
people worldwide. This is a virtually unknown minority barely known by most
Jews. A book, "The Jews of Ioannina", published by Cadmus Press in 1990 and
authored by Rae Dalven, herself a Romaniote Jew, maintains that the first
Jews settled near what was eventually called Ioannina (Janina), Greece, in
70 C.E. after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The
Romaniotes are the original Jewish population of the eastern Mediterranean
and the Balkans and have lived in the area since antiquity.
The story told is that the Roman emperor, Titus, after capturing Jerusalem,
was transporting Jews to Rome, to serve as slaves, when his ship was driven
onto the Albanian coast. Titus, instead of killing the Jews, allowed them to
fend for themselves. Before WW II, the Jewish community in Janina numbered
around 1,850; after there were 163 and today 51 Jews still live in the town.
They speak their own Judeo-Greek language and have their own customs and
foods. They call themselves "Yinotes" - people from Janin.
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greece/History/Romaniotes.html
Salonika
(Thessalonica)
When the Jews of Spain were
expelled centuries ago, by Ferdinand and Isabella, a goodly number of them
found refuge in Greece. The city of Salonika became one of the most
prosperous Jewish centers.
Territorial shifts in the Balkans throughout the early twentieth century
brought changes in the composition and character of the Jewish communities
of Greece. Salonika, a Jewish city throughout Ottoman times, became part of
Greece in 1913 after the Balkans Wars weakened the Ottoman Empire
strategically and territorially. During the 16th century, the city was known
as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans".
In 1900 there were approximately 80,000 Jews out of a total population of
173,000. There were 31 Jewish communities in Greece, during the 1930s. The
largest, in Salonika, had more than 50,000 people and no fewer than 60
synagogues and midrashim (oratories) to serve a diverse population with
roots all across the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. On April 9, 1941,the
Nazi army occupied the city and in early 1943, the Germans annihilated 87
percent of the country's Jews (48.500) and destroyed most of the synagogues.
Ninety five percent of the Salonikan Jewish population were deported to
concentration camps.
One thousand of Greece's 5,000 Jews live here today. The synagogue has a
regular Minyan. Before WWII, there were more than 20 Zionist organizations
in the city.
Andrea Sefiha was the President of Salonika's Jewish Community as of 4/2000
As of 2008, David Saltiel is the President. A photograph of the interior of
the Italia Synagogue of Salonika and the exterior of the Monastirlis
synagogue are available at
http://www.he.net/~archaeol/online/features/greece/index.html
In July, 1942, the Jewish Community was forced to pay several million to the
Nazis to ransom Jewish men who were forced into working for the Germans,
with the understanding that they would be freed later and the community
would be left alone. Predictably, 46,091 Jews from Salonika were later
deported to the death camps.
"The Holocaust in Salonika - Eyewitness Accounts"
The first official
witness of the final solution to the Salonikan Jews. Yomtov Yacoel was the
lawyer for the community and liaison with the Nazi civilian representatives.
Dr. Matarasso was the post-war physician for the survivors in Salonika. His
report includes the earliest eyewitness stores of the fate of the Jews in
Auschwitz. Dr. Isaac Benmayor translated the text from the original Greek
and Judeo-Spanish and St4een B. Bowman did the editing.
http://www.bh.org.il/Communities/Archive/Salonika.asp
"Icaroon Salonie: Gedulata ve-Hurbana Shel Yerushalim de-Balkan; Grandeza i
Destruyicion de Yerushalim del Balken" (In Memoriam of Salonike)
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/translations.html
"Matsevot Saloniki"
Authored by Isaac Samuel Emmanuel and published in Hebrew in 1963-58.
Contains 1,858 inscriptions taken from the Jewish cemetery in
Thessalonike (Salonika), Greece, one of the largest and oldest Sephardic
communities in Europe before the Holocaust. A copy exists in the UCLA
Library
A Holocaust memorial was established in this city. Nearly 90 percent of
Greece's 80,000 strong pre-war Jewish community perished in Nazi death
camps.
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) -
http://www.orthohelp.com/geneal/sefardim.htm
there is the Thessalonica Community Archives (1913-1946) at this site.
When the port of Haifa was built under the British Mandate in the early
1930s, Abba Khoushi wanted Jewish laborers to do the work. The future mayor
persuaded some 500 Jewish dockworkers from Thessalonica to come. Thus they
were spared the fate of their compatriots, most of whom died in Nazi
concentration camps.
Sephardic Sites
http://www.jewishgen.org/sephardicsig/
Thessalonica (see Salonika)
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Just in case you didn't think of it, contact a nearby university or
college's foreign language department. They may offer to write letters and
translate letters into English.
A nominal fee is usually charged.
Translation Service
A commercial site offering many language translating programs
http://www.worldlanguage.com
Trikala
There is a Jewish presence today.
http://www.isjm.org/country/greece/trikala.htm
Volos
There is a Jewish presence today.
http://asterixpc.com/lm/011/volos.html
Yizkor Books
Pinkas Hakehillot, Yavan
(Encyclopaedia of Jewish Communities in Greece)
http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/Pinkas_greece/pinkas_greece.html
Italy
Ponte Vecchio Bridge - Jews own(ed) many of the shops located on this bridge
Jews were known to live in Italy from the days of the Maccabees, but the
best years for Jews was during the time of Lorenzo de Medici (1437 to 1494).
In an article in the December issue of Hadassah Magazine, the writer (Aelion
Brooks) states that "As many as 50 percent of southern Italians may have
Jewish blood, notes Vincenzo Villella, author of The Jews of Calabria.
Jewish intellectual life blossomed in the rich achievements of the Italian
culture. During this period, Jewish literature, poetry and learning
flourished, even though the Medici duke, named Cosimo I, banished the Jews
to ghettos. The community was enriched in the late 15th and 16th centuries
by Sephardic refugees from Spain and Portugal and also over the centuries by
Ashkenazi newcomers from Central Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_in_Italy
An article, written by Andree Aelion Brooks, offers more detailed
information about the Jews of Italy and can be found in the December
2008 issue of Hadassah Magazine.
Jewish communities flourished in South Italy during the Roman time and the
Middle Ages. After the persecutions (1492-1541) Jews abandoned South
Italy and also Sicily. The area south of Naples was once a
separate nation called the Kingdom of Naples and teemed with Jewish
artisans and merchants during Roman times and for more than 1,000 years
thereafter, when it served as the geographic center of Mediterranean
commerce. Jews, however, were expelled while Spain ruled the area in the
16th century -- unless they agreed to convert, which some did, taking their
Judaism underground. Today the only community in South Italy is
Napoli (Naples), and few Jews live in the southern part of the country (Sicily
and Puglia). In 2009, the Rabbi is Pier Paulo Punturello, who represents
the Orthodox Jews of Naples. For these reasons it is very difficult to
research on Jews of South Italy: most resources are not in
Communities and most documents concern oldest times.
The first ghetto was located in Venice, which is north of Florence
and existed from 1516 to 1797. Ghetto, the word, originated in Venice. It is
easy to find the ghetto and I would suggest you 'get lost' purposely
in this part of the city. The area is called 'the Cannaregio district'.
The various Jewish ethnic groups that settled in the ghetto nearly five
centuries ago, lived in extremely crowded conditions and preserved their
identities in their cuisine.
The ghetto was a lively, dynamic melting pot of distinctly different
European and Mediterranean cultures, including Jews from other areas of
Italy including Sicily and Calabria, Spain, Portugal, Germany
and the Ottoman Empire. In the district, one would hear many distinct
languages spoken, including German, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Hebrew,
Yiddish and Giudeo-Veneziano, the Jewish-Venetian dialect that survived
into the 21st century.
http://www.doge.it/ghetto/indexi.htm
Amos Luzzatto is the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities,
located in Rome. Dr. Riccardo Di Segni, a practicing physician and rabbi, is
the new chief rabbi of Rome replacing Elio Toaff, who retired at age 86
after 50 years in Italy's most prominent Jewish religious post.. Leone
Paserman is the president of the 15,000 member community.
Jews lived in many small towns during the past two millennia, and often left
their traces in hundreds of towns, cities and villages up and down the
peninsula including remnants of synagogues and cemeteries. Some 8,000
Italian Jews were deported to their deaths in the Holocaust. Today, the
small Italian Jewish community consists of about 38,000 souls. The total
population of Italy is 60 million.
Annie Sacerdoti, a Jewish writer based in Milan, wrote a Jewish
guidebook to Italy in 1986 and, throughout the 1990s, edited a series of
separate guide books dedicated to Jewish heritage in individual Italian
regions. She is the editor of Milan's monthly Jewish magazine, Il
Bullettino.
"For Them, Life in America Began in 1944, Behind a Fence".
It is about a group of about 1,000 Jews brought to the US from
Italy in 1944 and kept in an internment camp in upstate New York
for seven months after the war was over until President Truman allowed them
to apply for citizenship. The article mentions the emotions of the US
official charged with choosing who would be allowed to travel on the ship. I
believe a free registration is required to view articles on the NY Times web
site New York Times
http://tinyurl.com/hmcm
From a posting by Andrew Blumberg on 7/21/03
St Marks Square 1900
http://www.movietone-portraits.com/
The Jews of Sicily and
Calabria
The Italian Anusim That Nobody Knows - personal stories, history and
current research
http://www.rabbibarbara.com/
Books
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
"Finding Italian Roots: The Complete Guide for Americans"
Authored by John Philip Colletta
and published by Genealogical Publishing Co., in 1993 in Baltimore
"Guide to Jewish Italy"
Authored by Annie Sacerdoti and
published in 1989. a systematic survey of Jewish settlements in Italy,
broken down first by region, then by city. Describes the synagogues,
museums, cemeteries and other cultural or historical sites for each location
listed. Includes numerous photographs, a bibliography, a glossary and an
index.
"The Jews of Calabria"
www.rabbibarbara.com
"La Comunita Ebraica di
Pitigliano dal XVI al XX Secolor"
Authored by R. G. Salvadori, Giuntina, Firenze in 1991. There is an index of
about nine pages and a short family trees of some families from
Pitigliano, Italy for the period 1880-1960
"Mangiare alla Giudia" (Eating
the Jewish Way)
Authored by Ariel Toaff, a professor at Bar-Ilan University, who is the son
of Rome's chief rabbi. It is not a cookbook and does not include recipes.
Rather, it details the history and development of Italian Jewish cuisine
from the Renaissance to modern times
General Italian
Information
http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/italianjews.html
Ancona
There was a Jewish presence in the
18th century. An account dating from 1683 indicated that the "rich" matzo
baked in this Adriatic port was so renowned for its quality that wealthy
Jews in Venice spared no expense to import it for their Seder tables.
http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/6780/edition_id/127/format/html/
displaystory.html
Archives
Archivio segreto vaticano -
in Rome
http://www.vatican.va/library_archives/vat_secret_archives/visit/index
_it.htm
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP)
http://www.orthohelp.com/geneal/sefardim.htm
State Archives - in Rome
http://archivi.beniculturali.it/UCBAWEB/indice.html
Arezzo
There was once a Jewish presence
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Pitigliano.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenio_Cal%C3%B2
http://www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/Roma.html
Bologna
There was once a Jewish presence
in the city. It was also the site of the first university in Europe to offer
a Jewish studies program which was founded years ago and continues to
function.
http://www.jewishitaly.org/
Calabria
Rabbi Barbara Aiello's father with the Lodge Band of The Italian Sons &
Daughters of America in Pittsburg, PA
Italian
Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria
Located in southern Italy.
http://www.rabbibarbara.com/
Synagogue
Sinagoga Ner Tamid del Sud
The "Eternal Light of the South,"
Italian anousim find warmth and
acceptance as they learn about their Jewish heritage and experience Jewish
ritual and observance at the first active synagogue in Calabria and
Sicily in 500 years, since Inquisition times.
http://www.rabbibarbara.com/about_us.html
Capua
Located in southern Italy
where a Jewish community existed for many centuries since Roman times until
the Jews were expelled from all of southern Italian peninsula in the
first half of the 1500s. In the 1490s and first decade of the 1500s, the
cities in southern Italy (Kingdom of Naples) received considerable
numbers of Sephardi refugees from the expulsions of the 1490s from the
Spanish kingdoms of Aragon, Castille and probably Navarre, and
to some extent from Portugal (though most of the Jews were not initially
permitted to leave Portugal and were instead subjected to a mass forced
conversion in Lisbon). From a posting by Leon Taranto
LBTEPT@aol.com on Jul 28, 2000
www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/Livorno.html
Carpi
A small town located near the city
of Modena in northern Italy. The Jewish community can be traced back to the
14th century; a contract for the first synagogue dates to 1488. The current
synagogue was inaugurated in 1861.
Nearby is the former concentration camp at Fossoli. Created by the Mussolini
government for use as a prisoner of war camp, it was used to detain
political opponents and later, when the Nazis took control, Italy's Jews
were brought here before being deported. During the seven months of 1944
that the German SS controlled the camp, eight trains left the station at
Carpi, five of which went directly to Auschwitz-Birkenau. About half of the
approximately 5,000 deportees at Fossoli were Jews. Further information may
be available by e-mail to levchadash@libero.it
www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/index.php?ModuleId=10005411
http://www.ushmm.org/
Centro
Bibliografico
Italian Jewry
Lungotevere Sanzio
5
00153, Rome
http://www.orthohelp.com/geneal/sefardim.htm
http://www.jewishgen.org/sephardicsig/
Centro di Documentation Ebraica
Italian Jewry
Via Eupil 8, 20145
Milan, Italy.
http://www.orthohelp.com/geneal/sefardim.htm
http://www.jewishgen.org/sephardicsig/
Corinaldo
There was a Jewish presence at one
time
http://www.angelorecchi.com/nuovo_blog/labels/Le%20Marche.html
ETSI - Sephardi Genealogical and
Historical Society
The purpose of "ETSI" is to
help people interested in Jewish Genealogical and Historical Research in the
Sephardi World. "ETSI's" field of study covers the Ottoman Empire (Turkey,
Greece, Palestine, Syria, Libya, Egypt); North Africa (Algeria,
Morocco, Tunisia) Spain, Portugal, Italy and Gibraltar. The study of
every Sephardi community or family who lived in other regions is equally
within the society's aim. E-mail
laurphil@wanadoo.fr
Family Names Jewish Italian -
(Site is in English)
http://gens.labo.net/en/cognomi/how.html
http://gens.labo.net/en/cognomi/genera.html
Florence (Firenze)
This city was known as the 'first
city of the Renaissance' and is well known for its art collection. One
art piece of Jewish themed art dominates this beautiful city ... David,
created by the artist Michelangelo. There are about 35,000 Jews in all of
Italy today with about 1,000 living in Florence.
Beth Laknesset Firenze was built
in 1882
There are two kosher butchers and one kosher restaurant (Il Cuscussu at
Via Farini 2/A) The center of the Jewish community is located at Via
Luigi Carlo Farni 4. This is where the Florence Synagogue, one of the
most beautiful in Europe, is located. There is a Jewish day school and
offices of the Jewish community, along with a mikva'ot'oth and the
headquarters of B'nai Brith and other Jewish organizations.
The synagogue has successfully withstood wars, barbarism and floods. The
Germans tried to blow up the structure during WW II, but the main building
withstood their efforts. Bayonet marks are still visible on the doors of the
Holy Ark which the Nazis used as a garage to repair their tanks.
On the second floor is the Jewish Museum of Florence which was opened in
1987. It offers a collection of Kiddush cups, prayer shawls, silver
ornaments and embroidered vestments along with a pictorial display which is
occasionally changed.
Outside of the synagogue, there is a stone monument. with the names of 248
Jewish deportees engraved on the face.
Just across the Ponte Vecchio, in the maze of old lanes that face the Pitti
Palace, is the via Ramagliau (once called Via dei Giudei or "Street of
the Jews") which remains unchanged from the Renaissance. The streets are
about 10 feet wide and are framed in by gray and yellow, three story houses
with brown shutters.
The famous Duomo, was started in 1296, and what most people don't see, are
the wooden side doors on the south side of the cathedral, where one can see
one Tablet of the Law with the first five commandments written in Hebrew.
Another set of carved doors were started in 1425 and finished in 1452. They
are the 10 carved panels on the doors of the Baptistery, which represent 10
scenes from the Bible as carved by Lorenzo Ghiberti.
Heraldry - Jewish
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/jewish.htm
Books
"History of the Jews in Italy"
Authored by Cecil Roth. In his book, he states that "While Jews may have
settled in Rome in the third century BCE, it was the Maccabees' successful
revolt against the Syrian king Antiochus in the second century BCE that put
the community on the map." The festival of Hanukah was established on the
25th of Kislev, 165 BCE, when Judah Maccabee, his brothers and his volunteer
army held a ceremony to rededicate the Temple after their victory."
"Only four years later, in 161 BCE, Judah sent a diplomatic mission to Rome
in an attempt to forge an alliance against the Syrians and preserve the
Jews' precarious independence. "it was natural to solicit the sympathy and
support of the great new power in the west." Check with my link to
Amazon.com for this and other books on the subject by clicking here >
Jewish
Genealogy
http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Italy/italian.htm
"Jewish Family Names and their
Origin"
Authored by Eva H. Guggenheimer - 1992
http://tinyurl.com/64rrsl
Italiangen
There are records available in
Italy and John P. Colleta, author of 'Finding Italian Roots',
mentioned this site
http://www.Italiangen.org
Italian Jews
Marc Margarit has developed a web
site that offers 7,800 bibliographic notes representing 20 years of personal
effort. From what I can determine, the links include an Archive Guide;
Family Names, Emigration, Family History, Local Authority Archives,
Franco-Italian Connections, Public Notaries, Local History, Jews, Private
Archives, Archives of Public Notaries concerning naturalizations, State
Archives, Biographies, Places, Bibliography and information on Corsica,
Tessin, San Marino and Malta. The site, however is in French
http://www.geneaita.org/emi/search.htm
Italian Jewish Community
Union of Italian Jewish Communities
Rome 00153, Italy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben%C3%A9_Roma
Italian Jewish Culture - (both sites in Italian)
http://www.menorah.it
http://www.italya.net/
Italian Jewish Genealogy
http://www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/genealogy.html
http://moving2italy2.blogspot.com/2007/02/info-about-jewish-genealogy-and-ancesty.html
Italian Library of "Nos Ancestres
Italiens"
in both English and French
http://genami.org
Italian Oral History Institute
PO Box 241553, Los Angeles
CA 90024-1553 has an interesting and informative web site dealing with
Italian
Jewry
http://www.iohi.org/pages/itjews.htm
Jerusalem Italian Jewish Association
http://www.jija.org/ENGLISH/JIJA/Support/support.html
The
Jews of Italy
There are Regional Special
Interest Groups that have Italian information and links. The site includes
links to Bohemia-Moravia SIG, Denmark SIG, German-Jewish SIG, Hungary SIG
and Stammbaum - German SIG at
http://www.jewishgen.org/Shtetlinks/W_Europe.html
Lecce
www.profughiebreinpuglia.it
Lev Chadash - (A New Heart )
Italy's first and, to date, only
non-Orthodox synagogue. Associazione italiana per l'ebraismo progressivo -
Jonathan Specktor, formerly of Minneapolis, now lives in Milan and
he, or the organization Lev Chadash, may be a helpful source
http://www.levchadash.info/
Lido
A small area near Venice.
The Jewish cemetery at the Lido di Venezia
http://www.archipelago.org/vol2-3/lido.htm
Livorno
"Ebrei di Livorno tra due
Censimenti" (Community of Livorno) - authored by Michele Luzatti and
published in 1990. The book is based on the 1841 census taken in Livorno.
All (over 4,000 Jewish inhabitants at that time, are listed with their
places of origin, addresses, occupations, age, and family members).
Genealogies and short family histories for a dozen or so local families are
included and there is a wealth of demographic information which adds up to a
very complete picture of Jewish life in Livorno between 18411 to 1938". From
a posting by Fred Straus
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Livorno.html
www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/Italy/italian.htm
Lugo
Contact Rivka Nessim. There are
Regional Special Interest Groups that have Italian information and links.
The site includes links to Bohemia-Moravia SIG, Denmark SIG, German-Jewish
SIG, Hungary SIG and Stammbaum - German SIG at
http://www.jewishgen.org/Shtetlinks/W_Europe.html
Maps
http://etc.usf.edu/maps/galleries/europe/italy/index.php
Map of Italy
http://www.europeetravel.com/maps/
Merano
An island town in the greater
Venice area , has some Jews buried in the Italy Lutheran Cemetery. There
was no Jewish Community registered at the time, so they were buried in this
cemetery and were classified as either Lutherans or Greek Orthodox in the
registers For further information, refer to the JewishGen Digest of 2/14/00
on Page 11
http://www.jewishgen.org
There is a Jewish community today in the town.
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Merano.html
Milan
There are about 10,000 Jews in the
capital city of Lombardy region.
Italy's first-ever non-orthodox congregation was recently formed in
this city. The Jewish community of Italy is composed of both
Ashkenazi and Sephardic congregations. Now, there is a new organization
known as Italian Association for Progressive Judaism which has created a new
congregation. Rabbi David J. Goldberg senior rabbi of The Liberal Jewish
Synagogue in London is helping with the formation. For additional
information, contact:
jspeckror@yahoo.it
http://.www.jewishencyclopedia.com/
http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/HC_Index.html
Pisa
ooops! 'Torre Pendente (The Leaning Tower)
Pisa - famous for it's leaning tower, but Shirley and I discovered a very
old Jewish cemetery located right behind the tower. If the gates are locked,
you can see a good portion through the convenient holes in the back side
brick walls that surround it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa
http://www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/_Pisa.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pisa_-_Jewish_community
Pitigliano
A town that once had a thriving
Jewish community and was known as "Little Jerusalem" ("La Piccola
Gerusalemme". Jews settled here in the 15th century and once numbered
over 300 - now down to three. There is a restored synagogue, butcher, Mikvah
and a matzo bakery that can still be seen.
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Pitigliano.html
http://www.pitigliano-ferien.de/pr.jerusalem-e.html
Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome in
133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.
The city holds the largest concentration of Jews in Italy - over
15,000. The Main Synagogue Tempio Israelitico is beautiful and well worth a
visit. It was completed in 1904 and also house the Jewish Museum of Rome.
The Jewish Roman community was much bigger in ancient times. It
swelled to some 50,000, or 10 percent of the population, after the arrival
of Jewish slaves and prisoners brought back after the Romans - led by the
Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus - conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the
Temple. Those Jewish slaves were used in the building of the Coliseum. The
Roman Forum's Arch of Titus, which commemorates the attack on Jerusalem,
has become one of the most powerful symbols of the Diaspora. Its carvings
depict the emperor's triumphant procession carrying loot from the Temple,
including a large, seven-branched menorah. The arch became such a powerful
symbol that Roman Jews refused to walk under it until the founding of
the State of Israel in 1948.
The menorah on the arch became the model for the one used on the emblem of
the State of Israel. Other archeological remains include a synagogue
and Jewish catacombs. The synagogue, located at the site of Rome's ancient
port, Ostia Antica, was discovered in 1961. It is believed to date from the
latter part of the first century C.E., and was remodeled at the end of the
third century. The ruined synagogue has a clearly visible ark decorated with
carvings of a menorah, lulav and shofar. There also is a room with an oven
which may have been used to bake matzos.
Oil lamps decorated with menorahs also were found. One of the most
interesting finds was a Greek inscription on a table, in which a local Jew
named Mindi Faustos praises himself for having donated the ark.
Chief Rabbi of Rome is Riccardo Di Segni.
Verano cemetery has a Jewish section and has been the scene of
desecrations recently.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Campo-di-Verano-cemetery
The Vatican Museum has the largest collection of Hebrew inscriptions and
epitaphs from the Jewish catacombs. Nearly 200 are currently on display. It
was discovered that the Jewish catacombs predate the Christian sites by at
least a century, according to an article by Dutch scientists in the journal
Nature. The finding suggests that early Christian burial practices may have
modeled after Jewish practice.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v436/n7049/full/436339a.html
Senegallia
There was once a Jewish presence
in this coastal town on the Adriatic Coast. There was an active community of
650 but now there are only four Jewish families. In a closet in the
synagogue are nine Torah scrolls of unknown age and origin.
http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/3/4/5/13459/13459.txt
Serrastretta
Located about 150 miles southwest
of Trani, there is evidence of another synagogue. The building is now
known as Ner Tamid del Sud (Eternal Light of the South) and has a
congregation of about 80 people.
Sephardic Sites
http://www.jewishgen.org/sephardic/general_sites.htm
Synagogues
There are about 70 synagogue
buildings, including the ruins of two from ancient Roman times. In addition,
there are Jewish museums throughout the country. The Piedmont area probably
has the most well-preserved synagogues. Rome boasts the largest and most
ornate structure with a distinctive square dome that towers above the Tiber
River at the edge of the old Jewish ghetto. The three best known are
the Moorish-style synagogue in Florence built in 1870-1882, several
restored synagogues in the old ghetto in Venice and the Grand Rome
synagogue.
http://www.jewishitaly.org/
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/synitaly.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Synagogues_in_Italy
Trani
There is a 13th century stone
synagogue in this walled seaport on the southern Adriatic coast near Bari
and services are held within the synagogue. It was known originally as Santa
Maria Scolanova, the Gothic structure was built in 1247 to serve the port's
thriving Jewish quarter. after the Jews were expelled, the church was
turned over to the church. Now it serves as a synagogue for a combination of
northern Italian Jews who have relocated here, recent returnees to Judaism
and a few Israeli expatriates.
Translation Service
Languages
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http://www.worldlanguage.com
LingvoSoft Dictionary software English <-> Yiddish for Windows - 400,000
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Trieste
At the cross roads of the past and
of today, of Central and Southern Europe, Trieste is a fine city with
a long history. It was founded in the ancient times and has been the subject
of dispute between all Central European and Balkan powers, seeking a passage
to the Mediterranean.
It has been influenced by numerous cultures and has known periods of
prominent glory. The monuments of the city are of enormous sightseeing
attraction; moreover, the city is a major commercial hub, since it provides
direct access to the major central European highways to Milan and
Venice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Community_of_Trieste
http://www.jewishitaly.org/detail.asp?ID=252
Taranto
A city in Apulia, southwest
Italy. It was here that Titus brought the captives from Jerusalem, a
Mogen David on a 6th century tombstone is the first known use of the Star of
David in a specifically Jewish context.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranto
Umbria
A beautiful region, but a region
where few Jews have lived since the Middle ages.
Urbino
There was once a Jewish presence.
Check out this link
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com
U Nahon Museum of Italian-Jewish Art
http://www.jija.org/ENGLISH/JIJA/Home/JIJAHome.html
Venice
Venice Ghetto scene
Venice not only has several synagogues, but also a mikva'ot'oth. Both
are located in the ghetto district. The ghetto was established in 1516
during a war between most of the powers of Europe against Venice.
Jews were among those refugees from Venetian-controlled territory in
northern Italy who were able to escape to Venice in front of the
armies that came as close to the lagoon that has always protected the city.
It did it again this time.
http://www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/_Venezia.html
Until that time, Jews were not allowed to live permanently within the city,
but because of their loan and banking services, they were especially needed
during the time of war, and in the aftermath, as well. This was the reason
that the authorities dropped their rules against Jews living in Venice,
and allowed those who were already there, to remain, but confined to the one
part of the city - an area called the 'ghetto', meaning foundry,
because it had been an iron foundry at one time.
The ghetto expanded over time and included two adjoining neighborhoods Jews
were allowed to come and go as long as they identified themselves as Jews by
wearing a Jewish badge and they had to return to be locked with the ghetto
gates each day at sunset.
The baroque synagogues were built as monuments to their distinct ethnic
minhagim (liturgies) and identities. There are two functioning
Sephardic synagogues (the Scuola Levantine and the Scuola Spagnola)The
two Ashkenazic synagogues (Scuola Todesca and Scuola Canton) and the
Italian Synagogue (Scuola Italiano) have been restored and serve as
museums today.
Jews who died in WW I have been memorialized in the outer stone wall of the
Scuola Levantina. You will find names such as Polacco (from Poland),
Sarfatti (from France), Calimani (Good Name" in Greek, from the
Hebrew "Shemtov") Ottolenghi (from Ettlingen, in Germany),
Navarro ( a Spanish name ), Todesco (literally "German") and
more.
A good resource on the Jews and Marranos in Venice are the books of
P.C. Ioly Zorattini Between others, he published fifteen (!) volumes of "Processi
del Sant' Uffizio di Venezia ontro Ebrei e Giudaizzanti" (Criminal
Trials of the Holy (?) Office of Venice against Jews and Judizants).
These volumes, not easy to find, were published from 1984 to 1999 and cover
trials against Jews from 1570 to 1734. Ioly Zorattini is an expert of
history of Marranos in North-East Italy (Venezia, Padova, Verona, Udine,
etc.). A list of P.C. Ioly Zorattini's publications can be find at:
http://www.humnet.unipi.it/medievistica/aisg/AISG_Ioly/Ioly.html
From a posting by Nardo Bonomi Firenze - Italy Author of:
http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Italy/italian.htm
Virtual Tour of Jewish Venice
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Venice.html
http://www.jewishvenice.org/
Volterra bankers family of Tuscany
There is a reference to a book
about this family. The article can be found in the Winter issue of ETSI
(Sephardi Genealogical and Historical Review of 1999
http://arts.jrank.org/pages/13231/Medici.html
White Pages (Italian Telephone
Book) in Italian.
You can research for a family name
in towns (Comune) or in a province (Provincia). The option "Provincia"
includes also the towns that are in the province selected.
http://elenco.virgilio.it/pb/home/
Travel
See also my "Traveling
Roots" page
In Your Pocket Guide - a wonderful, detailed commercial travel site that
offers much information about the history and current traveling conditions
in the country, along with city map information
http://www.inyourpocket.com
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
Corfu
http://sammidesire.blogspot.com/2010/06/corfu-jews.html
Early on the morning of June 9,
1944, the Germans woke up the Jewish population and forcibly marched them to
the Old Fortress where they were pushed into confiscated small boats to be
deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Most never returned. There is a
Jewish presence today.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/Corfu.html
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/greece/nonflash/eng/
corfu.htm
A Holocaust Memorial was recently dedicated to their memory. These are the
family names listed on the Memorial:
Akkos; Alchavas; Amar; Aron; Asias; Asser; Bakolas; Balestra; Baruch; Ben
Giat; Besso; Cavaliero; Chaim; Dalmediaos; Dentes; Elias; Eliezer; Eskapas;
Etan; Ferro; Fortes; Ganis; Gerson; Gikas; Israel; Johanna; Koen; Kolonimos;
Konstantinis; Koulias; Lemous; Leoncini; Levi; Matathias; Matsas; Mnervo;
Mizan Mordos; Moustaki; Nacho; Nechamas; Negrin; Osmos; Ovadiah; Perez;
Pitson; Politis; Raphael; Sardas; Sasen; Serneine; Sinigalli; Soussis;
Tsesana; Varon; Vellelis; Vivante; Vital and Vitali
Isaac Dostis is working on a documentary "Farewell My Island" which
is about the deportation from Corfu and is to be finished soon.
Contact Isaac at 1 212 431 1619
Synagogues on Corfu
http://www.mavensearch.com/synagogues/C3391Y41696RX
Books
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
Crete
Etz Hayyim Synagogue Door
Crete is the largest of the
Greek islands and also home to one of the oldest Jewish Communities
in Europe. There is an excellent article about this island's Jewish
community - past and present - in the February 2004 issue of Hadassah
Magazine.
Crete is known as the home of the Philistines and was once the home of
Jewish scholars and merchants. It was also the home to one of Europe's
oldest Jewish communities and a stop-over for travelers en route to the Holy
Land. Jews are mentioned as early as 142 B.C.E. in a letter in support of
them sent to the capital city of Gortys, 29 miles south of Heraklion, at the
request of Simon, the Hasmonean ruler of Judea, according to the article in
Hadassah Magazine authored by Esther Hecht.
http://www.etz-hayyim-hania.org/_commun/hist06.html
http://www.hadassah.org/news/content/per_hadassah/archive/200/04
_FEB/traveler.asp
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/travel/27journeys.html
Around 1204 the island was sold to the Venetians and became an important
commercial center. From 1416 they were forbidden to own land. In 1858 there
were 907 Jews on the island but only 647 in 1881.
Central Board of Jewish Communities
36 Voulis Street
Athens, Greece
Phone: 011 30 210 324 4315
E-mail: hhkis@hellasnet.gr
www.kis.gr
Etz Hayyim Synagogue was originally a fifteenth century church and is
located in the old Jewish quarter (Ovraiki) in the city of Hania
Parodos Kondylaki Str
731 10 Hania, Crete, Hellas (GR)
Telephone/Fax: 30 282 108 6286; 30 694 243 9741;
E-mail: dori@grecian.et
www.etz-hayyim-hania.org
Handak
Became known as Candia and
today it is called Heraklion.
http://www.etz-hayyim-hania.org/_commun/hist.html
Hania
In 1941, there were 314 Jews.
During WW II, the Jews of Hania were rounded up, taken to
Heraklion and put on a ship bound for Piraeus; a death camp was
their ultimate destination, however a British sub sank the ship and
no Jews survived.
http://www.etz-hayyim-hania.org/_synag/faqs.html
Heraklion
In 1481, there were 600 Romaniote
Jewish families in Heraklion with four synagogues and the right of
self-government. There were 26 Jewish men in 1941.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Greece.html
Interkriti
Gateway to Crete including
an aerial tour
http://www.interkriti.org/plakias/index.html
The Kehila Kedosha Janina
Synagogue and Museum
Offers an exhibit entitled 'The
Romaniotes of Crete' which tells the story of the Jews of Crete
and the resurrection of the Romaniote synagogue there. More information can
be found at the museum's web site
www.kkjsm.org/home.html
Rethymnon
A harbor town where Jews once
lived
http://www.dva.gov.au/OAWG/war_memorials/overseas_memorials/crete.htm
Books
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
Cyprus
Cyprus Jews released from Detention Camp
http://www.jewish-heritage-europe.eu/country/cyprus/cyprus.htm
Larnaca
A synagogue and Jewish community
center was inaugurated in 2005. Rabbi Arie Ze'ev Raskin is the rabbi of the
Cyprus Jewish community. There are between 150 and 300 Jewish families
living in Cyprus, half of them Israelis.
http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/aid/118616/jewish/CJCC-Cyprus-Jewish-Community-Centre.htm
Map
Cyprus Map
http://www.europeetravel.com/maps/
Books
Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking here > Jewish Genealogy
"The Forgotten Jews of Cyprus"
There is a story by Yadin Roman
and photos by Doron Horowitz available at
http://www.eretz.com/internet/cyprus1.htm
Malta
Jews of Carlisle
http://www.bh.org.il/Communities/Archive/Malta.asp
http://www.heritagemalta.org/index.html
http://visitmalta.com/main
About 28 km by 12 km and is part
of an archipelago made up of another three islands, which are Gozo,
Comino, Cominotto and Filfla, each having their unique features.
The mother language is Maltese, which is semantically based together
with some romantic vocabulary. Most residents speak fluent English as
well. As a country, it dates from thousands of years before Christ and has
been conquered and
colonized by many civilizations and countries, namely Phoenicians, Romans,
Arabs, Normans, French, British and the Knights of St. John. The oldest
known landmark is the Neolithic temples dating from the same era as the
pyramids. Religiously, most of the population is Catholic since the island
was colonized by Britain for over 200 years. Currency is euros.
"The Jews of Malta In The Late Middle Ages"
The book has no ISBN number and written by Godfrey Wettinger of Midsea Books
Ltd. in Malta in 1985. It contains among other things, an Index of Persons
and Index of Places and an Index of Subjects and contains a wealth of
information. Various subject covered include the economic activity of the
Jewish community, Militia lists containing Jewish names, Civil Proceedings
concerning the Jews of Malta and other sundry items - all from the
fifteenth century (1400-1500). Basil Samuels offers to
do looks ups for anyone interested in a posting on 12/10/1997
basilindasamuels@compuserve.com
Jews of Malta
Photos and a description of the
Jewish Centre of Malta, as well as the history of the Maltese Jews
is at
http://www.maltesejewishcommunity.org/
Maps
Map of Malta
http://www.europeetravel.com/maps/
Valetta
A Democratic government is in
place and Valetta is the capital of the country.
New Synagogue in Valetta, Malta. Beth Hatefutsoth - Visual Documentation
Center
Courtesy of Stanley L. Davis - Jewish Community of Malta
Rhodes
Jewish Quarter
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9679871@N04/1043286547/
There is an excellent article,
authored by Esther Hecht, detailing the Jewish presence in Rhodes. It
is available in the August/September 2002 issue of Hadassah Magazine. I am
quoting some of the highlights from that article.
The Jews of Rhodes call themselves 'Rhodeslis'. The lives of
Rhodeslis are bound up with the sea. Their homes and synagogues were
near the harbor; as silk merchants they sent and received exotic cargoes.
And it was by sea that they left the Island of roses to seek their fortunes
in distant lands: the Belgian Congo (today Zaire), Rhodesia (which is now
Zimbabwe and Zambia) and the United States."
Jews may have been living on the island since the second century B.C.E. They
are mention in 653 C.E. when the Arab conquerors ordered the destruction of
the remains of the Colossus, a gigantic bronze statue of Helios, toppled by
an
earthquake eight centuries before. In the 12th century there were 400 Jews
according to a writing by Benjamin of Tudela, when he visited the Island.
Jews were expelled in early 1500 but were brought back as slaves by the
knights in 1522 and freed by the Turks. These were the Jews who had fled the
Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, and their customs and language (Judeo-Spanish)
quickly supplanted those of the earlier Romaniote (Greek-speaking)
community.
Rhodes came under Italian rule in 1912, after the Balkan
wars. Jews then started to seek their fortunes in Africa,
especially in the Belgian Congo. So many men left that the women
would become engaged by mail, then leave to join their husbands. At its peak
in the 1920s, the Jewish population was about 4,000, one third of the total.
While under German occupation in WW II, over 1,604 Jews were taken to
Auschwitz and murdered on July 23, 1944. Only 151 of them survived the
Holocaust. At
present there are fewer than 40 Jews on the island which came under Greek
dominion in 1947. Bella Restis-Angel is their first President of the
Jewish Community which is administered by the Central board of Jewish
Communities in Athens.
In the early 20th century, the rabbi of the largest synagogue was Yaacov
Capuia,
the Kahal Gadol
Most of the founding members of Or Ve Shalom Congregation in Atlanta,
Georgia originated from Rhodes. The women of the congregation
have created a Sephardic cookbook. See my Cooking page for recipes.
Books
Most books, CDs, etc. can be
ordered through my link to Amazon.com by clicking here >
Jewish Genealogy
"Histoire des Juifs de Rhodes", Chio, Cos, etc."
Authored by Abraham Galante and published in Istanbul, in French, by
the Societe Anonyme de Papeterie et d'Imprimerie, 1935.
According to Daniel Kazez, "it is an excellent book, of value to all
Sephardic Jews". It is the history of the Jews of Greece, Rhodes,
Aegean Island, and Turkey The author is working on an English index that
will have about 600 entries indexed. These libraries have the French
version: Hebrew Union College - Ohio; The Ohio State University; The Library
of Congress in Washington; the University of Iowa Library; The Brandeis
University Library in Massachusetts; The Harvard University Library in
Massachusetts; The University of Pennsylvania, Center for Judaic Studies.
The book deals with Rhodes and smaller communities of Chio, Cos,
Lemnos, Metelin, Cassos, Castellorizo, Halki, Patmos, Calymnos, Symi,
Carpathos, Leors, and Nyssiros The index has 648 entries and
requires Adobe PDF program
http://www.sephardichouse.org/
"The Jewish Martyrs of
Rhodes and Cos"
Authored by Hizkia M. Franco who was the former President of the Jewish
Community of Rhodes, and published in 1984 by Harper Collins Publishers,
3rd floor, Regal Star House, 26 George Silundika Ave. Harare, Zimbabwe.
This book provides a history of the Jews of Rhodes from the 1930s through
the end of WW II and includes a list of the 1,674 Jews of Rhodes and
Cos who were deported in 1944 by the Nazis, and the 54 Jews who
escaped deportation. Also identified are those who died in the bombing
of Rhodes.
ISBN 1 77904 004 0
"The Jewish Quarter of
Rhodes"
A self-published guide book by Aron Hasson
"Jewish Rhodes: A Lost Culture"
Authored by Isaac Jack Levy and published in 1989 by Judah L. Magnes Museum,
2911 Russell Street, Berkeley, CA 94705
"The Jews of Rhodes"
Authored by Marc Angel and published by Sepher Hermon Press provides a
history
of the community and its customs. It is out of print.
"The Juderia"
Authored by Laura Varon - is an account of life before the German occupation
and her struggle to survive in a concentration camp.
General Rhodes
Information
Rhodes Jewish cemetery
Jewish Cemetery
Located between the Christian and Muslim burial grounds on the road to
Faliraki, on the southeastern edge of the city. A massive pointed arch
marks the entrance.
http://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/cemetery.htm
Jewish Community
Near the Archaeological Museum
5 Polydorou
Telephone: 30 241 22364
e-mail jcrhodes@otenet.gr
The office has a list of graves in
the cemetery and an archive for genealogical study that is open Monday
through Friday from 9 to 2.
http://www.isjm.org/jhr/nos3-4/rhodes.htm
Kahal Shalom Synagogue
A sixteenth-century synagogue
built in 1577. Samuel Modiano, one of the few Rhodeslis to have
survived the Holocaust, was to have had his bar mitzvah in the synagogue in
1944, but instead 'celebrated' it in Auschwitz. Today, he
leads tours of the synagogue and La Juderia, the neighborhood that
housed thousands of Jews before WW II.
http://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/kahal.htm
Kol Hakehila
A quarterly publication about the
Jewish communities in Greece as well as Jewish heritage tours
http://www.yvelia.com
La Juderia and Square of
the Jewish Martyrs La Juderia
Located in the eastern corner of
the town and was home for Jews for centuries. The square is now called
Plateia Martyron Evreion: the Square of the Jewish Martyrs of the
Holocaust.
http://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/news.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Juderia
The Rhodes Jewish Historical
Foundation
10850 Wilshire Blvd.
# 750
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Phone: 310-475-4779 Fax: 310-475-8144
http://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org
The Rhodes Jewish Museum
Founded by Aron Hasson and opened
in 1997
http://www.bsz.org/agreekjew.htm
http://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org
http://www.sephardicgen.com/turkey_sites.htm
'Names List'
http://home.earthlink.net/~bnahman/
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