Italian Synagogue (Jerusalem)
| Italian Synagogue, Jerusalem | |
|---|---|
בית הכנסת האיטלקי, ירושלים | |
| File:בית הכנסת של קוניליאנו.jpg | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Judaism (Italian rite) |
| Rite | Minhag Italia |
| Location | |
| Location | 27 Hillel Street, Jerusalem, Israel |
| Country | Israel |
| Geographic coordinates | 31°46′37″N 35°13′21″E / 31.77694°N 35.22250°ECoordinates: 31°46′37″N 35°13′21″E / 31.77694°N 35.22250°E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Website | |
| ijamuseum | |
The Italian Synagogue of Jerusalem (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.), also known as the Conegliano Veneto Synagogue, is a Rococo-style synagogue located at 27 Hillel Street in central Jerusalem. Originally built in 1701 in the Jewish ghetto of Conegliano in the Veneto region of northern Italy, its entire interior was dismantled and shipped to Israel in 1951 and formally dedicated in Jerusalem on 4 April 1952.[1][2] The synagogue shares its building with the Umberto Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art, established in 1982.[3][4]
Services are conducted according to the Italian rite (Minhag Italia), one of the most ancient surviving Jewish liturgical traditions, which the Jerusalem Foundation describes as "closely related to the tradition that prevailed during the Second Temple Period."[3]
History
Origins in Conegliano
Jews first settled in Conegliano in 1397–98. By 1637 the community had been confined to a ghetto, within which they built a new synagogue in 1701.[5] The last service held in Conegliano took place on Yom Kippur 1917 or 1918, when Austro-Hungarian Jewish soldiers sought a synagogue in which to observe the holiday; after this the building was abandoned.[5][2]
Transfer to Jerusalem
In 1944, Alfonso Pacifici proposed moving the synagogue to Palestine. In 1946, a formal suggestion to purchase it was submitted to the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, and on 7 October 1948 the Venetian Jewish community voted to donate the synagogue to the Association of Italian Jews and the Association of Italian Immigrants in Israel.[1] The task of dismantling the Torah ark, the bimah, and all furnishings was entrusted to Federico Luzzatto, Guido Bassan and Angelo Fano of Kibbutz Givat Brenner.[1]
In April 1951 the ship Abazzia docked at Haifa Port with the synagogue's components. Craftsmen from Italy and Israel spent a year reconstructing the interior in Jerusalem. The dedication ceremony took place on 4 April 1952.[1] Later that year a service was held to mark the completion of illuminated wall paintings by artist Miriam Bolaffio Morpurgo, and memorial plaques were unveiled for Dr Renato Jarach, Prof. Moshe David Cassuto, and community members who died in Israel's War of Independence.[1]
Diplomatic Symbolism
In 2022 Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited the synagogue, where he met representatives of the Italian community in Israel.[6]
The building
The museum and synagogue are housed in a building constructed in the 1870s–80s by the German Catholic Society as a hospice near the Jaffa Gate—known as the Schmidt Compound. The Italian community was permitted to use it for prayer in the 1940s, and the reconstructed synagogue was installed on the building's second floor.[5]
The Umberto Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art
The Umberto Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art was established by the Jerusalem Italian Jews Association in the former Schmidt Compound in 1982. It collects, preserves, and displays objects pertaining to Jewish life in Italy from the Middle Ages to the present, focusing on the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The museum also houses conservation workshops, a library, and a photograph collection.[3] Notable holdings include what is believed to be the world's oldest surviving Torah curtain (parochet), dating to 1572.[5]
On weekdays the building functions as a museum; on Shabbat and Jewish holidays it serves as a place of worship for the Italian Jewish community of Jerusalem.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "The Italian Synagogue of Jerusalem". Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chen, Noam (2017-11-16). "Hidden gems of Jerusalem". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art". Jerusalem Foundation. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ Munitz, Shmuel; Munitz, Shmuel (2023-09-15). "How a Jerusalem synagogue preserves the soul of Italian Jewry". Ynetglobal. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Italian Synagogue, Jerusalem". Bein Harim Tours. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ "Italian Prime Minister Draghi visit in Israel: "Italian Temple of Jerusalem, symbol of the bond between our countries"". moked. 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
External links
- Official website of the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art
- How a Jerusalem Synagogue Preserves the Soul of Italian Jewry. Ynet, September 2023
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