Cairo shul rededicated

By Chloe Markowicz - Tuesday 9th March 2010


A 19th century synagogue in Cairo has reopened after an 18-month restoration by the Egyptian government.

Around 150 people, including rabbis and the Israeli and US ambassadors to Egypt, attended the rededication ceremony for the Maimonides synagogue and a neighbouring 12-century yeshiva on Sunday.

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The synagogue was named after Moses ben Maimon, the influential Jewish philosopher, also known as Maimonides or the Ramban. Maimonides was born in Cordoba, Spain in 1135 and then escaped persecution there by moving to Egypt. He lived in Cairo and studied in the recently restored yeshiva. The synagogue was built over the site where he was briefly buried, before his remains were moved to Israel.

Rabbi Andrew Baker of the American Jewish Committee, who attended Sunday's ceremony, praised the Egyptian authorities for recognising Jewish religious sites as part of Egyptian heritage and for leading the restoration project. He said: "When I first set foot here only five years ago, the synagogue was in ruins and its roof opened to the sky."

No Egyptian officials were present on Sunday as it was a purely religious ceremony. However, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief, said Egyptian representatives would attend a more formal opening on 14 March. Last year Hawass said Egypt was taking on the restoration, which cost around £1.3million, because "it's a part of our history". He said: "We care about this temple as we care about a mosque and a church."

Around 80,000 Jews lived in Egypt in the first half of the 20th century, but today there are only about 100 Jews left. There are 12 synagogues in Cairo, some of which have already been restored, including the Ben Ezer and the Shaar HaShmayim synagogues in Cairo.

The Egyptian government has pledged to restore six more synagogues in the next two years and one of the synagogues could end become a Museum of Jewish Heritage in Egypt.

Rabbi Baker said: "Such a museum will provide a repository to the scrolls and artefacts and communal archives necessary to preserve a legacy when the present-day community has passed. Importantly, the Museum of Jewish Heritage also will teach a younger generation of Egyptians that there was a time when Jews were part of the fabric of life here and all were enriched as a result."

Last month a firebomb was thrown at the Shaar HaShamayim synagogue in Cairo, though no damage or injuries were reported. The male suspect who was arrested in connection with the attack told Egyptian authorities that he had thrown the firebomb because he was "angry at what is taking place in the Palestinian territories".

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