Former synagogue in Damascus, Syria
The Jobar Synagogue was an ancient synagogue complex destroyed in May 2014. Also known as the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue it was situated in the village of Jobar now encompassed by the metropolitan area of the City of Damascus. It was once adjoined to a complex with rooms for the rabbi and other functionaries of the community. The synagogue was built atop a cave traditionally thought to have served the prophet Elijah in hiding. The hall center was said to be the place where Elijah anointed Elisa. During the Syrian civil war it was hit by mortar bombs, looted, and later 2/3 of the synagogue were totally destroyed at the end of May 2014.[1]
History and traditions
The synagogue had a plaque stating it was from 720 B.C.E and was frequently but incorrectly perceived to be a 2,000-year-old synagogue[2] located in the suburb of Jobar, Damascus. The earliest verifiable literary sources indicate that it is at least medieval in origin. It was built in commemoration of the biblical prophet Elijah, and has been a place of Jewish pilgrimage for many centuries.[2][3] It also is the burial-place of a wonder-working sage of the sixteenth century.[4]
According to tradition, the synagogue was built atop a cave where the prophet Elijah concealed himself during persecution.[5] The synagogue was said to have been built by Elisha and repaired during the first century by Eleazar ben Arach.[6] Another tradition states that the biblical anointing by Elisha of King Hazael of Syria took place at the synagogue.[3]
Though much cited as one of the earliest sources mentioning the existence of a synagogue at Jobar is from the Talmud, there is no incontrovertible evidence to support the reading that states that Rabbi Rafram bar Pappa prayed there.[7] The challenge to this interpretation has also led to discord and controversy (although according to the anthropologist and researcher Dr. Adam Blitz, from the content and comparison with the traditional explanations it is clear that the town of Abi Gobar was in Babylonia and not near Damascus.[8])
Medieval period
During the medieval period, Jobar was home to a significant Jewish community.[3] Shams Ibn Tulun Al Dimashki (d. 1546)[9] mentions that "Jobar is a Jewish village with a Muslim presence."[3] In 1210 a French Jew, Samuel ben Samson, while visiting Damascus, recounted the "beautiful synagogue situated outside the city", (in Jobar). An anonymous Jewish traveller who arrived a few years after the Spanish immigration (Edict of Expulsion of the Jews of Spain) found 60 Jewish families living in the village of Jobar, who had a very beautiful synagogue. "I have never seen anything like it," says the author; "it is supported by thirteen columns."[6] The Chronicle of Joseph Sambari (1672) says that the Jewish community of Damascus lived chiefly in Jobar, and he knows of the synagogue of Elisha and the cave of Elijah the Tishbite.[6] Benjamin II (d. 1864) described the synagogue as reminding him of "the Mosque Moawiah". "The interior is supported by 13 marble pillars, six on the right and seven on the left side, and is everywhere inlaid with marble. There is only one portal by which to enter. Under the holy shrine ... is a grotto ... the descent to which is by a flight of about 20 steps. According to the Jews, the Prophet Elisha is said to have found in this grotto a place of refuge.... At the entrance of the synagogue, toward the middle of the wall to the right, is an irregularly formed stone, on which can be observed the traces of several steps. Tradition asserts that upon this step sat King Hazael when the Prophet Elisha anointed him king."[10]
19th century onward
Last week the wicked entered the synagogue at Djobar and pillaged the whole edifice. The holy scrolls they have torn into pieces; they even took some of these holy coverings of the scrolls and other sacred writings and used them most contemptuously.
—
"A private letter from Damascus", June 4, 1840.
The New Yorker.[11]
Documents from the early 19th century reveal properties in the village that belonged to Jewish wakf (religious endowment), which were leased to members of other communities.[12] During the rioting following accusation of ritual murder against the Jews of Damascus in 1840, the mob fell upon the synagogue, pillaged it and destroyed the scrolls of the Law.[13] In 1847, only one Jewish family was left in the village, and they took care of the synagogue. On festival days, many of Jews from Damascus assembled at the synagogue to worship[14] and during the year, the synagogue was often visited by Jews.[5] A few rooms in the court adjoining the synagogue were used as a retreat by some Damascus Jews for a few days during the spring and summer.[15]
After the establishment of the State of Israel, Jews in Syria faced greater discrimination as the Syrian government enforced tighter restrictions on them. Jewish property could not be sold and those that had been abandoned were confiscated.[16] Part of the land associated with the synagogue was taken over and converted into a school for displaced Palestinian Arabs.[17]
The synagogue is venerated as one of Syria's holiest pilgrimage site for Jews.[3] In the past, sick people were brought into the caveren below the synagogue and left there alone at night in the hope that Elisha's spirit would exercise a healing influence over them.[15] According to an extract from the Syrian cadastre of the Djobar district, its east side is 17–3 m long, itst side 15.7m and the building 12.13m wide.[18][full citation needed]
Syrian civil war
In March 2013, reports surfaced that the synagogue had been burned to the ground during the Syrian civil war, with both government and rebel forces trading blame over which party looted and destroyed the building.[19][20][21][22] However, later during the year photographs were published and a video emerged showing that the synagogue was still standing but had suffered from mortar fire with damage to the ceiling and the bimah.[23][24] By May 2014 the majority of the structure had been totally demolished with only the right wing remaining.[25] Blame was directed at the Syrian army who mistakenly hit the synagogue while targeting a nearby rebel enclave although some claim rebels were hiding the synagogue complex.[26] Subsequently there has been concern that items from the ruin would be looted and illegally sold.[27] Private funds have been raised in an attempt to restore the synagogue. The restoration project is being undertaken with the approval of the Syrian and Russian governments.[28]
