The Asmara Synagogue ( ti, ምኩራብ ኣስመራ, he, בית הכנסת של אסמרה, ar, معبد أسمرا) is the only surviving remnant of the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

. Built in 1906, includes a Jewish cemetery, classrooms, and a main sanctuary. All aspects of the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

today are taken care of by Samuel Cohen, an

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

native who remained in the country to look after the edifice.

History

The synagogue was founded in 1906 by

Yemenite Jewish Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...

immigrants from

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

. Along with the Adeni Jews, some congregants were

Italian Jews Italian Jews ( it, Ebrei Italiani, he, יהודים איטלקים ''Yehudim Italkim'') or Roman Jews ( it, Ebrei Romani, he, יהודים רומים ''Yehudim Romim'') can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in I ...

. Others were refugees from Nazi Europe.

References

External links

Religious sites in Asmara
Adeni Jews Buildings and structures in Asmara Italian diaspora in Africa Italian-Jewish diaspora Orthodox Judaism in Africa Orthodox synagogues Synagogues completed in 1906 Synagogues in Eritrea 1906 establishments in Africa 1906 establishments in the Italian Empire Yemeni-Jewish diaspora {{Eritrea-synagogue-stub

History

See also

References

External links