The Or-Thora Synagogue ( he, בית הכנסת אור תורה; ar, كنيس أور تورا بتونس) is a synagogue located in the Hara (old city) of the city of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

History

It was completed in the early 1930s, prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was designed by architects Aimé Krief and Jean Sebag. Habib Bourguiba, who served as the President of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987, visited the synagogue on February 12, 1957.

Decline

After the departure of most of the

Tunisian Jews The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Punic era. The Jewish community in Tunisia is no doubt older and grew up following successive waves of immigration and proselytism before its develo ...

for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

following the anti-Jewish riots during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

, which included the burning of the

Torah Scroll A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tor ...

s at the synagogue, religious services stopped being offered at the synagogue. It is currently not in use. There are ongoing discussions among the Tunisian Jewish community and the residents of the Hafsia to turn the Or-Thora Synagogue into a museum of the Hara, with a project led by Leila Ben GacemMuslim locals seek Tunis synagogue revival to honor once vibrant Jewish quarter
i24News and a team of architects from the NGO '' Association de sauvegarde de la médina de Tunis'', with the aim to save the synagogue from total degradation.

History

Decline

References

See also