RHODES JEWISH MUSEUM
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Jewish Museum in the Kahal Shalom Synagogue in Rhodes City.
The Rhodes Jewish Museum is housed in the Kahal Shalom synagogue, Greece's oldest (1577) and Rhodes' last active synagogue. The interior is in traditional Sephardic style, and the magnificent pebble mosaic floors are typical of the old town. The museum traces the rich history of Rhodes' Jewish community back many centuries: of Sephardic origin, the Jews of Rhodes speak Ladino, a Judeo-Spanish language that distinguishes them from the rest of the population. Throughout the Ottoman period, this vibrant, autonomous community published its own newspapers, organized cultural and political events and presided over higher education in its rabbinical colleges. At the beginning of the 20th century, the community numbered some 4,000 members and the Jewish quarter (la Juderia) boasted four synagogues.
But in the 1930s, the anti-Semitic laws proclaimed by the Fascist government forced a large part of the Jewish population to leave Rhodes. In 1944, the island was finally occupied by the Nazis: on July 23, 1944, 1,673 Jews were rounded up in Martyron Evreon (Jewish Martyrs' Square) for deportation. They were joined by Jews from Kos: initially shipped to Piraeus and the Chaïdari concentration camp on the outskirts of Athens, they were soon sent to Auschwitz, where 90% of the community perished. Only 151 Jews from the Dodecanese returned from the camps. Today, the community is made up of only around 20 members, most of them from elsewhere.
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If you want to visit it, do not go there every Friday afternoon or saturdays.
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des chants d' époque en latino accompagnent la visite
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