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85 years after Kristallnacht, Germany to begin rebuilding grand synagogue in Hamburg
(JTA) — More than 80 years after one of Germany’s most prominent synagogues was destroyed on Kristallnacht, the Jewish community of Hamburg has taken ownership of the building’s site and is set to begin rebuilding it.
The site of the Bornplatz Synagogue, a neo-Romanesque building dedicated in 1906 that had a 1,200-seat sanctuary and was once the largest synagogue in northern Germany, was officially handed over to leaders of the city’s Jewish community on Wednesday. At the ceremony marking that restitution, officials from the city of Hamburg cut up a copy of the Nazi-era Aryanization document that ordered the demolition of the synagogue.
“We apologize for coming to the decision so late to give them back their property,” Dirk Kienscherf, a local official from the center-left Social Democratic Party, said to representatives of the Jewish community at the ceremony.
The synagogue was burned during Kristallnacht, the series of pogroms in 1938 when Nazis destroyed synagogues and Jewish-owned stores across Germany. Its remains were later forcibly sold to the city and demolished, and an air raid bunker, for use only by Aryans, was built next door. At present, the empty site features a mosaic outlining the synagogue’s architecture, including its vaulted ceilings, that was laid in 1988 by artist Margrit Kahl.
“The Bornplatz Synagoge will rise again and become a monument of remembrance, serving as the visible center for the vibrant Jewish life in our city,” Rabbi Shlomo Bistrizky, a Chabad-Lubavitch movement emissary and chief rabbi of Hamburg, said in a statement.
The quest to rebuild the synagogue, more than eight decades after its destruction, began in the shop of a local antique dealer in the summer of 2020. Daniel Sheffer, an Israeli-born entrepreneur now based in Hamburg, was in the shop when he discovered a silver Torah crown engraved with a dedication to Markus Hirsch, the first rabbi of the Bornplatz Synagogue — which left him feeling “overwhelmed,” he told the Jewish Chronicle.
“But I also felt embarrassed and ashamed and angry, because I was being asked to buy back what was stolen from my ancestors,” he added. “That feeling lasted for days.”
Sheffer eventually bought the crown and brought it with him to more than 50 meetings with public officials and other potential supporters of his campaign, titled “No to antisemitism. Yes to the Bornplatz Synagogue.”
That effort led to the formation of the Initiative for the Reconstruction of the Bornplatz Synagogue, which Sheffer leads. The project secured more than $600,000 in German government funding to conduct a study evaluating the feasibility of rebuilding the synagogue. The construction itself will be funded by the Hamburg municipal government, the German government and private donations.
The pledges of public support for the project came following two more recent attacks on Jews in Germany: the 2019 shooting at a synagogue in the city of Halle, and an attack almost exactly a year later at the Hohe Weide synagogue in Hamburg during Sukkot, in which a Jewish student was seriously injured.
The Torah crown Sheffer bought is now housed at Hohe Weide synagogue. One of the Torah scrolls from the Bornplatz Synagogue, meanwhile, found its way to the United States in 1940 via Italy, rescued by a congregant, Joseph Bamberger. The Torah scroll continued to be used in the synagogues Bamberger and his family attended in Manhattan, and as of 2021, it is in the permanent collection of the city’s Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Some have argued that rebuilding the synagogue would lead the public to forget the atrocities of the Holocaust, while memorials like the one that currently exists in the square are a reminder of the community’s loss and destruction. “The mosaic communicates and commemorates the open wound of the building’s absence, and through it, the absence of what was once one of Western Europe’s most thriving Jewish communities,” Galit Noga-Banai wrote in Haaretz criticizing the reconstruction initiative.
Because of the unusual way the synagogue was destroyed — all of its rubble was pushed into the basement — some surprises have turned up during the excavation process. Those include colorful glass shards from the synagogue’s windows, which give a sense of what the building — whose image has been preserved in black-and-white photos — looked like, Northern German Broadcasting reported.
When the excavation is completed, an architectural competition for the design of the new synagogue will be held, and the bunker standing next to the synagogue will be demolished.
“This moment today is a turning point for our Jewish history in Hamburg,” Sheffer said, according to a local radio station. “It is the victory of justice and Jewish life in Hamburg over the barbarism of the Nazis.”
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The post 85 years after Kristallnacht, Germany to begin rebuilding grand synagogue in Hamburg appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Dozens of Terrorists Eliminated in Central Gaza, Weapons Seized from UN School in Raid
Some rises after an Israeli strike as Israeli forces launch a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
i24 News – Israel Defense Forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area at the same time as fighting in the Rafah area and in the center of the Gaza Strip, the army said.
In the Shejaiya area, forces of the 98th Division attacked dozens of terrorist sites with the help of airstrikes from the Israel Air Force.
Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers raided a UN school in Shejaiya, where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades and valuable intelligence documents
This is yet another example of how Gazan terrorists use civilian structures to carry out attacks against Israeli forces pic.twitter.com/9oA9KLJehC
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
A UN school was raided where terrorists hid and stored weapons, grenades, and sensitive documents. In addition, a Hamas command center was discovered in a clinic.
Since Saturday, division forces located weapons, raided and captured terrorist compounds, and eliminated a number of terrorists.
IDF strikes Hamas target in Gaza
Israeli forces continue to operate in the Shejaiya area while continuing to push in Rafah and in central Gaza
The IDF attacked and destroyed a mortar launch position located within a tunnel shaft in Rafah pic.twitter.com/JqTACvuMys
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 30, 2024
The 162nd Division meanwhile continues in the Rafah area, eliminating a number of terrorists in various encounters and destroying tunnel shafts in the area.
The 99th Division 99 the center of the Gaza Strip carried out raids and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in the area.
Also on Saturday, an airstrikes destroyed a mortar launch position located inside a tunnel shaft in Rafah.
The post Dozens of Terrorists Eliminated in Central Gaza, Weapons Seized from UN School in Raid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Government Approves Danny Danon as UN Ambassador
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon at a briefing on Iranian aggression on May 6, 2020. Photo: Screenshot.
i24 News – The Israeli government unanimously agreed on Sunday to appoint Likud lawmaker Danny Danon as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, succeeding the current ambassador, Gilad Erdan.
Danon, who previously held this position, will soon serve a second term. Danon’s appointment to this important position comes at a particularly crucial time, as he is expected to represent Israel on the international stage as the country faces challenges at home and abroad.
“I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period,” he said on Twitter.
“As Israel faces battles on numerous fronts, each and every one of us must do his utmost within his skills and experiences,” he said in an earlier statement. “This is how I have behaved in the past, and this is how I will continue to behave in the future.”
I am proud to return to serve the State of Israel as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations during this critical period.
With Israel confronting challenges on multiple fronts, it is imperative for each of us to contribute to the best of our abilities and experiences. This…
— Danny Danon דני דנון (@dannydanon) June 30, 2024
“In the face of the diplomatic terrorism that is rearing its head these days, I am forced to present the truth and hold my head high for the people of Israel and our common future here,” he concluded.
It is expected that Avihai Boaron, a former member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, will enter in place of Danon.
The post Israeli Government Approves Danny Danon as UN Ambassador first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Los Angeles Is Becoming Unsafe for Its Jewish Residents” Says Israeli Minister
Governor Newsom speaking at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Photo Credit: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
i24 News – Amichai Shikli, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora and Antisemitism, has urgently called upon California’s governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles’s mayor Karen Bass to address a concerning escalation of antisemitic incidents in the city.
In a strongly worded letter sent following a surge in antisemitic activities since October 7, 2023, Shikli expressed deep apprehension about the safety of Jewish residents in Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles is becoming more and more unsafe for its Jewish residents,” Shikli stated, emphasizing the urgent need for proactive measures to combat the rising tide of antisemitism.
He highlighted recent violent demonstrations on campuses that endangered Jewish students, alongside two serious incidents that he believes were mishandled by authorities.
One incident he pointed to was the tragic murder of Paul Kessler in November 2023 during a pro-Israel demonstration. Shikli criticized the court’s failure to classify the attack as a hate crime, stating, “It is shocking to see that the court did not recognize this as a hate crime. Paul was attacked for the sole reason that he was a Jew and a Zionist.”
Additionally, Shikli referenced an incident earlier in the week where an anti-Israel group disrupted an event at Adat Torah synagogue, resulting in an attack on Jewish attendees. Despite prior knowledge of the demonstration, law enforcement allegedly failed to take preventive actions to ensure the safety of Jewish residents.
Concerned about the city’s largest Jewish community in North America, Shikli urged immediate steps to enhance security around Jewish institutions and to ensure law enforcement is adequately trained to handle antisemitic crimes effectively. “At a time when antisemitism is at an all-time high, I urge you to implement measures to combat it,” he asserted.
The minister concluded his letter by proposing collaboration with local authorities and inviting the Los Angeles Police Department to participate in an international training program aimed at equipping security forces worldwide to combat antisemitism effectively.
The post ‘Los Angeles Is Becoming Unsafe for Its Jewish Residents” Says Israeli Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.