The Menasce Synagogue (Arabic: كنيس منشا) is a Jewish synagogue, located in Ahmed Orabi Square, in Alexandria, Egypt.[1]
| Menasce Synagogue | |
|---|---|
Arabic: كنيس منشا | |
 The synagogue in 2021 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Ahmed Orabi Square, Alexandria |
| Country | Egypt |
  Location of the synagogue, relative to the Nile Delta | |
| Geographic coordinates | 31°11′56″N 29°53′37″E / 31.1988°N 29.8935°E |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Baron Jacob de Menasce |
| Completed | 1872 |
History
editThe synagogue was funded by the wealthy and powerful Menasce banking family of Alexandria, previously of Morocco and Palestine. The first member of the Menasce family in Egypt was Jacob Levi Menasce, born in Cairo in 1807, also known as Baron Jacob de Menasce.[2] Menasce was elevated to the baronetcy by Austria-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef when the emperor visited Egypt for the opening of the Suez Canal. Menasce later became president of the Cairo Jewish community. Menasce and his family moved in Alexandria in 1871 but developed a rift with the established Alexandrian Jewish community.[3]
The separate synagogue that he founded, the Menasce Synagogue, opened to great fanfare on December 30, 1872,[4][5][a] with the ceremony attended by the Ottoman Governor of Alexandria. Although the Alexandria coastline was bombed ten years later in the Anglo-Egyptian War, the synagogue survived intact.
In September 2017, Menasce Synagogue was added to Egypt's list of Islamic, Jewish, and Coptic monuments, protecting it from being torn down.[7]
See also
edit
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Abdelhamid, Manal M. (2020). "Conservation and Revival of the Marginalized Jewish Cultural Heritage of Alexandria, Egypt, through Digitization Technology". Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management. 8 (1). doi:10.15640/jthm.v8n1a3 (inactive November 1, 2024). S2CID 226426749.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link) - ^ Mizrahi, Maurice; Krämer, Gudrun; Shamir, Shimon; Mayer, Thomas (2019). The Jews of Egypt : a Mediterranean Society in Modern Times. Milton: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-23090-1. OCLC 1120697732.
- ^ Guerin, Adam (October 1, 2010). "Menasce Family". Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Brill. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ Krämer, Gudrun (1989). The Jews in Modern Egypt 1914-1952. London: I. B. Tauris.
- ^ Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael, eds. (2007). "MENASCE, DE" (PDF). Encyclopedia Judaica. Vol. 14: Mel–Nas (Second ed.). Thomson Gale. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
- ^ "Synagogues: Alexandria". Association Internationale Nebi Daniel. n.d. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
- ^ a b El-Aref, Nevine (September 28, 2017). "Menasce Synagogue in Alexandria to be added to Egypt's heritage list". AHRAM online. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
External links
edit
Media related to Menasce Synagogue at Wikimedia Commons
- "Synagogues of Cairo and Alexandria: Temple Menasce (Menashe) Synagogue, Alexandria, Egypt". Diarna.org. Digital Heritage Mapping. 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
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