The Libyan synagogue was most likely the first Jewish synagogue built in Jaffa in the modern era. The synagogue was first mentioned at the end of the first half of the 18th century, and it is said that the building was bought or built by Rabbi Jacob Ben David Zunana for the “Committee of Israeli Officials and Lords in Istanbul” to serve as a khan (inn), with a synagogue and mikveh ( a ritual bath for ablutions) for Jewish pilgrims who arrived in Palestine through the harbor of Jaffa and mainly went to Jerusalem and other holy cities. At the end of the 18th century, the position of the Jewish community in the Holy Land worsened greatly. The reason for this was the impoverishment of the Turkish province (Sanjuka Jaffa) as a result of general economic and social desolation. The Jewish community began to need the help of developing and strengthening European communities, but, as European assistance came mainly to Jerusalem, the Jaffa Jews began to leave the city and move to Jerusalem. Jewish property in Jaffa remained unowned, and local Arabs gradually occupied the premises, allowing the significantly reduced stream of Jewish pilgrims to use it for only three days during the year - on Jewish holidays. During the conquests and destruction that Jaffa suffered in the 18th and 19th centuries (Napoleonic Wars), the Jewish community in Jaffa disappeared along with the traces of the Jewish Khan. In 1948, the first Libyan immigrants arrived in Israel and began to settle in Old Jaffa, which was partially abandoned by Arab residents. They made this place their synagogue after they received the keys to the doors of the building from the hands of a Franciscan priest who served in the nearby Abbey of St. Peter. He told them that many years ago this house served as a synagogue for the Jewish community of Jaffa. Translated with Google Translate
This unhurried walk from the embankment through the old city to another part of the embankment will allow you to fully understand and feel the old part of the city of Jaffa. Walking along the promenade from the famous ledge resembling the bow of a ship to the customs building, we learn the history of an important port city, and, having understood from the port along the stairs to its narrow streets, we plunge into the kingdom of the east. But not for long will we be accompanied by a sense of fairy tales of a thousand and one nights. The modern history of Jaffa will slightly open the veil on his creative and pictorial side. These are galleries, monuments, sculptures, a constant floating orange and zodiac signs with a wish bridge. We conclude our walk by going down along the house of Simon Tanner to the English part of the port to its restaurants, shops and the famous scales, which served the English customs faithfully in a difficult fight against smugglers. By the way, from the roof of the house of the tanner Simon almost two thousand years ago, Christianity began its journey to Rome. Translated with Google Translate
Don't be afraid to get lost in new places!
