A Jewish museum was inaugurated in Madrid
to mark the 90th anniversary of the city’s first synagogue.Spanish
Jewish leaders and local politicians came together Tuesday to inaugurate the
Museum of the History of the Jewish Community of Madrid. Among those taking part in the ceremony were Jacobo Israel Garzon, president of the community; Esperanza
Aguirre, president of the Autonomous
Region of Madrid; Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon; Mercedes Rico, director
general of religious affairs; and Victor Harel, Israel’s ambassador to
Spain.
Garzon described the new museum as “a
house of memory holding not only a part of the memory of the Jewish community
but also the memory of Madrid.”
Esperanza Aguirre added that “the 90 years which have passed
since the construction of the first synagogue have been very hard in that there
never lacked moments of persecution,” but that Madrid is now a place where Jews
can live in freedom.
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