Announcement was made yesterday by Dr. Herman Abramowitz, president of the United Synagogue of America, that it has acquired from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, representing the Greek Catholic Church, a site on which will shortly be erected the first modern synagogue and community center in the Holy City.
The deed for the property is signed by His Beautitude, Damianos, Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, as vendor, “in him and which he exercises over the property of the Orthodox Patriarchate,” and by Dr. Judah L. Magnes, former Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, New York, and now dean of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who, with Chief Justice Frumkin of the Supreme Court of Palestine, acted as representatives of the United Synagogue of America in negotiating for the purchase of the property. This is said to be the first transfer of Jerusalem property for synagogue purposes since the British Occupation of Palestine in 1918, and also the first time that the Greek Patriarchate has sold land in the Holy City for Jewish purposes. The signature of His Beautitude is witnessed by the Bishop of Madaba.
The site for which the United Synagogue of America has paid approximately $58,000, covers more than an acre, and is situated on King George V Avenue, adjacent to Jaffa Road.
Regarding the site Judge Frumkin wrote to the officers of the United Synagogue recently: “It is very magnificent, visible from and commanding a view of all parts of Jerusalem, and lends itself to the erection of an imposing building. It is practically in the center of the city, overlooking the City Wall, the Old City, Mt. Scopus and the Mount of Olives.”
Together with the site on which the Synagogue Center will be erected, the United Synagogue of America has also secured possession of sufficient land across the way from it in order to prevent the erection of undesirable types of buildings or the establishment of undesirable institutions or commercial enterprises in close proximity to the house of worship.
Funds for the Jerusalem Synagogue Center, which together with the site will, it is estimated, cost approximately $500,000, are being raised in this country in a campaign conducted by the United Synagogue of America last year, under the leadership of Dr. Herbert I. Levinthal. The Synagogue will be under the direct supervision of the Jerusalem Jewish population.
Dr. Abramowitz added that pending the erection of the permanent structures, several portable buildings will be put up on the acquired site so that activities may begin as speedily as possible. He said that although tentative plans for the Synagogue Center had been submitted by a firm of Jerusalem architects, he would propose to the executive committee of the United Synagogue that architects in every part of the world be invited to submit plans for appropriate buildings. One hundred thousand dollars has already been contributed for the Jerusalem Synagogue Center, and the Jews of America will be asked to furnish the balance needed for the completion of the project.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
