A project aimed at the restoration and reconstruction of the scores of synagogues in the Old City of Jerusalem destroyed or damaged during the Jordanian occupation over the past two decades has been launched by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
The project was announced by Rabbi Joseph Karasick, national president of the synagogue group following an inspection tour of the holy places. He deplored the widespread destruction of Jewish houses of worship in the Old City where, he said, “all 73 of the major synagogues” were found to be “either completely destroyed during the Arab occupation or converted for such secular use as theaters or even stables.”
Rabbi Karasick announced that a drive has already been launched by the UOJCA “to enlist the aid of affiliated congregations in 73 communities in the United States and Canada, each of which would become a patron to rebuild one of the destroyed synagogues in the Old City.”
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.
