THE OLD SYNAGOGUE AND JEWISH COMMUNITY_OF RHODES [The reference {A} is to Marc D. Angel, The Jews of Rhodos (Sepher-Herman Press & Union of Sephardic Congregations, New York, 1980), on which I have drawn extensively in this revision. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rhodos is closest of Israel of the Greek islands; Jerusalem lies ESE at about 116. It is a natural debarkation point for anyone traveling between Europe, Asia Minor, and Israel. Nowadays one simply walks down the quay and into the old walled city of Rhodos, probably the most popular stopover in the Mediterranean for shoppers from cruise ships, but abounding in both moderate-price and inexpensive family-run pensions. (Luxury hotels and resorts are located outside the Old City.) The Old City walls of Rhodos were built by the Byzantines in 395 CE, Sacreans 653-658 C.E., and Knights Hospitaliers (who ruled 1309-1522 C.E.). THE KAHAL SHALOM SYNAGOGUE OF RHODES Turning right after entering the Old City from the port, one comes almost immediately to a Plaza in the former Jewish qurater. The Plaza, which is built around a charming fountain with sculpted sea-horses, has been re-named Platei Martyron Evreon (Plaza of the Jewish Martyrs.) Facing the sea-horse fountain as you enter the Plaza from the port, turn left on the narrow cobblestone Dosiadou Street, where a small sign on the street wall behind you says 'Synagogue -- 30 meters.' Dosiadou street becomes Symiou street; the synagogue entrance is a strong brown gate (with 2 painted-over Magen David's noticeable; it seems from a photograph {9} to have been hardwood with brass fittings) in a very strong wall at what would be #1 Symiou St. The synagogue is voluntarily maintained by Mrs. Lucia Soulam, widow of the former Shames, Mr. Moshe Soulau (). Though an elderly woman on a limited budget, she gives selflessly, to the verge of emotional and physical exhaustion, of her time and energy. (Both the enthusiasm of Israeli visitors and the scepticism of gentile sight-see-ers can be tiring). The synagogue is beautifully maintained, and `Madame Lucia' can usually be found there during the morning and again in the afternoon, after the mid-day break. Angel states, with assurance, that this was built by 1570 or sooner; and notes seeing [ca. 1974, I assume] an inscription by the water-fountain in the courtyard, dated Kislev 5338. Accordingly he rebuts a commonly-accepted date (eg JE, EJ) of 1593 for the founding of Kahal Shalom. (The JE identifies it as "Shalom Synagogue, built in 1593 by Raphael Margola."). The building is made of very solid stone, with a strong front doorway in a high wall opening onto a courtyard. The cobblestoned entryway is sheltered from summer sun by a grape arbor. There is a walled couryard in back, presumably so a Succah could be safely built. Above the street door in the formidably high wall enclosing the rear courtyard is a Hebrew quote from the "Hallel" Psalm 118 "This is the gate of the LORD, the righteous shall enter it." Like the still-active old synagogue in the former Jewish quarter of the old city of Corfu, the synagogue of Rhodes was clearly designed to shelter the congregation in case of mob attack. Angel notes that the fountain was used to wash the hands of the Cohenim; but presumably it would also have served as an emergency water-supply. The old synagogue is the only building in the former Jewish quarter of the old city of Rhodos that is still used by the Jewish community. But walking around, one comes across Hebrew inscriptions in front of other buildings. A house at 25 Pericleous was given to the Jewish community in 5675 (1915), a plaque was mounted above the gateway, in Hebrew and Italian, to commemorate the gift. Because there are only 7 Jewish families left on Rhodos the synagogue depends on tourists to make up a minyan, and to lead davening. All Jewish tourists are welcome; and no dress code is enforced, (in recognition of the fact that most Jewish tourists re dressed for holiday.) In recent years High Holiday Services have been held at Kahal Shalomo in Rhodos, with the assistance of the Rabbanute of Greece, and with the help of members of the Jewish community of Istanbul. During the High Holidays the community is dependent for a minyan upon Jewish tourists, of whom the most dependable are ostensibly "secular" Israelis, all of whom enter the synagogue with respect, empathy, and pride, and never refuse to stay when needed for a minyan. In 1993 and 1994 High Holiday services were led by Gr. R. Moshe Levy, formerly Grand Rabbi of Zaire (until 1960, the Belgian Congo) and a person of some influence in that nation, who lived had studied at the Rabbinical College of Rhodos 1930-1937, receiving diplomas as hazan, shochet, and bodek (teacher). He left Rhodos in 1937, following the closure of the rabbinic college by the Italian facist governor. At that time the teachers of the college, and Jewish students from other nations, also left; those included students from Egypt, Turkey, and one (black) Abysinnian. The Rabbinic College of Rhodos had been highly regarded, producing a number of very distinguished rabbis. R. Levy received rabbinic ordination in 1940 from Israel Chief Rabbi (Rishon L'Zion) Meir Hai Uzeil Rafael Enlevi. A warm, friendly man, welcoming to all, he remained in the Synagogue for the full day of Yom Kippur, and was on his feet for almost the entire time. He lives now in Bruxulles, Belgium; having fortunately been abroad with his wife on vacation when the political situation in Zaire became unsafe. He was oliged to abandon his property there, and expressed principle regret at the loss of his library. The synagogue of Rhodos is traditional Sephardic in design, built around a Bimah. A balcony (now cut back to the west wall) built in 1934 or 1935 when it apparently extended along 3 or possibly all 4 walls (and was augmented by a methitza), is no longer in use; on the High Holidays men and women of the Rhodos congregation sit on opposite sides of the bimah. Two arks on the eastern wall flank the doorway to the courtyard. There are 5 Sifrei Torahs, thought only one is still usable. There is an ample supply of English/Hebrew siddurim and mahzorim. Most members of the congregation have limited fluency in Hebrew, (apart from one Israeli who married a daughter of the congregation). In addition to Greek, most speak Spanish; but there are very few Hebrew/Spanish sifrei kodesh. Kosher wine for kiddish -- unavailable in the stores of Rhodos -- is occasionally brought to Rhodos by visitors, but the synagogue rarely can count on it. (Kosher (hexsure) food is likewise unavailable on Rhodos.) The community welcomes support from Jews abroad; needed and useful religious items, as well as contributions, may be sent to the Synagogue office on Polydoru 5, Rhodos, to the attention of the President of the syngogue, Mr. Maurice (Moshe) Soriano. Under Nazi occupation the Kahal Shalom synagogue was gutted by the exterior apparently remained intact. The synagogue was refurbished in 1946 by the Soriano family, with help from the Rhodos Jewish community abroad. During the War, all 30 Sefer Torah scrolls were entrusted by Mr. Eli Soriano, then President of the congregation, and father of the present President of the Synagogue, to a Moslem muftir in the Old City of Rhodos for safekeeping in his home, to escape Nazi desecration. (The Old City of Rhodos has 3 mosques (1 active, and 1 used on special occasions by the Turkish community on Rhodos), and retains a small Moslem population.) Mr. Eli Soriano then escaped with his family to Turkey in 1943, thanks to the intervention of the Turkish consul. The muftir returned the scrolls to the congregation after the War, and all but 5 (which remain in the synagogue, although apparently only 1 is still usable) were then entrusted to a commission from Israel, said to have included Yigal Yadin and Moshe Dayan, both of whom Mr. Soriano, the present President, recalls meeting. Moshe Dayan, in his autobiography, recalls his March 1949 visit to Rhodos, where he served as deputy to Reuven Shiloah in the Armistice negotiations with Jordan, as "...most pleasant -- good food, spring weather, enchanting scenery, and interesting company. I spent much of my free time walking along the beach, inspecting the old Turkish fort, and wandering in the woods. Hundred of butterflies of all sizes and colors flitted between the bushes, giving a fairy-tale air to the site." {5} Some of the most truly valuable things in life, like at least several species of the beautiful butterflies of the island of Rhodos, and the beautiful old synagogue in the Old City of Rhodos, survive the history of human turmoil and last through ages or millenia. Visitors to Rhodos may consider themselves fortunate in having an opportunity to see these things. ------------------------------------------------------------------ History of Jewish Settlement on Rhodos lst Commonwealth: Presumably tourists from Israel have been visiting Rhodos since biblical times. Psalm 97 includes the phrase "let the many islands rejoice"; the Dodocanese islands, of which Rhodos is the largest and also nearest to Israel, are the closest islands to Israel, except for Cyprus, which stands alone. 2nd Commonwealth: Apparently wine was reguarly imported from Rhodos to Israel in the 2nd Temple period. At the Degania Bet Gordon Museum there is a 2nd Temple period (337 BCE -- 32 BCE) display with stamped wine amphorae imported from Rhodes. In 2nd Temple times the High Priest is said (Mahzor, Yom Kippur Musaf, Siddur Avodah) to have "sponged himself dry" prior to conducting the Yom Kippur service; sponges are abundant near Rhodos, off the shores of Symi and Kalymnos, but are not found off the Israel coast. There are documentary indications of Jewish settlement on Rhodos by the end of the Hellenistic period; Makabees I 15:22 indicates Jewish settlement ca. 142 B.C.E. The Encyclopedia Judaica [=EJ] notes that Herod the Great assisted the Jewish community there. It is assumed that Jews lived on the nearby island of Kos since 2nd-Temple times; in 1933 an earthquake destroyed the synagogue "which had stood on a hill for centuries." Prior to the Holocaust the Kos community consisted of 120 persons{1},whose family names are memorialized with the names of the families of Rhodos on a plaque outside the restored Old Synagogue of Rhodos. Most Jews on the island of Rhodos apparently lived in the old city of Rhodos, but there was also a settlement at Malona, a village 7 miles from the capitol. Rhodos passed from the Roman Empire to the Byzantine Empire in 395 C.E. , and came under Islamic domination c. 773 C.E. In the 12th century, in the course of his travels between 1167 (when he left Rome) and 1173 (1171?) Benjamin of Tudela visited Brindisi, Chryssa, Corinth, Delios and Rhodos. He is said to have noted 400 or 500 Jews{2} in Rhodos, 2500 in Constantinople (now Istanbul), and only 200 in Jerusalem.{3} By 1261 Rhodos had passed back from Islamic to Byzantime (eastern Orthodox) domination. It is possible that in 1280 some Jews came to Rhodos after fleeing the persecution in Aragon (Tarragona). In 1307 the Byzantine government gave Rhodos to the Knights of St. John (Hospitaller) of Jerusalem; by 1309 the local government of Rhodos surrendered to the Knights. Founded in the 11th century, this religious-military order had established a hospital for sick piligrims in Jerusalem following the Crusader conquest of 1099; with the fall of Akko to the Moslems in 1291, the Crusaders were expelled from the land of Israel. The Knights then turned to trade and piracy, of which the profits included passengers who, if not ransomed, were sold as slaves; those included some Jews. These Knights were driven out of Rhodos by the Ottoman Empire in 1522. During the Crusader occupation of Rhodos (1309-1522), the Jews of Rhodos were restricted to the Jewish quarter, which remained in its present location, the lower tip of the Old City, inside the walls that abut the port. The Knights built windmills. A Rabbi Ezra of Rhodes, who visited Venice, is honored in a poem by R. Michael Balbo, b. 1411. Jewish silk-making on Rhodos was noted in 1472. The Encyclopedia Judaica notes that "during the 38 day siege of the city by the Turks in 1480, the Jews fought valiantly in defense of the city. Their houses were torn down to reinforce the walls [by order of the Grandmaster, according to the JE] and the fighting reached the synagogue before the Turks were forced to retreat. The Grandmaster of the order, Pierre d'Aubusson, erected two churches on the site to commemorate the event and the synagogue had to be abandonned. In recognition of their bravery, the Jews were later allowed to rebuild it." Presumably this was the Kahal Godol synagogue, destroyed in 1944 in a British bombing raid on the German-occupied harbour. The EJ says its was destroyed by artillery in 1440, and "rebuilt by permission of Pope Sixtus IV in recognition of Jewish services during the siege of the city, destroyed again during a later siege, and rebuilt by Rabbi Samuel Amato.". [EJ, Rhodes, p401.] Rabbi Meshullam ben R. Menachem, son of a gem-dealer in Volterra, visited Rhodos in 1481, and indicates that all the Jewish homes had been destroyed in the battle [although some may have been torn down on order of the Knights to reinforce the walls]. He writes {3}: On the 4th May 5241 (1481) we reached Rhodoes which has a harbour and occupies the valley and he hill, and at the top of the hill is house of the Gran Maestro of Rhodes. The city is very beautiful and the knights are beautifully caprisoned. I saw the Gran Maestro face to face. He is a handsome man, straight as a reed, of French origin with a long beard, about 55 years old. I also saw all the premises of the Synagogue with rooms in the College of R. Abraham Daphne, a German, who resides with a Jewish Notable. I saw how the Turks had laid the city waste, especially the giudecca (Jewish quarater) to the left, for the chief fighting was there. [{A) notes that, as the most poorly fortified section, and abutting the harbour, the Jewish quarter was the main target of cannon bombardment from Turkish ships.] They overthrew all the houses and the house of Monsieur Galeon of Rhodes and of R. Azariah the Physician and other houses, and the walls near the Synagogue fell down. And one day, they say, more than 10,000 Turks got om the wall, and threw the Gran Maestsro from the wall, but the LORD confounded them, each man striking his brother and his relative, and their hearts failed them, for the LORD helped the people of the city. And now they have made new walls and renewed the whole city, more beautiful than any I have seen, and they have also erected two moats at the foot of the wall, one on either side, and a Synagogue between in the place where the miracle happened, and the Gentiles besought the Gran Maestro to remove the Synagogue, but he would not listen to them, for the Keeper of Israel neither sleepeth nor slumbereth. The circumference of the Island of Rhodes is 300 miles from Chios to the City of Rhodes and there are many villages on the Island and the Jews live there in perfect tranquility." R. Meshullam touched again on Rhodos on 12-13 September of that year, on his return from Egypt, the land of Israel, and Damascus {3}, continuing next to the island of Candia [=Crete] 310 miles distant, where he found 600 Jews with 4 synagogues. In 5248 (1487) Rabbi Obadiah Yareh da Bertinoro, author of the "Bertinoro" commentary on the Mishna, traveled with R. Meshshulam of Volerra from Messina to Rhodes and Alexandria; though as a consequence of a complaint made against an insolent sailor while the ship awaited favorable winds off Longo, the former prudently took ship for Constaninople. The ship reached Rhodos on Kislev 3rd, 5248; and he writes: The inhabiants of Rhodes welcomes us gladly, for the master of our ship was a friend and relative of the Governor. The chief men of the Jewish community of Rhode soon came to our ship, and received us with kindness, for the merchant Meshullam, who had been with us in the ship, was the brother of the physician R. Nathan, the most distinguished man among the Jews of Rhodes. A fine room, provided with all necessities, was assigned to me, while the other Jews who accompanied me were accommodated as well as it was possible, for the Jewish houses in Rhodes had been almost entirely destroyed by the siege of the Turks, under their first Emperor {Solyman II}, undertaken by him in the year of his death. No one who has not seen Rhodes, with its high and strong walls, its firm gates and battlements, has ever seen a fortress. The Turkish Emperor in the year of his death sent a besieging army against it, bombarded the town with a multitude of stones, which are still to be seen there, and in this way threw down the walls surrounding the Jewish street and destroyed the houses. The Jews here have told me that when the Turks got into the town they killed all before them until they came to the door of the Synagogue, when G-d brought confusion among them, so that they began at once to flee and slay one aother. On account of this miracle the Governor built a church on the spot and gave the Jews another building instead of it. While I was in Rhodes, he granted them 100 ducats from the revenues of the town to build a new synagogue. Not many Jews have remained in Rhodes; altogther there are twenty-two families, all poor, who subsist with difficulty on vegetables, not eating bread or meat, for they never slaughter nor do they buy any wine, for fear of getting into disputes with the Greeks who dwell there. When they buy in the market, they touch nothing that belongs to the Greeks; and they observe the law agains wine just as strictly as against pork. The Jews here are all very intelligent and well educated; they speak a pure dialect and are very moral and polite; even the tanners are neatly dressed and speak with propriety. They all allow their hair to grow long and are beautiful in person. Nowhere are there more beautiful Jewesses than in Rhodes; they occupy themselves in doing all kinds of handiwork for the Acomodors (the nobles of the land), and in this way support their husbands. The Acomodors hold the Jews in high esteem, often coming into their houses to chat awhile with the women who work there. When anybody dies there is no coffin made for him, for he is buried only in his shroud; an impression of a human form is made in the ground where he is to be buried, for the earth there has never been cultivated so that it receives any impression; the dead body is laid in this cavity,a board is placed over it,and then it is covered with earth. The air in Rhodes is purer and more agreeable than I have yet felt it in any other place,the water is sweet, the soil is clean but poor, and most of the inhabitants are Greeks who are subject to the Acomodors. R Obidiah, settled in Jerusalem, and died there about 1500; he was said by a traveler to have been the leading Jew in Palestine.{3} A visitor in 1488 found only 22 Jewish families "the others having left after the 1481/82 earthquakes which again destroyed the Jewish quarter...After a plague (1498- 1500) the Order [of the Knights Hospitalers of St. John] decided to expel within 40 days all Jews who would not become baptized... The JE gives the date as Jan. 9, 1502, and says that "the decree was not completely enforced" because the Grandmaster (d'Aubusson) died. In 1507 the Knights captured a ship carrying several hundred Jewish passengers from North Africa; these were presumably enslaved until and unless they were ransomed. In the next two decades from 2000 to 3000 Jews captured by the Order's ships were brought to Rhodes and kept there as slaves to work on fortifications. In 1522 these captives helped the Turks conquer the fortress of Rhodes. (The JE however, gives a very different impression, remarking that "under the last Grandmaster, Villiers de l'isle Adam, the Jews were allowed to live in peace. On several occasions he visited the Jewish houses and synagogues.") The Knights Hospitaler of the Order of St. John were driven from Rhodos by the Moslems in 1521; in 1530 Charles V granted them the island of Malta, from which "they waged continual maritaime warfare, hardly distinguishable from piracy, against the Moslem powers. Seaports were raided, and their inhabitants carried off."{4} Occasional though not systematic capture by the Knights Hospitalier of St. John on Malta of Jews, who were held as slaves pending ransom, is recorded from 1552 to at least about 1768, when the Jewish community of London ransomed 14 prisoners. A Malta government order in 1700 stipulated that Jews were not to be sent to the galleys. Apparently Jews assisted in an unsuccessful Turkish plot to capture Malta in 1749. {4} Such was the age of chivalry. In 1492 the Jews of Spain were given 3 months to convert or leave; Portugal issued a similar order in 1497. [One might see the tentative move in 1502 by the Knights to expell the Jews of Rhodos in this context.] With the defeat of the Knights by the Ottoman Empire, Jewish slaves on Rhodos were freed, and those who had been forced to convert were allowed to return to Judaism. Under sulemann they were allowed to mine sulfur, and to bury and mourn the dead (!). After the Turkish conquest of Rhodos in 1522, only Jews and Turks were allowed to live in the Old City. Under the Ottoman Empire many of the refugees from Spain and Portugal were enabled by Sultan Bayzeid I of Turkey to settle on Rhodos; the Romaniot character of the Jewish community was gradually submerged in the Sephardic; with Ladino replacing Greek as the language of the community. In 1537 Jewish wine-making was said to flourish on Rhodos, and apparently also on Crete, Chios, and Cyprus. The Jewish community on Rhodos was estimated at 200 persons in 1621, and 300 persons in 1631. Samuel Jemsel the Karaite, from Troki in Lithuania, {3} visited Rhodos in 1641 en route to Palestine and writes: The town of Rhodes is very fine. It is situated on an island, and was founded in the time of the Greeks. It is surrounded by a simple enceinte which makes it impregnable. Here we find magnificent palaces, built of squared stones, and like the buildings of the town of Galata. There is not the least admixture of wood in their construction. Lofty towers of engaging aspect are placed in regular order along the ramparts. In the time of the Greeks this town had another name,and was called Khotsob Malta. The Rabbanites have two synagogues there, and the Mohammedans twenty-five mosques. There are about five hundred baths ad hostelries. There are a great number of merchants to be found, too, trading in divers wares brought from Egypt in Egyptian vessels. All the most delicious kinds of fruits can be procured: grapes, figs, pomegranates, oranges. In a word this place is a kind of Paradise. Grapes by the great pound are to be bought for a single piece of silver; figs and pomegranates are within the reach of all purses; ten pomegranates can be got for a single piece; a measure of wine for three pieces; and finally the measure of wheat costs thirty-eight pieces of the same money. When we were there it was a time of great scarcity of wheat; so that one hundred and sixty drachmas of bread cost eight pieces of money. The country is so abundantly provided for by imports of every description that it is impossible to calculate the riches of its resources. We sojouned there three days. On this ilsand there are hostels for mariners and pilots. The town is surrounded by its field, vineyards, and gardens. A tower is built in one of these gardens. {3} He then travelled to Alexandria and thence to Cairo (Misr). Samuel Jemsel returned to Lithuania "and probably fell victim in 1648 at one of the Chmielnitski massacres." {4}, p. xxii} Two synagogues are noted in the 1650s; presumably the Kahal Gadol, which was larger than the presently-standing Bet Knesset HaShalom. Both stood and presumably remained in use until the German Nazi occupation. The Bet Knesset HaGadol was built in the 1480's {A}. (I was told, as I recall, that it was built at the close of the 12th century, destroyed not long afterward by an earthquake, and then rebuilt. As noted above, there are references to the synagogue being damaged in the Turkish attack of 1480, torn down upon order of the Knights and a church built in its place, and then rebuilt (preumably in a different location). There is also reference to an earthquake destroying the Jewish Quarter 1481-82. The Bet Knesset HaShalom, built no later than 1577 {A}. Presumably the two synagogues were intended to be large enough to house the entire Jewish population in an emergency.) Rhodos was said, around 1650, to serve as a way-station to Israel from Constaninople. Travelers came from Constaninople in a smaller boat, then took a larger to Jaffo. It was 6 days' travel with a good wind. In the 1700's the community had an eruv, and was said to trade in "labdanum" [which Angel identifies as a substance made from the rock-rose and used in perfume; I do not know if any identify it with opium.] In the late 1700's there were said to be about 100 Jewish families on Rhodos. According to accounts published by the present-day Bratslav hassidim, Reb Nachman of Bratslav arrived at Rhodos on April 19, 1799 (14 Nisan, 5502), with his attendant/chronicler. Returning from Reb Nachman's trip to Israel, they had been captured by pirates, and were ransomed by the Jewish community of Rhodos for 200 Thalers. In the 19th century, two smaller synagogues were built, Kahal Kadosh Kamondo (from 1865) and Kahal Kadosh Tikkun Hazzot (late 1800's; described by R. Levy {7} as a Bet Knesset for the rich.) The Menasche's {10} note that of the 300 Jewish families on Rhodes in the mid-1890's, half toiled as labourers, boatmen, porters and domestic workers. There were also shemakers, tailors, barbers, and translators, and some commerical ventures were successful. The 1905 Jewish Encyclopedia indicates all 4 synagogues as in use and notes that "the commerce of the island is controlled by the Jews, among whom there are many boatment and porters. There are two schools, one for boys and one for girls, and several Talmud Torahs." The EJ also notes that "there were many yehivot used as meeting places for prayer and study, and many smaller prayer rooms called midrashim. The Israel yeshivah dated from the 17th century... Life under Turkish rule was easy except when in 1840 in the wake of the Damascus blood libel the rabbi and the leading member of the community were arrested and held until the innocence of the Damascus Jews was proven. According to various reports the number of Jews during the 19th century was between 2000 and 4000. The Mahzor Sefarad was used by all; parts of prayers and especially piyutim were recited in Ladino.... In 1912, after the Balkan Wars, Rhodes and other Dodecanese islands came under Italian rule. There were about 4500 Jews in Rhodes at the time... An Italian rabbinical seminary was founded in 1927 (possibly {9} as a consequence of the decline of the Rhodos yehivot) to serve the Italian Levant; it was closed in 1938 when the Facist racial laws were promulgated. Jews who had arrived in Rhodes after 1919 (103 families from Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey) were expelled and most of them sailed for Tangier. Others later fled in the face of the discriminatory measures, mainly to the Belgian Congo and Rhodesia." (EJ) Only under Italian sovereignty did Jews become full citizens; [Islamic procedure, although far more respectful than Christianity of Judaism, was that non-Muslims were, in a very specific sense, '2nd-class citizens'.] The Jewish community of Rhodos prior to Italian facism: The Jewish populaton of Rhodos peaked in the 20th century, before the onset of facism, at about 5000. There was much migration from Rhodos, for economic reasons, 1900-1920; migration to the USA ended with the anti-immigration legistlation ca. 1924. There was an influx to Rhodos of Jews from Smyrna and Anataolia in the early 1920's; they toalled 500 by 1938, and {7} included Jews from Istanbul, Izmir, and Bordrum in Turkey, as well as from Milas and Sokia(?) and elsewhere in Greece. Ladino was spoken in all homes. {7} The Jewish Community of Rhodos was very law-abiding, respected religion, honor, culture, and virtue -- "la culte de la virtue", in R. Levy's phrase. It was almost unheard of that a member would be in trouble with the civil authorities. The Jews of Rhodos dressed very nicely. Dress was European. Hats, not kippot, were worn. Women had special costumes; married women wore a hat with a pearl or diamond in the center. There was no industry. There were hand-made shoes and clothing. Evrerything was hand-made. Most members of the community were merchants; 3 men worked as dockers. {7} There would be some tension with the Christian community at Easter-time. Children might throw stones, having been told by some priests that the Jews killed the Christians' deity. {7} There were four yeshivot. Almost all members of the community lived in the Old City; only 8 to 10 of the richest families lived outside the Old City. Mr. Soriano recalls that prior to World War II the community included 4 synagogues, and a Rabbinic College. R. Levy estimates that the community was about 4500 in 1937, almost all of whom were observant. Salaoon Alhadeff had a bank on Rhodos; there were three wine-makers, and a baker, Gabriel, who made both bread and matza. {7} There was a large Islamic community on Rhodos; R. Levy describes relations between the Jewish and Islamic communities at that time as "perfect"; that coheres with both historic Turkish- Jewish relations, and with support offered the Jewish community by the Islamic community during the German occupation. R. Levy describes the relationship of the Jewish community with the Greek community, apart from a few fanatic Christians, as generally "correct and harmonious". Many Greeks worked for Jewish employers, and some accordingly learned Ladino. Mr. Rahmani {8} describes Ladino as "la langue du coeur", Italian as "la langue scolaire de nos parents our grandsparents", and French and English as the languages of the "Rhodos diaspora". Mr. Franco {9} writes of a large garden in the Jewish Quarter, "filled with flowers and fruit trees", through which an avenue ran "the link betweeen the Jewish Quarter and the neighborough Greek suburbs.; it was called avenue Salomon Alhadeff, in honor of the donor, until the facists changed the name; which was restored in 1946; at which time "the main street in the Jewish quarter" was called "the street of the Jewish martyrs.". David and Elsie Menasche, in their tribute to the Sephardic Jewish community of Rhodos {10}, evoke its spirit before the onset of facism: "It was here that the aroma of herbs and spices, freshly baked cheese pastries (fondly called borrekitas) (accent grave over i -- the accent that goes from lower left to upper right), deftly pickled olives, and preserved quince mingled with the beckoning delights of Tomat (accent grave over a ) a la Turka (accent grave over u) and Bridal Rice. This is where a small pocket of Sephadi Jews found refuge from persecution when they fled Spain after the edict of expulsion in 1492. Old Spanish or Ladino remained their language; Spanish poems,songs and music were embedded in their culture ..." In 1939 there were aproximately 4000 Jews, of whom approximately 2250 {9} emigrated, primarily to South Africa, the Belgian Congo (most of whom moved to Capetown when the Congo became independent in 1960), Rio de Janerio, Bruxelles, and New York. Franco {9} notes that: "of the 5500 Jews living in Rhodos in 1920, the Nazis only found 1673 to deport and massacre on 23 July 1944." Franco notes an additional 94 Jews on Kos. CUSTOMS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF RHODOS: One may note that what was lost in the Holocaust was not only 6 million lives destined by Heaven to flourish and follow their natural course in harmony with nature, but most of the sub-cultures and much of the recorded wisdom of the Jewish people. The subculture of the Jewish community of Rhodos was apparently as beautiful and gentle as any the world has known, as as unrecoverable as an extinct flower. BRIT: On the night before a circumcision, a sword was hung in t he baby's room, to ward off evil spirits. For the circumcision, there was a rpocession to the syunagogue, with violins, guitar, mandolins. MARRIAGE: {A}: The groom sent the bride a plate of henna, surrounded by lit candles. The finance distributed the henna to the women. After the wedding, there was a light feast at the newlyweds' home. {7}: Before marriage women went to the mikvah with friends and members of the family; following immersion there was a celebration with food and songs. {At the mikveh, I gather.} During the time of Sheva Brachas the community prepared all their meals; they did not have to cook for themselves. Were the bride's nidah to occur immediately after the marriage, she slept in a room with 3(?) women, and the groom slept in another room. NAMING: The lst son and daughter were named after the husband's parents; *the 2nd, after the wife's. Siblings born thereafter were named alternatively after relatives. In most cases, there was not the (Ashkenazi) taboo against naming after living relatives. [One may note that this system of naming provides a system for reconstructing geneology.] FUNERALS: Women did not go to the cemetary until at least 1 month after the funeral. [{A p178 n17} suggests that this custom may have originated to protect women from the insults of the goyim; apparently that was the case in Crete in the 1500's. In a custom prevalent nowadays, the Yahrzeit of an immediate relative was observed with readings from the Mishna, study session, light refreshments, whiskey & raki. DAILY PRAYERS: R. Levy recalls Sharit in the Yeshiva at 04:30, that would be at first light in summer; shaharit in the synagogue was at 05:30 or 06:00. There were 2 mikvot, but it was rare that men went to the mikvah -- most usually went to the ocean. SHABBAT: On Friday morning poor Jews went house-to-house in the Jewish quarter, and were given as tzadaka (basic social justice) the necessities to properly observe Shabbat. At both Kahal Gadol and Kahal Shalom synagogues there were two arks; at Kahal Shalom both are on the eastern wall, but at Kahal Gadol one was on the northern wall. Shabbat services began early, and were completed by 08:00 - 08:30 or 09:00 (a most sensible way to avoid the summer heat); in accord with Sephardi custom, the morning meal of Shabbat was eaten by about 10:00. R. Levy recalls that it was followed by Tehillim, Mincha was at 12:30, lunch at 13:00-13:30, and that people then relaxed. The rabbi would teach at 17:00. Candles were usually not used; the lamps were oil lamps; I rather that only olive oil was used. R. Levy recalls "hundreds" of oil lamps illuminating the synagogue(s). Oil lamps consist of oil floating water in a glass container, lit (as I recall seeing Mrs. Soulam do) with floating wicks. The Sabbath blessing over bread was made over 2 curek (Turkish loaves) or 4 small pitot {10}. Shabbat ended with Havdala prayers, after which cups of Turkish coffee and halva were served. Saturday night, which was the time for visiting and socializing, is remembered with nostalgia today. ({10} p20). HIGH HOLIDAYS: With the start of Elul, slichot were said. People would get up at 01:30 or 02:00, and say slichot until 04:30, when it was time for shaharit. {R. Levy, but that may have been only by the most observant; {10} says "Selichot prayers were recited in the private homes at dawn .. a caller duitifully awoke the congregants for this ritual." Early on the morning preceeding the Rosh HaShanah service, they went to cemetary. Honey was served at Rosh HaShana meal. {10} On the High Holidays, only the hazan wore a kittel {A), but most wore white. Men wore white shirts and white kippot on Yom Kippur (the prevalent present Sephardic custom in Israel) {7} {A} On the Shabbat of the high holidays, the rabbi gave a sermon on tchuva [as custom which Gr. R. Levy has tried to restore.] As Gr. R. Levy has confirmed, the custom of kaporet was observed by all. A rooster shechted for each male {R. Levy says only white roosters were used} a chicken for each female; these were eaten at the pre-fast meal; extra was given to the poor. A large candle of bees'wax was burned on Yom Kippur; R. Levy recalls two large candles in front of the Aharon haKodesh (Ark for the Torah scrolls.) Non-leather shoes were worn on Yom Kippur; some took off their shoes upon entering the synagogue (a practice which Gr. R. Levy follows to this day) Rose water was used on Yom Kippur, to wash the hands of the cohenim. Congregants dipped handkerchiefs in it before Ne'ilah [the closing prayer of Yom Kippur.] The Yom Kippur fast was broken on pepita-da (accent grave over lst a), a cool refreshing drink made from melon pips, collected throughout the year, and roseka (accent grave over the o), the traditional bread dipped in olive oil {10} SUKKOT: Most families had sukkas. "Those who possessed them hung cevri (horizontal line over c) (fine gold-embroidered clothes) on the inner wall of the Sukka." {10} The Sukkah was covered with palms & decorated, with myrtle, fruit, and flowers. Gr. R. Moshe Levy recalls that prior to the War, at Sukkot, the Sukka in the synagogue courtyard was roofed with fresh boughs, brought by the Turks. On the 7th night of Sukkot tikkun were said in the Sukkah for Hoshana Raba. HANUKAH: Chanukah was celebrated with solemnity; all hosues had Hannukiot. The Shabbat of Hanuka was the shabbat of "clohing the poor"; Clothes were brought to the syunagogue, and distributed to the poor on Rosh Hodesh Tevet, which falls within Hanuka. TU B'SHVAT: R. Levy mentioned a great variety of fruit on Tu b'Shavat, those that I can identify included figs, bananas, grapes, oranges (which grew on Rhodos), peacehs, dates, almonds. "Children wore little bags filled with 15 kinds of nuts and fried fruit to nibble. Friends and family exchanged platikos, deliverd by the children. The platters used to hold a a glass of wine or water, and a sweet such as marzipan or fruit, either an orange or melon, or abo dargho (accent grave over o) (fish roe). A wish would be expressed to the participant "May you live as abundantly as running water, may your home and possessions be plentiful as this sweet round orange." {10} PURIM: Shabbat Zakor: On Shabbat Zakor, in anticipation of Purim, much noise was made to "blot out Amalek". On Purim there were Purimspiels, and shelach manes was sent to everyone, even the poor. Married men gave to their wives. There was drinking, but not to drunkenness; the songs were songs of love. {7} PESACH: Pesach cleaning started after Purim. Ya'akov Gabriel, the bread baker, made matza, with 5 or 6 people to help him. The women took everything outside of the house. They cleaned the tables of oil and foodstuffs, using hot water and brushes. Many did not have two sets of cooking utensils, so they scured with hot water. Nobody ate inside the hosue for the week before Pesach; thaey ate in the countyards. Even the doorknobs were covered. {7} The interior of houses were re-painted [white-washed, I assume; a water-soluble calcium-carbonate solution, sometimes colored, used in hot climates especially on earth-plastered dwellings; it would be sensible to re-new it once a year, at the close of the rainy season.] Many families would eat on the porch as the house was cleaned of hametz in the weeks preceeding Pesach. {A} Flour was ground in windmills, and shmeura matza was baked on 14 Nisan {A} (the afternoon preceeding the Pesach feast; and also the time at which the paschal lamb was brought to the Temple). Customs of the Seder: The karpas was dipped in red wine-vinegar, this was to remember the blood spilled, and also to kill any bugs that might be on the lettuce leaves; but some used salt water [the prevalent custom], to remember the tears. {I am not clear whether or not red-wine-vinegar rather than wine was used to spill the 10 drops.} {7} The main meal was not chicken; it was mutton, to remember the korban. For Pesach R. Levy (who was certified as a shochet) recalls that they killed about 60-80 sheep, 20 egel (calves), 12-15 oxen(?) [beef-cows(?)]. On the evening of the 7th day of Pesach [which is also marked as a holiday, and is associated with crossing the Sea of Reeds ("Red Sea")] there was an all-night study session. {A} notes "At the conclusion of the Passover holiday, men brought grass to their homes, symbolizing the reeds along the shore of the Red Sea." LAG B'OMER: On erev Lag b'Omer there was a hakofet(?) of Sefer Toras around the Bima, and many candles were lit. Shimeon bar Yohai was honored, also Meir Ba'al Haness, and Yohanaon ben Zaki. Candles were also lit for Herzl and Trumpledor. R. Levy notes that the community was very strongly Zionist; every house had a pushke for Keren Kayemet. There was an all-night tikkun [study session] before Lag b'Omer. On Lag b'Omer, gynesia materials {prayer-books and copies of torah that had become unusable; by Jewish religious law these cannot be treated as trash} were buried in the cemetary. During this burial ceremeony they sang Chronicles I 16:8-36, Yigdal, and Psalm 118. On Lag b'Omer, in accord with all Jewish custom, Marriages were held, and there were haircuts. SHAVUOT: On erev Shavuot they went to the sea for a mikveh -- near where the windmills are now, the edge of Mandraki harbour ( of course in those days there were presumably far fewer, and cleaner, boats. ) On Shavuot they stayed up all night, from 09:00--04:30, then davened shaharit. After shaharit the went to the sea to wash their face (just the face, not to bathe the entire body). [{A} seems to imply that the custom of staying up all night before Shavuot was not as strong then as it is nowadays, especially in Jerusalem.] FOLK-SAYINGS OF RHODOS: {Angel} has preserved various folk-sayings from Rhodos, including: "There is no Jew who does not help another" {"Guido ki no ayuda a otro no ay"}, "The Jew knows what others don't even have an idea about." "One who is full does not believe one who is hungry {"El harto no cree al hambinlo"} "On a rainy day think of the poor man; he also is cold {"En dia de luvia pensa en el provi; el tambien tiene frio."} RHODOS UNDER FACISM: As noted, Rhodos had come under under Italian occupation in 1912. As late as November 1936 there were apparently only a few clues that the Italian government would turn against the Jews. In December 1936 Governor-General Mario Lago (who H.M. Franco {9} characterizes as "an honest and far-seeing man") was replaced as civil/military governor of the Dodecanse by an opera-buffo arch-facist called de Vecchi; He abolished the Jewish court, closed the Jewish schools and Rabbinic Seminary, forced Jewish shopkeepers to keep their shops open on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. {Angel}. During this period the Jewish cemetary was moved (!) from one location to another. {9} [As that is contrary to Jewish religious law, it could only have occurred under the strongest coercion. ] Franco adds that the Governor took advantage of this upheaval to requisition "about a hundred headstones, still bearing the names of our beloved dead, for use as building materials in his infamous castle." {9} In Sept. 1938 anti-Jewish laws were enacted by facist Italy, strictly enfored on Rhodos. Jews who had come after Jan. 1, 1919, were ordered to leave. As was the pattern of the Holocaust, few nations were prepared to grant them asylum. Many went to Naples and Tangiers; some, "illegally", to Palestine {to which England had barred Jewish immigration}. De Vecci seems to have systematically looted the several wealthy Jewish firms of Rhodos. {9} In December 1938 Mr. Hizkia Franco, then age 63, travelled to France, via Italy, in an attempt to obtain help for the Jewish community of Rhodos, and in particular to forestall the expulsion order, with its March 1939 deadline, which bore on 850 Jews. Meanwhile a delegation from Palestine came to Rhodos, and attempted to persuade de Vecchi to rescind the deportation order at least of those Turkish Jews covered by the Treaty of Lausanne; he did not receive them, and granted only a 1-month extention of the order. Apparently they had no power to offer sanctuary in Israel, (the British, exercising with less than disinterest their UN Mandate to administer Palestine, having blocked Jewish immigration.) In May 1939 a tramp steamer carrying 600 refugess from Central and Eastern Europe, bound for Palestine with the intent of landing the immigrants clandestinely, anchored off Rhodos, having been chartered by the Rhodos community to transport 500 Rhodos Jews who faced expulsion. The ship caught fire off the nearby island of Symi; "the authorities" -- I gather Mr. Franco means the authoritties of the Jewish communit of Rhodos -- sent boats to rescue the passengers, who were all disembarked onto Symi, having lost almost all their luggage. They were then taken back to Rhodos; and the refugees "were sent by the authorities to the town stadium"; where the Jewish community arranged to have them fed and clothed. "Meanwhile, our community were obliged to charter another vessle, again an old wreck, because it was impossibel to find a satifactory boa. We ad to dispatch wthe refugees with all our people aboard this old tub. The succeeded in landing in Palestine but only after unheard-of difficultiies. It was a real Odyssey." (p41). The Community also sent 300 to Tangiers, then under international control. "They lived there throughout the war, thanks to the providential help fo the Joint, and most of them were later brought to Palestine. All these journesy cost our Community more than 4000 sterling, and thankfully our overseas compatriots contributed a relatively important amount toward this. When Italy entered the war in Sept. 1939, the British imposed a blockade upon the islands, resulting in a shortage of foodstuffs. Mussolini had entered the war, despite logistic limitations and popular opposition, apparently anticipating a short war with easy pickings. When it became apparent that this would be a protracted war, he invited German occupation, to defend him against a popular coup. Apparently this is how the German Nazis got a foothold on Rhodos; In 1942 Admiral Campione succeeded de Vecchi as governor of Rhodos; he is described as a fair man, apparently not anti-Semitic, who rectified various anti-Jewish measures. Mussoline was "removed" July 24, 1943; an Armistice with Italy was concluded on Sept. 8, 1943. In this crisis Campione proved indecisive {9}; thus with the Italy-Allied Armistice, the 7000 German troops on Rhodos gained control despite 30,000 indecisively-led Italian troops; that enabled the German Nazis to gain control of the Aegean. British forces were driven off Kos by a 2-day aerial bombardment; thus the Jews of Kos were doomed. (Apparently Italian resistance to a German Nazi takeover on Kephalonia was stronger, although unsuccessful.) German Nazi occupation: There was much destruction of the Old Town of Rhodos during British bombing raids, aimed primarily at boats in the adjacent New Harbour. On Feb. 2, 1944, 8 Jews killed by British bombs. {A, citing Franco} notes that on the first day of Passover, 1944, 26 Jews killed by British bombardment while leaving "the synagogue" [the Kahal Gadol, I assume] The Kahal Gadol synagogue was hit during British bombing of the adjacent harbour of Rhodos on the last day of Pesach, 1943; 9 people were killed and are buried in unnamed graves in the Jewish cemetary. Lawrence Durrel, who visited Rhodos in Spring 1945, noted "I have not had time to look at the medieval town as yet, but it looks fearfully disappointing from the harbour [presumably Mandraki Harbour, from which Durrell would be gazing primarily at the Knights' Palace] with its spattered administrative buildins and truncated stauary: the old walled town looks like a wedding-cake with all the icing chipped and cracked." He recalls " Mandraccio (Mandraki) Harbour ('The Sheepfold' of the Ancient Greeks) presented some odd contrasts; fully half of its surface was covered by wrecked boats and skiffs, huddled togethehr, as if aaginst fear of bombing-- or pehaps blown gradually together by the force of frequent bombardments." [Durrell, Reflections on a Marine Venus] The Yad v'Shem monument, "Valley of the Destroyed Communities", list the following Jewish communities as destroyed under the German occupation of Greece: Alexandrupolis, Arta, Athens, Chania, Cos, Didymotikhon, Drama, Florina, Iraklion, Joannina, Karditsa, Kastoria, Katerini, Kavaia, Kerkyra [=Corfu], Khalkis, Komontini, Langadas, Larissa, Nausa, Nea Orestias, Patre, Preveza, Rhodos, Serres, Suflion, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Veria, Volos, Xanthi, Zakynthos. Attempts were made to save the Greek Jews by the Greek Resistance, Greek Orthodox, and Catholic groups. As of 1987 approximately 60 Greeks had been cited by Yad v'Shem as 'Righteous Gentiles'. (It is possible that the now-repudiated Austrian politician Waldheim was involved in the deportation of the Jewish communities of Ioanna, Rhodos, Corfu, and Crete, but conclusive evidence remains concealed.) Franco notes that the intervention of the Turkish Consul- General saved the Jews with Turkish citizenship: "Bey Selahettin, the Consul-General of Turkey, intervened to protect his nationals. He managed to obtain their release, along with the families, even in the case of marriages of women of Turkish origin to Jews of the Doecanese. Through his fortunate intervention 39 Jews from Rhodes and 13 from Cos were saved from certain death." The aproximately 50(??) Jews left on Rhodos were to have been deported, but the impending Nazi defeated created a demand for boats. They were put in 2 small rowing boats, holding 25 each including baggage, and told to make for Mamaris, in the midst of a storm and high sea. They were finally rescued by Turkish authorities. It has repeatedly been charged that the governments of the USA, not to mention that of the UK, did not do everything within their power to minimize the extent of the Holocaust. Michael Matsas, (Jerusalem Post 10/23/94) writes: "The National Archives in Washingston and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park...contain an avalanche of reports sent to the State Department by humanitarian Americans determined to find ways to save the Greek Jews. Reports were sent by Burton Berry, the US consul in Istanbul; by Brigadier-General Richard Tindall, the military attache in Istanbul, and by Lincoln McFeagh, the American ambassador to Greece, then resident in in Cairo. "The unsuspecting Jews of Corfu were rounded up on June 9, 1944, almost 70 days after Berry had informed Washington [of the impending deportation] [and prior to the deportation of the Jews of Rhodos] ...Out of 2000 Jews on Corfu, only 187 returned ... German documents reveal that the commander of Corfu, Col. Jaeger, tried to prevent the deportation of the Jews..."[viz:, he recommened that they deport the demobilized Italian soldiers instead]. On July 19, 1944, the Jews of Rhodos were deported, (with typical Nazi duplicity brutality and pillage), in 3 small freighters, which met a ship from Kos with 100 Jews. They were shipped to Pireaus, interned, beaten, and robbed. After 36 hours in Pireaus they received food through the Red Cross. On August 3 they were shipped in sealed railway cars to Auchwitz with practically no food nor water; 23 died in those cars. Apparently most were immediately killed at Auchwitz; 250 girs and 350 young men were sent to forced labour. {Angel} p. 152 gives the figures as follow:: 39 escaped deportation , 151 {or 163?} survivied, 22 died under the harsh conditions of transportation, 1145 were murdered in Auchwitz; 437 were worked to death in forced-labor camps. Most of the survivors were young girls; 25 were young men; a few were older men and women. Mr. Rahamani's flyer {8} seems to give August 16 (1944) as the date on which most of the Jews of Rhodos were killed at Auchwitz. I do not know whether or not this is accurate. His flyer includes excerpts from an article by Carine Doenias, about recollections by survivors She speaks of one woman who saw her husband through a fence ("grillage"), she showed him her tatoo, and he said, "when we leave here I will buy you bracelets that will hide the number.". She alludes to the brutality of the capos ("c'sest un euphemisme de dire qu'elles n'etaaient pas tendres", and by attempts by civillians and "et meme des surveillants nazis" to render minor forms of assistance to the deportees. Most of the survivors returned to Rhodos. They tried to reorganize the Jewish community, but could not; most then left to join communities of Rhodos Jews abroad. In April 1946 there were about 50 Jews. In 1948 top-rank members of the Israel armed forces, presumably on Rhodos for Armistice negotiations, laid a wreath at the fountain in the "Plaza of Jewish martyrs" The present Jewish community on Rhodos, and in Greece: 10,000 of the 77,000 Greek Jews survived the Holocaust; the Greek Jewish community totaled 5000 in 1987: 2700 Athens, 900 Salonika {1100 in 1995 {6}}, 400 Larissa (where the central square has been reanmed Jewish Martyrs' Square),, 250 Volos {which as of 1995 holds weekly Kabbalat shabat gatherings on Friday afternoon {6}}; Triakala (apr. 500(?)}, with small functionting communities in Corfu, Iannana, } , Rhodos, Halkida, and Demotika (where the synagogue was abandonned and sold}. A new synagogue was built in Salonika in 1985, and a library for the history of the Jews of Salonika; there is a Jewish museum in Athens. Khalkis is on the semi-island Euoba; it has had a continuous Jewish presence since the destruction of the lst Temple, and preserves the only known Romaniot cemetary, 2500 years old. There were 22 families in 1995. The synagogue in the old Jewish quarter has been restored, renovation unearthed traces of a mikveh built B.C.E. Ianna {another of the few Romaniot Jewish communities} is in a mountainous region north of Ignomutsu, almost on the Albanian border; the synagouge has been designated a national historical site and is being renovated. There are not more than 6 Jewish families there. Ianana held High Holiday services in recent years, but did not do so in 1994; the members may have joined with the congregation of the Corfu synagogue.. In 1994 there were 7 Jewish families -- 35 persons -- living on the island of Rhodos, all within the city of Rhodos. In the "Plaza of Hebrew Martyrs", formerly the heart of the Jewish Quarter, there is the small shop Mr. Simeon Coen. The Kahal Shalom synagogue, gutted during German occupation, has been restored by the communities of Rhodos Jews abroad, and is diligently maintained by Mrs. Lucia Soulam, widow of the former shames. At present there is an association of Rhodian Jews in New York, headed by Mr. Hillel Franco. Jews from Rhodos who live abroad remain loyal to their community, supporting it with contributions for the upkeep of synagogue and cemetary; many return every year to visit. ================================================================= ================================================================= FOR FURTHER INFORMATION SEE: {A} Marc D. Angel, The Jews of Rhodes: The History of a Sephardic Community (1978; (apparently researched 1974); 2nd corrected printing 1980; New York Sepher-Hermon Press & Union of Sephardic Communities; LCC 77-93661; ISBN 0-87303-072-5. Based on his doctoral disseration, Yeshiva University. His bibliography includes a listing of works by rabbis and authors from Rhodos. Angel mentions a manuscript history of the Jews of Rhodos by Isaiah Sonne, held in 1974 by the Ben Zvi Institute in Jerusalem, which he was NOT permitted to see (although he was shown the notebooks from which Sonne wrote the manuscript.) Professor Esther Fiutz Menesce, University of Milano, Storia Degli Ebrei di Rodi, 1990. {9} Hizkia M. Franco, The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos; written 1947; originally published in French {pub. Elisabethville 1952, cited by {A}}; translated from the original French by Joseph Franco, pub. Harper Collins Publishers, (Regal Star House, 25 George Silundika Ave., Haare, Zimbabwe) 1994, ISBN 177904 004 0 pp118, includings lists of those deported. This serves as a semi-official account of the events 1936-1944. {10} The Sephardi Culinary Tradition, by Elsie Mizrahi Menasce (Photogarphy & styling: Volker Miros & Anette Kesler) ISBN - 620 076178 (Standard edition) 074922 (Collector's edition) Order from: David & Elsie Menasche, POB 230343, Claremont 7935, South Africa 2721. FAX: 642785. $40 Dedicated to the Sephardi community of Rhodes The Sephardic Cookbook Corporation, Publishr, UCA Studio (Pty) Ltd 21 Bloem St., Capetown, S.A. pp144; B'Nai B'rith/WIZO publications Includes photographs of the Kahal Shalom synagogue. The Jewish Community of Rhodes, Heritage Foundation, Inc., 41 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10010 USA. Hillel Franco, President. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS IN PREPARATION BY MR. MOSHE RAHMANI: "Los Muestros", tri-lingual magazine to commemorate the community and traditions of Rhodos, announced for publication, 1990, by Mr. Moise Rahmani, Belgium. A publication has been announced by flyer {8} for publication: Rhodes, part of our memory. Responsible editor is Moshe Rahmani, 25 rue Dodonee, B-1180 Buxulles; a publication de L'Institu Sepharde Europeen et Los Muestory; ISBN 2-9600028-2-2; ISNN: 0777-8767; ICCN: 93-640990. The publication is available by subscription, and apparently only by subscription. US$40 or 20. It is not entirely clear whether this will be a single publication or a periodical. As of autumn 1994, the organizer apparently had not yet received enough subscriptions and funding to publish. The publication is apparently planned as a book with the following chapters: 1. History of the Jewish community of Rhodos 2. Daily life 3. Folklore, with costumes and traditions 4. The deportation 5. A diaspora in the diaspora With poems, designs, and photos The following contents are announced Ytgada: Moise V. Rahmani The Jews of Rhodes in the Holocaust: Yitzchak Kerem Haidari e gli ebrie di Rhodi: Vittoria Chiarugi Mourghianni Cinkuenta anios douspues kualo izimos: Gr. R. Moshe M. Levy Coplas sefradies en el repertorio Rodesli: Shoshana Weich Shahak Un mondo perduot et il ritorno all via: Raoul Menasce Lettere aux petits-enfants des deportes: Carine Douenias Hommage aux Jif grecs: Maryla Dyamant Michalowska The Jews of Rhodes: History of an ancient communicty -- Esther Fintz Menasce My deportation and my return from the camps: Dr. Nissim Alhadeff Anton Burger, the last of Eichmann's staff: Simon Wiwsenthal Center Karibuni - Barehunni: Malka Levy A Rodi dopo 50 anni: Riccardo Collaro In Memoriam: Esther Fintz Menasce Un Miracolo di profumi, di rose: Pasquale Caccopardi Gli ebrie a Rodi: Moishe Capelluto Poesi di una sopravvissuta all'inferno: Clara Soriano Avzaradel Un ufficale italion a Rodi e una gionvane ebrea di Rodi: Francesco Marcheselli Ommaggio all memoria de Fratel Angelino: Giuseppe Bonetto 34, rue du Jasmin, Paris (??) Mario Perusini L'allieva Sol Benatar e i Savoia: Solly Benatar Levy (1928 c. 1930) La mujer judia in Rodi: Gaby E. Benatar The B'nai B'rith in Rhodos: Herbert Israel Rhodes, la petite Jerusalem: Leon Alhadeff Un Juse turc: Selahettin Ulkunin: Herbert Israel Interview: Violetta Fintz Maio Jewish Rhodes and its historian: Michale Leone And the world stood silent" Issac Jack Levy Italian linguistic policies and the Sephardim of Rhodes: Albert de Vida Consolation de Malherge pour la mort de Rachelica: Nora Menasce L'Holocauste des Juifs de Rhodes: Lucia Soulam Folklore: Albert Mergian Ya'akov Pash: Josue Israel Poeme: Isahar Avzaradel As of the summer of 1994, the organizer announced that he would require at least 500 subscriptions, of which he had to that date received 9. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Visitors to Rhodos, and persons interested in its Jewish community, may obtain information from Mr. Maurice Soriano President, Jewish Community of Rhodos, 5 Polydoru St., Old City, Rhodos, Telephone: 0241-22364, 24341; and from Mrs. Lucia Soulam (Caretaker, Synagogue), Sophokleous 6E, Old City, Rhodos, Telephone: 0241-29406 (mornings and late afternoon). ------------------------------------------------------------------- These notes were compiled by Stephen Benjamin Amdur (HaOn, 15170 Israel), who is solely responsible for any inaccuracies herein, as a gesture of admiration and appreciation to the Jewish Community of Rhodos for their kindness and hosptitality during a 1992 visit to that most charming and hospitable island. This update 6/95. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ REFERENCES: {1}[EJ, Kos[qv], but possibly 300?], {2}400 according to the EJ; but the JE and Angel say 500). Based on notes to a display in the Museum of the Diaspora, Tel Aviv University. {3} E.N. Adler, ed., Jewish Travelers in the Middle Ages (Routledge, London, 1930; Dover, New York, 1987) The account of the Obidiah Yareh de Betinoro was published jin A Miscellaney of Hebrew Literatue,Londo, 1872; trans. fromHEbrew by Adolf Neubauer, and republished in Jewish Sea Stories, Samuel Sobel ed., 1965, 1985, Jonathon DavidPublishers, Middle Village, New York 11379 USA. {4} The Menorah Treasury, Schwartz ed.,JPS Philadelphia, 1964. Cecil Roth, Menorah, XVII (3) (December 1929) pp219-233 "The Slave Community of Malta" {5} (Moshe Dayan, Story of my Life, Morrow, New York, 1976; Da Capo, New York, 1992, p139). {6} Eretz Magazine, Jerusalem, May-June 1995, Tirza Yuval, "A Tale of Two Cities" [Salonika & Chalcis] {7} Notes from an interview in English with Gr. R. Moshe Levy, on Rhodos, Sept. 12(?), 1994. Interview by sa; not tape-recorded, interviewer neglected to sumbmit notes of interview to interviewee for corrections. ================================================================= ================================================================= ================================================================