Kesher Talk

Jews in odd places: Alsace: JTA delves into the campaign to save Jewish history in Alsace, a rural land that once provided most of the chief rabbis and scholars of the French Jewish community.

"Within the next five years, some 20 to 30 synagogues in the region could be demolished. And if not torn down, they could become — as some already have — a Christian parish hall and gym, a storehouse for fire-fighting equipment, a garage, a cinema or a private home.

Indeed, the oldest synagogue in Alsace, built around 1290 in Rouffach, is home to an architect. No other synagogues in the area should suffer a similar fate, says Catherine Lehmann, P.R. director of Jewish Heritage of Alsace. Lehmann not only spearheaded the drive to save synagogues, ritual baths and cemeteries in wine-producing Alsace, but is also a driving force behind what this fall will be the fourth “European Day of Jewish Culture” in 20 to 25 European countries."

posted by William @ 8/21/2003 08:43:16 AM