Friday, November 9, 2007
One of the 58 of 59 synagogues destroyed by the Jordanians when they ethnically-cleansed Jerusalem in 1948, the Hurva Synagogue will have the highest dome in the city when reconstruction is complete. Story (with requisite hand-wringing) at The Forward: A New Ruin Rising
But its architectural reign came to an end in 1948, when the Jordanian army destroyed the Hurva during the War of Independence as part of a larger effort to erase the Jewish presence from the Old City and prevent Jews from ever returning there. The Jordanians’ plans failed in the end, however, for with Israel’s victory over Jordan, and its re-conquest, of East Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967, the Hurva’s remnants once again fell into Israeli hands. With this pivotal event began what has since become a 40-year saga to decide the building’s ultimate fate...