Italy Celebrates Reopening of 13th-Century Synagogue
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The Italian city of Trani celebrated the reopening of the medieval Scolanova Synagogue.
The reopening on Monday following some seven months of restoration efforts took place during the Lech Lecha Jewish culture festival in southern Italy’s Apulia region.
Built in the 13th century, the synagogue was confiscated by the Catholic Church a few decades later during a wave of anti-Semitism and converted for use as a church. The synagogue, which had been empty and disused since the 1950s, was desanctified as a church in 2006 and returned to the Jewish community.
The Trani Jewish community was founded in the 12th century and quickly flourished religiously and culturally. Spanish conquerors took over between 1510 and 1541 and forced the Jews to convert or leave southern Italy. Today, a few dozen Jews live in the Apulia region.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
