Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Jobar Synagogue destroyed — again?

THE DAILY BEAST REPORTS: Exclusive Photos: Syria’s Oldest Synagogue, Destroyed by Assad (Josh Rogin).
The Jobar Synagogue was one of the holiest Jewish sites in Syria and contained priceless historical artifacts. Now it’s destroyed—and the opposition says Assad is to blame.

Syrian Arab Army forces flattened the Eliyahu Hanabi Synagogue in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus over the weekend. The attack not only wrecked a site that’s at least 400 years old. It may have destroyed thousands of irreplaceable Jewish artifacts contained inside the synagogue, according to opposition leaders and photos obtained at the site.

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I've held off on this one, because in March 2013 the synagogue was reported destroyed, but it developed shortly afterwards that it had been damaged but not destroyed (see here and here). This report came out on 27 May (a week ago) and was taken up in many places in the following day, but I cannot find any news after that. The photos of the damage look pretty comprehensive and, sadly, it appears that the report of the synagogue's destruction are true this time around.