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The Maghen Abraham Synagogue ((アラビア語:كنيس ماغين أبراهام) - "Kanīs Mā'ghīn Abrā'hām"; (ヘブライ語:בית הכנסת מגן אברהם) - "Beth HaKenesset Maghen Abraham") is one of the main synagogues in Lebanon. Located in the Jewish district of Wadi Abu Jamil in Beirut, the synagogue was destroyed during the Lebanese Civil War. Restoration of the synagogue began in May 2009. In August 2010, renovations were nearing completion, with finishing touches being made to the interior of the building. In 2014, a Muslim lawyer who handles the affairs of Jews in Beirut said there are only two rabbis to lead the synagogue and denied reports that the synagogue would be reopened.〔(Contrary to reports, Beirut synagogue not planned to reopen, Jerusalem Post )〕 ==History== An older synagogue in Beirut was demolished in 502 by a great earthquake which destroyed several cities in Lebanon.〔''The Jewish Encyclopedia'', vol. II, New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1916, p. 647〕Maghen Abraham was constructed in 1925 and named after the son of Abraham Sassoon, Moise Abraham Sassoon of Calcutta, on land donated by Isaac Mann. It was designed by the architect Bindo Manham and construction was overseen by Ezra Benjamin and Joseph Balayla."〔The Jews of Lebanon: Between coexistence and Conflict, 2nd Ed, Kristen schulze, sussex press 2009, p42〕 Because of insufficient funding, the head of the Jewish community, Josef Farhi, helped in completing the interior. The synagogue was also used for Torah and scientific lectures, weddings and other festive events. In the 1950s and 1960s there were sixteen synagogues in Beirut and they were all full, according to a Lebanese expatriate who moved from Beirut to Paris in 2003. Jews were entitled to the same rights as other minorities and the number of Jews was increasing even after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, by which time there were about 14,000 Jews in Lebanon.〔http://www.resetdoc.org/story/00000000068〕 Even during the PLO's control of the area in the 1975-6 conflict guards were placed on the synagogue for its protection.〔Pity the nation, by Robert Fisk. Page 325〕 In 1976, a year after the civil war began, Joseph Farhi transferred the Torah scrolls from the synagogue to Geneva and entrusted to renowned Jewish-Lebanese banker Edmond Safra, who preserved them in his bank's coffers. Most of them have since been relocated to Sephardic synagogues in Israel.〔According to the Juifs du Liban.〕 Although the greater part of the community had already emigrated after the 1958 Crisis and the Lebanese Civil War, there were approximately 100 Jewish families still living in the quarters of the synagogue prior to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. During the 1982 Lebanon war, Yasir Arafat's PLO forces and the Christian Phalangists were situated in Wadi Abu Jamil, leading to Israeli suspicion of there being Palestinian weapons in the quarter. On 12 August 1982, an Israeli bombardment damaged the synagogue. The synagogue was abandoned after Israeli shells hit the building, leaving rubble and debris strewn across the floor. Two marble tablets representing the Ten Commandments and a marble Star of David were also shattered. Dozens of Jewish families were among those displaced by shelling of the area.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maghen Abraham Synagogue」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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