Jews in Lebanon

The history of the Jews in Lebanon encompasses their presence in present-day Lebanon stretching back to Biblical times. The Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (c. 37–100 AD), tells us:

“in the beginning of the Jewish wars against the Roman Empire, the Sidonians did not allow any Jew who lived in the city to be killed or imprisoned.”

The Sidon Synagogue, was built (circa 883 AD), not big in size, currently inhabited, is one of the oldest in the world, as believed to rest on a much older one that dates back to the destruction of the Second Temple (c. 66 AD), it is located in the old city of Saida, Lebanon.

Jewish communities lived for centuries in Lebanon in harmony with the rest of the population. But overtime, their numbers dwindled particularly during the Muslim Era (c. 622 AD).

The Deir el-Qamar Synagogue, was built in the 17th century, during the Ottoman Era, and still in excellent condition; but has been closed to the public for security reasons, since its entrustment to the French Cultural Center. It is located in the south-central Chouf district of Mount Lebanon.

The Synagogue of Senim (name for "Tripoli" in Hebrew), was built in the same Era, once serving a vibrant Jewish community, located in the city of Tripoli of northern Lebanon.

The Aley Synagogue (also known as "Ohel Jacob Synagogue"), was built (c. 1895) by Ezra Anzarut, dubbed 'El Kebir' (the Great), it is an in ruin ancient Synagogue, located in the Aley district of Mount Lebanon.

Lebanon in general had about 21 minorities, and 23 confessional groups, among whom Jews were as respected as the others.

In 1911, Jews from Italy; Greece; Turkey; Iraq; Syria, and other countries moved to Beirut, expanding the local community to almost 5.000 people.

Articles 9 and 10 of the 1926 Constitution of Lebanon guaranteed the freedom of religion and provided each religious community, including the Jewish community, the right to manage its own civil matters, including education, and thus the Jewish community was constitutionally protected.

The Jewish community prospered under the French Mandate and the Greater Lebanon period, exerting considerable influence throughout Beirut and beyond, as significant investments in ports; roads; railways and infrastructure were made by the mandatory power, Beirut saw its role as a gateway between the East and West increasing.

The Bhamdoun Synagogue, was built (c. 1922) as the last Temple in a summering region. It still stands despite the building being abandoned, and is among the largest in the country, located in the Aley district of Mount Lebanon.

The Maguen Abraham Synagogue, was inaugurated in 1926, in the Wadi Abou Jamil neighborhood, as a spacious Temple serving Beirut's growing 'kehilla' (meaning "congregation" in Hebrew).

There were ten other smaller ones, including the Kahal Reuven Synagogue; Spanish Synagogue and Eddy Synagogue. In the educational field, the Talmud Torah Selim Tarrab School was opened two years later, in a building behind Maguen Abraham Synagogue.

In 1932, Census records that there were officially 3.588 Jews in Lebanon, of which 3.060 in Beirut.

The community was predominantly Sephardic, although a small number of Ashkenazim settled in the city in the period between the two World Wars.

In 1946-1947, more than 6.000 Jews fled Syria, after the Aleppo Pogrom to Beirut.

Although the Jewish community of Lebanon had been constitutionally protected, beyond Beirut, the attitudes were at-times inimical.

Following the 1947 establishment of an independent Jewish State in mandatory Palestine, Jews of Beirut celebrated the event in the courtyard of the Maguen Abraham Synagogue, prompting some to cross the border to join the Haganá forces, therewith, compromising the security of Jews in Lebanon.

By 1948, there were an estimated 20,000 Jews living in Lebanon.

The foregoing did not have a disastrous effect on the Lebanese Jewish community. The authorities did not strip them of any of their civil rights, but actively instead protected them.

However, there were changes, such as the removal of Jewish festivities from the national calendar; the suspension of government funding for schools and welfare institutions; the declaration of illegality of the Maccabi movement, and the confiscation of its properties.

Increasing Anti-Zionist sentiments and riots, led all Jews in Tripoli to resettle in Beirut, leaving their Synagogue abandoned to later be confiscated and turned into a Mosque now housing destitute Syrian and Palestinian families.

The Safra family, namely billionaires Joseph Safra and his sons, who own the Safra Bank group are among the most prominent Tripolitan figures in the Lebanese Jewish community. They still own a wealth of properties in northern Lebanon.

In 1949, when the armistice between Israel and Lebanon was signed, Jewish life seemed to have returned to normal.

However, a new socio-political reality was emerging that would result in the end of the country's Jewish chapter by the growing influx of Palestinian refugees to settle in Lebanon.

By early-50’s, explosions took place near Wadi Abou Jamil,, and the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies moved a unanimous resolution to expel and exclude Jews from the Lebanese Army.

By the mid-50's, approximately 7,000 Jews lived in Beirut.

The Mishkan Moshe Synagogue, donated by the Zeitoune family was inaugurated in 1966.

In the wake of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, there was mass migration of around 6,000 Lebanese Jews to Italy; Israel; Canada; the United States, to name a few.

By late-60s, and turn of the following decade, intensification of the conflict between Palestinians and Lebanese led many Jews to leave the country, which was beginning to disintegrate. The internal economic situation had also been negatively affected by the war and the collapse of the Palestinian bank, Intrabank, in 1966.

However, the Jewish community still maintained a relatively high profile, as the Safra and Zilkha banks remained open, and the 'Prime Minister Rashid Karame and Parliamentarians still visited Synagogues on special occasions.

In 1970, a bomb exploded in the Talmud Torah Selim Tarrab. The Minister of the Interior Kamal Jumblatt made a public apology to the community. But even so, a large number of synagogues were closed. Only the Alliance school and the Maguen Abraham synagogue remained in operation.

By 1974, there were still about 500 Jews living in Saida.

In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War, lead to a mass exodus of remaining Lebanese Jews along others.

In 1982, the Lebanon-Israel War, further reduced the number of Jews in Lebanon.

As of 2005, Wadi Abu Jamil, the Jewish quarter of Beirut, was virtually abandoned in dilapidated condition after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There were only around 40 elderlies left in Beirut, almost bringing to an end the effective presence of Jews in Lebanon.

In 2010, work began to restore the Maghen Abraham Synagogue that had fallen into disrepair several years earlier. Solidere a Lebanese joint-stock company in charge of planning and redeveloping Beirut's Central District agreed to fund the renovation as the Synagogue as it represented a cultural and historical site.

The international media and even members of the Lebanese Jewish diaspora wondered who would pray at the Synagogue? But the self-declared head of the Beirut Jewish Community Council, Isaac Arazi, who had left Lebanon in 1983, eventually came forward. Arazi died in 2023.

The Jewish remnants lived mostly in or around Beirut. A community described as old, and apprehensive as there were no services at Beirut's Synagogue.

In 2015, the estimated total Jewish population in Syria and Lebanon combined was near 100.

By 2020, there were only about 29 Jews left in Lebanon.

In 2022, ironically 4,500 Jews were registered on the General Election rolls, despite that the majority were demised or had left the country, of whom 27 were registered as "Israelites", the typical designation in official registers.

Most signs of Jewish life in Lebanon had by then fallen into disuse, with Synagogues deserted; Magen Davids (Star of David) removed, and the Beth Elamen Cemetery in Beirut abandoned.

In Saida, where Jews have had a presence since the first century BC, with the Sidon Synagogue, in the old city’s Jewish quarter (colloquially “Haret al-Yahud”), there is no longer any evident Jewish presence.

Nowadays, there are no official estimates as to the size of Lebanon's remaining Jewish community, while estimates suggest that no more than 20 avowed Jews are left.

Lebanon neither persecuted nor expelled Jews; and never considered Jews second-class citizens, although Lebanese authorities, cling-onto the country's “1955 anti-Israel boycott law.”

The country's rich history has been a podium to numerous documented but at times unpublished religious sites, such as the Jewish cemetery and school in the southern city of Saida that now are being restored despite of all…

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Food for thought!