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Tag: Greece

City overflowing with history

City overflowing with history

The early 20th-century Casa Bianca is today one of the locations of the Municipal Art Gallery of Thessaloniki (Salonika). (photo by Pappasadrian)

When you think Salonika, don’t think old, think ancient. Because of its geographic location on the Via Egnatia trade route, this northern Greek city traces its beginnings to 316 BCE. Even back then, who you knew was key. Thus, the town was named Thessalonike, after Alexander the Great’s sister, the wife of Cassandrus. Over the years, it has been called Thessaloniki, Saloniki or Salonika. (Note: sometimes the “k” is switched to a “c.”)

Jewish Salonika is a small community of about 1,000. But it was not always this way. Trade drew lots of different people to Thessaloniki, including Jews.

The original Jewish residents were Romaniot Jews – they spoke Greek and maintained a Hellenistic culture. In the beginning, Romaniot Jews and non-Jews held the same occupations and language. As a strategic town in the Byzantine Empire, both groups faced invasions. But, by the 1000s, the empire reached a level of stability that permitted flourishing Jewish scholarship. During this early phase of the Middle Ages, Jews from other areas, such as Anatolia, Germany and Hungary, settled in Salonika. In the late 1300s, more Jews arrived, this time from Provence, Northern Italy, Sicily and Catalonia.

What followed will sound familiar. Religious affiliation defined the Jewish Salonikan way of life: the Romaniotes had their synagogue, the Ashkenazim had theirs and the Jews from Italy and France had theirs. The situation intensified when Salonika received the many Jews that Spain and Portugal expelled. Back then, there was no worry about space and growth, as the Ottoman takeover had depleted the city’s population, but the influx of Sephardim was so great that, by the end of the 16th century, Romanite ritual was no longer practised. Ladino or Judeo-Español became the Jewish community’s language of choice.

For more than four centuries, half of Salonika’s population was Jewish, pinning it with the title, “Mother of Israel,” or “Madre d’Israel.” With so many Jews, it was not uncommon for the non-Jews of Salonika to be conversant in Ladino.

Not only that, but, as the Renaissance had influenced many of the Sephardi arrivals, Jewish Salonika received a significant secular and religious boost. The city became famous for its Jewish silk producers, weavers and wool dyers. Libraries, an influential talmudic academy, a printing press and a conservatory for Jewish religious singing all started during this golden period.

By the 1600s, the corrupt and inept Ottomans had started milking the merchant class. When, in 1636, Judah Kovo, the chief of the Salonika delegates, came to Murad IV to pay the annual “clothes tax,” the sultan capriciously ordered his execution. No Jew was well enough “connected” to stay the order. Unfortunately, at the same time, key foreign markets dried up. Having the means to escape, many wealthy Jewish merchants left. Other Salonikan Jews tried to escape troubles by following in the footsteps of a false messiah, Shabbetai Zvi.

photo - The 15th-century White Tower is one of the most-recognized monuments in Salonika
The 15th-century White Tower is one of the most-recognized monuments in Salonika. (photo by MaurusNR)

The Ottoman Empire was in decline by the 17th century. Nonetheless, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Salonika’s well-to-do Jewish residents managed to open flour mills, brick factories, breweries, soap-works and silkworm nurseries, carpet and shoe-making factories and several large tobacco workshops. Most of the Jewish population, however, remained poor. Considerable philanthropy within the community eased some of the daily hardships and provided education for many of the male children.

During this period, Jewish economic, social and political pursuits varied: on the one hand, some influential Jews continued in commerce and banking; on the other hand, some Jews became heavily involved in socialism. (The Workers’ Union, for example, was started in 1909 by a group of Salonika Jews. It became the most important socialist organization in the Ottoman Empire.) The railroad and port were important factors. Amazingly enough, until 1923, the city’s port closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

The social balance started to shift in the intervening years of the First and Second World Wars. The national government passed laws aimed at hellenizing the city. Slowly, the Jews – numbering 61,439 in a 1912 Greek census – became segregated (the horrendous 1917 fire probably abetted this process) and reduced many to second-class citizens by virtue of their not speaking the Greek language. Some antisemitic activities occurred, leading to a pogrom that drove many Jews to leave. (See the 2015 essay “Mother of Israel” by Dr. Lena Molho at greece-is.com/mother-of-israel.)

When the Nazis arrived, they herded Jews into a ghetto, then to Auschwitz. While the courageous actions of Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou (and the Athens police chief) saved thousands of Greek Jews, the Nazis killed 96% of Salonika’s Jews.

The killing was not enough for the Nazis, however. They also destroyed Salonika’s 2,000-year-old Jewish cemetery. Headstones ended up as pavement, urinals, driveways and even a dance floor. More damage – both physical and emotional – was sanctioned by the Greeks themselves. The university was built right on top of the cemetery. Even today, there is still no campus memorial to the massacred Jews.

Interestingly, individual Jewish Salonikans might well tell you their families came from Spain – as if this migration happened only recently. (See Bea Lefkowicz’s PhD thesis, published in 1999 by the London School of Economics.) At least among the older generation, this seems to be part of their personal narrative.

Today’s Jewish community is tightly run. A council provides numerous services to its members. Rabbi Eliyahu Shitrit, an Israeli with Moroccan roots, has been the community’s spiritual leader for several years now.

Central Salonika has the feel of a port town like Haifa, but with its own unique history. Some of its Jewish-related buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries still stand. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, there is something eerie about today’s Jewish Salonika. But visitors will also see how grand and vital this place once was. Walk around and you will see sites specifically related to the Nazi occupation of the city, but also the Baron de Hirsch Hospital, the Villa Allatini and Allatini Flour Mill, Villa Bianca, Villa Modiano, Villa Mordoh, the White Tower, the market synagogue, Yad l’Zikaron and the Museum of Jewish Presence in Thessaloniki.

Deborah Rubin Fields is an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology Exams, published in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

Format ImagePosted on September 15, 2017September 14, 2017Author Deborah Rubin FieldsCategories TravelTags Greece, history, Judaism, Salonika
A year of diplomacy, terror

A year of diplomacy, terror

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu kisses Adel Banita’s 2-year old son on the forehead in Hadassah Hospital on Oct. 5, 2015. Netanyahu was visiting Banita, who was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist in Jerusalem’s Old City. Her husband, Aharon, 22, died later of his injuries. (photo from Ashernet)

The Jewish year 5776 could be probably best described as a year of diplomacy and terror. Despite the toll of death and misery being inflicted by radical Islamic terror groups around the world, Israel this past year has been relatively quiet in so much as it has not had an outright war with its neighbors. Terror, however, has been present, with the knife and automobile being the weapons of choice to inflict fear and mayhem on the long-suffering citizens of Israel.

Radicalized, mostly young, Arab terrorists have been responsible for murdering or seriously injuring innocent men, women and children by stabbings or ramming their vehicles into groups of people, usually standing at bus stops or hitchhiking posts. Death and injury have also been caused by throwing large stones at passing cars in the West Bank. In several instances, firearms have been used by terrorists to kill people enjoying an evening out. On Aug. 17, a terrorist from the West Bank shot dead four people and injured a further six individuals at a restaurant in Tel Aviv. Perhaps the most outrageous attack was the murder of 13-year-old Hallel-Yaffe Ariel as she slept in her bed in her home in Kiryat Arba on June 30.

The year has been marked by intensive diplomatic activity, particularly as far as the African continent is concerned. Major countries, such as Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda, played host to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu this past summer. Their leaders have also visited Israel and trade agreements were signed. One African leader said the visit of the Israeli prime minister to Africa was to “reset Africa’s diplomatic relations with Israel.” Many African countries are anxious to use Israeli technology for water management and agricultural development. It is also worth noting that many African nations have also been victims of radical Islamic terrorism.

Israel’s Mediterranean neighbors were not forgotten this past year. Mutual interests of both energy and security have brought Greece, Israel and Cyprus closer. Greece and Israel have conducted military exercises in each other’s country, and the three countries are working together to maximize the natural gas deposits that have been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean.

Despite the tensions in the Middle East, beneath the surface, much is happening between Israel and its neighbor Jordan. Perhaps the most significant long-term change is the soon-to-be-completed Jezreel Valley railway project. Apart from the advantage for Israelis living in the north and working in the Haifa area, the new rail link will enable Jordanians to have a Mediterranean trade outlet, via Haifa. The only link to the sea for Jordan at present is at Aqaba on the Red Sea.

Another project between Israel and Jordan concerns the rapid evaporation of the Dead Sea. Already the lowest point on earth, the sea level is getting lower every year. Also, the annual replacement of water from rivers in the north does not reach the Dead Sea. This river water is being used for agriculture and domestic purposes. In principle, the two countries have agreed to build a water feed from the Gulf of Eilat to the Dead Sea. On the way, the flow of water would power generators to produce electricity.

As regards her other neighbors in the region, the terrible humanitarian crises being played out in Syria and Libya have once again demonstrated that Israel will never turn her back on those in need. As thousands of refugees have been pouring onto some Greek islands via Turkey to escape the unrelenting wars in the Middle East and North Africa, Israel’s aid organizations and medical teams have been on hand to offer help and expertise.

Among other happenings during the year, another state-of-the-art submarine was delivered during the summer from a German shipyard to augment Israel’s submarine fleet. And, finally, former prime minister Ehud Olmert was sent to prison after being found guilty of corruption and bribery. The positive side of this? The rule of law is the same in Israel for all of its citizens.

photo - Medical and rescue teams from IsraAID attend to Syrian refugees who have just landed in a rubber boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after the perilous crossing from Turkey
Medical and rescue teams from IsraAID attend to Syrian refugees who have just landed in a rubber boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after the perilous crossing from Turkey. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - The entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem after rioters tried to prevent police from arresting Arab stone-throwers
The entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem after rioters tried to prevent police from arresting Arab stone-throwers. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - In Tel Aviv in October 2015, thousands of Israelis came together to remember the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, who was murdered by Yigal Amir in this square
In Tel Aviv in October 2015, thousands of Israelis came together to remember the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, who was murdered by Yigal Amir in this square. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - A bus stop in Jerusalem’s Malkei Yisrael Street after a terrorist drove his car into the stop, killing one man, and then got out of his vehicle to stab others at random
A bus stop in Jerusalem’s Malkei Yisrael Street after a terrorist drove his car into the stop, killing one man, and then got out of his vehicle to stab others at random. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu looks through the periscope of the latest submarine to be delivered to the Israeli navy by the German government
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu looks through the periscope of the latest submarine to be delivered to the Israeli navy by the German government. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, left, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, centre, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at a meeting in Nicosia to cement trilateral relations
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, left, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, centre, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at a meeting in Nicosia to cement trilateral relations. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem following the court’s decision to uphold his prison sentence
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, left, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, centre, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at a meeting in Nicosia to cement trilateral relations. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - The Tamar gas rig in the Mediterranean, off the Israeli coast
The Tamar gas rig in the Mediterranean, off the Israeli coast. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu outside Government House in Kenya, stepping out to inspect the honor guard
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu outside Government House in Kenya, stepping out to inspect the honor guard. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - The almost-complete Jezreel Valley railway that goes from Haifa to the Jordanian border
The almost-complete Jezreel Valley railway that goes from Haifa to the Jordanian border. (photo from Ashernet)
photo - Goods from Turkey enter the Shalom Crossing into Gaza with goods from Turkey. Recently, Turkey and Israel resumed normal diplomatic relations for the first time since the 2010 Mavi Mamara affair
Goods from Turkey enter the Shalom Crossing into Gaza with goods from Turkey. Recently, Turkey and Israel resumed normal diplomatic relations for the first time since the 2010 Mavi Mamara affair. (photo from Ashernet)
Format ImagePosted on September 23, 2016September 21, 2016Author Edgar AsherCategories IsraelTags Greece, Israel, Jordan, Netanyahu, Obama, peace, refugees, terrorism, Turkey
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