• La Juderia (the Jewish Quarter)
• The Square of the Martyred Jews
• The "Kahal Shalom" synagogue
• The Rhodes Jewish Museum
• The Jewish Cemetery
• Books about the "Rhodesli" and the Jewish Community of Rhodes
• Movies about the Jewish Community of Rhodes

 

The Jewish Community of the Island of Rhodes has a rich history that dates back to the second century BC, with the earliest reference to it appearing in the book of Maccabees. Other references to the Jewish presence in the Island are found in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. The Jews of Rhodes like the other Jews living in Greece and in its Islands spoke Greek and conducted the religious services in Greek, following the Romaniote rite, which is distinct from Sephardi, Ashkenaz, and Italian rites.

During the reign of the Knights of St. John in the 14th century, the Jews of the Island were relegated to the southeast section of the old city, where they continued to live until their deportation in 1944 to the Nazi extermination camps. In the year 1500, the Grand Master d'Aubusson expelled all the Jews who did not choose to convert to Christianity. So it seems that the Island of Rhodes was for a short time free of Jews, until 1522 Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottomans wished to repopulate the Jewish section of the Island. Thus he invited Jews from various parts of his empire to come to Rhodes and start a new community. The Jews that came were Sephardim, the ones who had found refuge in the Ottoman Empire following the expulsion from Spain in 1492. These Jews brought with them their culture, their customs and traditions, one of the cultural aspects was linguistic, the language they spoke was Espanyol, as they called it, also known as a "Ladino" and "Judeo-Spanish" The Jewish Quarter of the city was affectionately known as "La Juderia".

At the beginning of the 20th century, many young Jews left the Island in search of better economic opportunities in the Americas and in parts of Africa, many more left after the enforcement of the racial laws passed by the fascist government of Italy, which had occupied the islands of the Dodecanese, (Rhodes the capital) in 1912. In the early 1920s the community had reached its peak population of 4.500 souls.

In 1943 Rhodes was taken over by the Germans, and on July 23 of the next year, 1673 members of the Jewish community were arrested and deported to the Auschwitz extermination camp, where most of them were slaughtered. Only 151 survived. In 1947 the Island was ceded to Greece. Today there are only a handful of Jews living in Rhodes.

"Al Chatef" street is named for an honored family who once lived here in Rhodes.

The Jewish Quarter.

Israelite Universelle School; The dedication plaque above the fountain of the Jewish school of Rhodes is all that exists today. An inscription to General Ameglio, the first Italian military commander of Rhodes.

The Jewish Quarter.

 

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The "Square of the Martyred Jews" (known in Greek as " Evreon Martyron "), is located in the heart of the former Jewish Quarter. The square was originally an area of Jewish homes and small shops. However, the area was bombed during World War II, and in its place was established a small park and square. The present fountain ornamented with three seahorses replaced a previous fountain that was destroyed during World War II.

The Holocaust Memorial was dedicated on June 23, 2002 in memory of the World War II victims from Rhodes and the island of Cos.

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The "Kahal Shalom" is the oldest synagogue in Greece, and the sole remaining Jewish synagogue on Rhodes used for services. There was once six synagogues in the Jewish Quarter (called "La Juderia"). The "Kahal Shalom" was built in the year 1577. The full name of the building is "Kahal Kadosh Shalom" (Holy Congregation of Peace). It is used for prayer services when visitors or former residents and their families visit the island for Friday night services, High Holiday services and for special occasions. A great Woman Lucia Soulam, a survivor of Aushwitz, is the caretaker of the "Kahal Shalom" Synagogue in Rhodes. She speaks Judeo Spanish (Ladino), Italian, Greek and a little French and Turkish and very little English.

The interior of the Kehila Shalom synagogue follows the traditional Sephardic style of having the "tevah" (the prayer reading table) in the center of the sanctuary facing southeast toward Jerusalem.

There is also a balcony that was created in 1935, as a result of a liberalization of religious policy, to be used as a women's prayer area. Prior to that time the women sat in the rooms adjacent to the south wall of the synagogue that viewed the sanctuary through curtained openings. Those rooms are now being utilized for the Jewish Museum of Rhodes.

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Here you will be provided with information regarding the historical exhibition which is located in the rooms formerly used as the women's prayer rooms at the "Kahal Shalom" synagogue, it is home to a memorial of the once large Jewish community here in Rhodes, housing many photos and memorial plaques.

 

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The Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization founded by Aron Hasson, and was established to preserve the unique history of the Jews of Rhodes.

 

He was born in Los Angeles and he is a third generation "Rhodesli". He is an attorney in Los Angeles where he has been practicing immigration law since 1980. He was inspired to visit the island of Rhodes in 1975 by stories told to him by his grandparents. Its special charm and history fascinated him. Several years later, in 1995, he came back to Rhodes with his family for his children to learn of their family heritage. It was during that trip that he noticed the need of advancin the public awareness and appreciation of its unique history unfortunately devastated by the Holocaust.

 

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Originally the Jewish cemeteries in Rhodes were forced to be moved by the Italian government during the late 1930's away from the Jewish Quarter to its present location in the new city. The Jewish Cemetery is one of the best preserved in Europe and contains tombstones from the 1500's to the present and it is located outside the Old City of Rhodes along the main road towards Kalitheas and Faliraki. Excavations of additional tombstones are continuing and during the last five years over 300 burial stones have been uncovered.

Path in the Jewish Cemetery.

Excavated tombstones lined up ready for translating and viewing in the Jewish Cemetery just outside Rhodes town.

A marble monument identifies the 2,000 Jews of Rhodes and Kos killed during the Holocaust, it is dedicated to the loss of life.

Excavated tombstones.

 

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The "Rhodesli" are a little-known Sephardic sect who lived on the Mediterranean island of Rhodes from 1492, when they were expelled from Spain and Portugal, to World War II. Their culture, which is from 800 B.C survives as a small emigre community in Los Angeles. Their complex ethnic and religious heritage is unique in the world today. The Rhodesli are Jews who speak a rare medieval Spanish dialect (Ladino) and observe traditions derived from Turkish, Moorish, Spanish, and Jewish sources that remain mostly unchanged from centuries past.

• The Jews of Rhodes - The History of a Sephardic Community, Rabbi Marc Angel
• La cita en Buenos Aires - Sega de una Familia Sefaradi, Vittorio Alhadeff
• I Remember Rhodes, Rebecca Amato Levy
• Un dia mas de vida - Rodas, Auschwitz, Buenos AIRES, David Galante
• The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos, Hiskia M. Franco
• The Juderia - A holocaust Survivor's Tribute to the Jewish Community of Rhodes, Laura Varon
• Erase una vez..Sefarad - Los Sefaradies del Mediterraneo, Su Historia, Su Cultura, Helene Gutkowski
• Rhodes, un pan de notre memorie., Moise Rahmani
• Aki Rodes.

 

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The Documentaries:(1995)

• "L' Isola delle rose, la tragedia di un paradiso" (Italian production - The Island of Roses, the tragedy of a paradise): The Rhodeslis Jewish community goes back to the golden age of Italian rule and survived until the height of WWII, Samona tells a rather simple story about family survival -through passed down traditions, food, songs, rituals, and their medieval Ladino Spanish dialect - using extensive family photos, newsreel and archival footage. Director: Rebecca Samona
• "Rhodes nostalgie / Rhodes for Ever": Is a contemporary portrait that ties the Jews of Rhodes with their descendants. It tells the remarkable but largely unknown story of these people who despite the physical destruction of their community during WWII, managed to transplant their unique Jewish culture elsewhere, notably in the Belgian Congo and Europe. (Belgian production) by Dian Perlstein. A big part of the documentaries filmed in the Old Town.
• Island Of Roses, The Jews of Rhodes in Los Angeles (1995, 55 minutes): Gregori Viens has written, directed, and coproduced, with Mati Franco, Island of Roses: The Jews of Rhodes in Los Angeles. This stunning videotape documents with spirited sensitivity the lives of Sephardic Jews in Rhodes and Los Angeles. Director: Gregory Viens
• Adio (1998, 19 minutes): Adio is about listening to stories that a grandmother tells. And it's also about culture, religion... Director: Gregory Viens

 

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• The migration of Rhodian Jews to Africa and the Americas from 1900-1914
• Sephardic Culinary Traditions of The Island of Rhodes
• CONGREGATION EZRA BESSAROTH HISTORY

 

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