Neve Shalom Synagogue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neve Shalom Synagogue, Istanbul, Turkey

Basic information
Neve Şalom Sinagogu בית הכנסת נווה שלום Neve Shalom Synagogue
Location	Büyük Hendek Street 61 Istanbul, Turkey
Religious affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
District	Galata
Year consecrated	1951
Ecclesiastical status	Active Synagogue
Website	Neve Shalom Synagogue Official Website
Architectural description
Architect(s)	Elyo Ventura and Bernar Motola
Specifications
Capacity	2,000

Neve Shalom Synagogue, (Turkish: Neve Şalom Sinagogu, Hebrew: בית הכנסת נווה שלום‎, lit. "Oasis of Peace" or "Valley of Peace") is a synagogue located in the Galata district of Istanbul, Turkey.

When the Jewish population in the old Pera and Galata districts (today encompassed by Beyoğlu district) increased in late 1930s, a Jewish primary school in the area was torn down in 1949 in order to build a new synagogue and the construction was completed in 1951. The architects were Elyo Ventura and Bernar Motola, young Turkish Jews. The inauguration with the presence of the Chief Rabbi of Turkey of the time, Hakham Bashi Rafael Saban, was on Sunday, March 25, 1951 (17 Veadar 5711, Hebrew calendar).

Neve Shalom is the central and largest Sephardic synagogue in Istanbul, open to service especially on Shabbats, high holidays, Bar Mitzvahs, funerals and weddings.

Neve Shalom suffered three terrorist attacks: September 6, 1986 which resulted in the death of 22 Turkish Jews; March 1, 1992 which was a bomb attack and left no casualties, and November 15, 2003, one of the four car bomb attacks in Istanbul (see Istanbul Bombings).^[1]

Coordinates: 41°01′36.1″N, 28°58′20.7″E