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New synagogue museum opens in Faro
• 31 May 2007 •
THE opening ceremony for the new Isaac Bitton Synagogue Museum will take place on June 3 at the Jewish Cemetery in Faro. At the ceremony, hosted by the Jewish Community of Algarve in co-operation with the Jewish Community of Lisbon and Faro Town Council, a monument to Samuel Gacon, the man who printed the first ever book in Portugal, the Pentateuch, in Hebrew, which was printed in Faro in 1487, will also be unveiled.
An original copy of the book is safeguarded at the British Library with a facsimile copy at the new museum in Faro. A replica of Josef de Tomar’s tombstone, dated 1315, will also be on display at the site which will be renamed “The Faro Jewish Heritage Centre”.
The new museum was built adjoining the western wall of the Jewish Cemetery in Faro, which has107 graves and served the local community from 1838 to 1932. The Faro Cemetery Restoration Fund Inc financed the restoration of the cemetery in 1992, shortly after the founding of a small new Jewish community of Algarve.
The museum’s façade is in line with the 18 tall cypress trees which were planted in front of the cemetery in 1993 in honour of humanitarian Dr Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who fought against his own government for the safety of Jews living in Europe in the early years of World War II. Between June 16 and 23, 1940, he frantically issued Portuguese visas, free of charge, to more than 30,000 refugees seeking to escape the Nazi terror.
Furniture preserved from one of the two defunct 19th and 20th century Faro synagogues will be displayed as the centrepiece in the new museum, which will also house the beautiful restored pulpit, ark and Eternal Light from the 1820 synagogue that stood at Rua Castilho in downtown Faro. The synagogue was demolished in the 1960s. Suitably dressed models will depict a “Chupah” (Jewish Wedding) and a Bar Mitzvah taking place with traditional wedding music. Audiotape services will be activated automatically as visitors enter. Faro Mayor Jose Apolinario will be joined by Michael Bitton, Isaac’s son, at the opening of the museum. |  Return to Top
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