What reopening the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue means for Egypt
There are hardly enough Jews in Alexandria to form a quorum to hold prayers, making the renovation and reopening of the oldest synagogue in Egypt all the more meaningful to the country's Jewish community.
Alexandria’s Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Egypt, symbolizes a time when the city had a lively and diverse community of Jews, Christians and Muslims. A stone’s throw from a church and a mosque, the synagogue reopened earlier this month after undergoing preservation and renovation.
Today the coastal city's Jewish population numbers no more than a dozen, a far cry from the 40,000 around the time of World War II. Egypt’s minuscule Jewish community, estimated by some to number around 20, welcomed the reopening of the synagogue with joy.
