Disappearing Jewish Architecture

The Center for Jewish Art in Israel is in a race against time, seeking to document as many of an estimated 3,400 endangered historic Jewish buildings as possible before they are destroyed. Whether a former synagogue in Azerbaijan now serving as a cowshed, a factory in Croatia that was once a synagogue, or cemeteries turned into garbage dumps in other sites, all of the buildings are either abandoned or have been converted to other uses: cinema, theater, residences, barn or even public restrooms. The Center’s “salvation delegations” photograph the buildings, sketch their layout and, in some cases, prepare computer models of the structure, attempting to record the existence of these vanishing structures before they disappear completely.

Thanks to Deborah Myerson