The renovated Synagogue of Kos will be inaugurated on the Greek island by the Municipality of Kos, the Central Jewish Council of Greece (KISE), the Civic Society of Hippocrates, and the Administrative Committee of the Jewish Community of Rhodes on Sunday (July 23), ANA reports.
“Seventy-eight years after the deportation of the island’s Jews by the Nazis, in July 1944, and their extermination in Auschwitz, the historic Kal Shalom functions as a synagogue once again and opens its doors to the local community and to thousands of visitors from all over the world,” a statement on the KISE site noted.
The renovation project was overseen by architect Elias Messinas and carried out with the help of the City of Kos, KISE, and the Urban Society of Hippocrates following the signing of a memorandum on utilizing the Synagogue and upgrading its role in the life of the island as a religious place as well as a place of memory, knowledge, and culture.
Events scheduled around the inauguration will commence with a visit to the Jewish Cemetery, followed by an event at the Synagogue at 12:30 that will include the religious reopening and prayers led by Athens Rabbi Gabriel Negrin, welcoming messages by officials, and the presentation of the project by the architect Elias Messinas. The event will wrap up with a recital by soprano Mariangela Chatzistamatiou, who will sing Jewish songs from the Romaniot and Sephardic tradition accompanied by the group Pellegrinaggio al Levante.
On Sunday afternoon (18:30), there will be a presentation at the Synagogue of two books by Messinas: “Kal Shalom: The Synagogue of Kos” (Ippokratis Publishing, Kos 2023), and “To Synagoi” (Infognomon Publishing, Athens 2023). The latter book focuses on individuals from throughout Greece who helped preserve the role and history of synagogues in Greece and includes both oral and written history spanning three decades.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
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Source: tornosnews.gr/en/