Alexandria (Egypt) (AFP)
Egypt on Friday inaugurated a newly restored 14th century synagogue in Alexandria (north), a three-year, multi-million euro project in this predominantly Muslim country.
The Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue, built in 1354 before being bombed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 during his campaign in Egypt, had already been rebuilt by an Italian architect in 1850, with large pink marble columns and green-tinted glass panes and purple.
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has carried out extensive renovation work for around 3.6 million euros since 2016, when the roof and staircase of this historic building collapsed.
Under her long arched vault, Yolande Mizrahi, a resident of Alexandria of Jewish faith, is delighted to discover the synagogue thus restored.
"If there was not (President Abdel Fattah) al-Sissi, it would never have been done. A lot has changed since he was in power," said the 70-year-old AFP.
Born in Alexandria, she remembers having attended prayers in this synagogue, a meeting place for the Jewish community of this city on the shores of the Mediterranean, which welcomed up to 40,000 Jews.
But since the creation of Israel in 1948 and the tensions between the Hebrew state and Egypt, the majority of Egyptian Jews have left the country. And in 2012, the synagogue was closed for security reasons after the popular uprising of 2011 which led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
For Mizrahi, the restoration of this synagogue could encourage Egyptian Jews to return to their hometown.
"I have relatives who have gone to France, Italy and Israel and now they would like to come back to see the synagogue," she said.
Since 2018, Mr. Sissi has put forward his desire to restore places of worship for Coptic Jews and Christians.
Magda Haroun, one of the main figures of the Jewish community in Alexandria, has tears in her eyes.
"It is a way of acknowledging that we have always been here and that we have contributed to many things, like all Egyptians," she said, very moved.
© 2020 AFP