Second attack on Hania synagogue!

 

Pictures courtesy of the Etz Hayyim blog.

Nikos Stavroulakis writes that there has been a second arson attack at the historic Etz Hayyim  synagogue in Hania, Crete -- just ten days after vandals broke in and set the interior alight on Jan. 5. The second attack  took place just hours after Friday night services and destroyed the archives of the synagogue, gutted the offices and damaged the sanctuary.  See more pictures at the synagogue web site/blog HERE.

On the night of Friday, January 15, after more than a week of work on the sanctuary – newly scraped, primed and re-painted; the wood-work oiled with lavender and the marble floor polished – we met for Erev Shabbat prayers and Kiddush. Later we locked the synagogue and returned to our homes feeling that we had set our steps forward. Saturday morning at 3:30 AM however the Synagogue’s director was wakened by the alarm that had been set off in the Synagogue and rushed there accompanied by two helpers to find the entire main office ablaze. They began putting out the fire with the garden hose as the firemen had not yet succeeded in getting their hoses connected. When the mains were finally connected the firemen set to work – by 4:45 the fire was only smoldering and all that remained of the upper and lower office was completely gutted. Also about a third of the wooden ceiling of the Synagogue itself was burnt, the benches covered in soot and broken wood, the floor a mess – but the EHAL was not touched! Everything in the main office – e.g. two computers, complete Talmud, Midraschim, 2 sets of Rashi lexicons (Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew) plus many reference books and the entire archive of the Synagogue have all been destroyed.

By noon the Siphrei Torah along with all of the silver ornaments (rimonim, tassim, yads etc.) and a precious early 17th century illuminated Qur’an were removed to a secure location. It was a sad moment to see them being taken away from the Kal as it was a joyous moment when they had been installed in 1999. But we are determined that they will come back!

My latest Ruthless Cosmopolitan column -- on the arson attack at the Hania synagogue

In my latest Ruthless Cosmopolitan column, I discuss the implications of last week's arson attack on the synagogue in Hania, Crete.

RUTHLESS COSMOPOLITAN
Attack on Crete synagogue carries special meaning

By Ruth Ellen Gruber · January 13, 2010

ROME (JTA) -- The vandals who torched the historic Etz Hayyim synagogue in Hania, an ancient port on the Greek island of Crete, left no doubt about their motives.

After breaking into the building on the night of Jan. 5 and setting its interior alight, they threw a bar of soap against its outer wall.

A bar of soap? That's because, explains the synagogue's director, Nikos Stavroulakis, "I'll make you into a bar of soap" is a common anti-Semitic taunt in Greece. Since the Holocaust, there has been a persistent belief that the Nazis made soap from Jewish corpses.

Even though scholars have disproved the idea, bars of soap have been buried reverently in some European Jewish cemeteries under solemn memorials.

"In this place lie the remains of Jewish martyrs exterminated by German fascists and turned into soap," reads the inscription on an obelisk in Piatra Neamt, Romania.

The power of this belief was examined in "The Soap Myth," a play by Jeff Cohen that ran last summer in New York. Based on a true story, the play focused on the efforts of an elderly Holocaust survivor "on a one-man mission to get the 'soap myth' reclassified as fact," Marissa Brostoff wrote in Tablet magazine.

But at the heart of the story was something much more.

What was at stake, Brostoff wrote, was "the way we choose to see the past, a struggle between a dispassionate approach relying on facts and figures and another, much more subjective one that holds survivors' testimonies to be unarguably true and ultimately sacred."

Anti-Semitic violence is anything but dispassionate.

The bar of soap hurled against the desecrated synagogue in Hania was a diabolically mixed metaphor: Soap usually symbolizes purity and godliness, but in this twisted context it spelled hatred and death.

The attack on the Hania synagogue was not just an assault on a building. It was an assault on the ideals that had transformed the structure from a wrecked relic of Holocaust destruction to a new symbol of community and compassion.

This transformation was accomplished largely through the efforts of Stavroulakis, a remarkable man who has devoted much of the past two decades to restoring a Jewish presence to a city made "Judenrein" by the Nazis.

I met Stavroulakis when I visited Hania in 1996. An artist, author and scholar who had co-founded and directed the Jewish Museum in Athens, Stavroulakis had returned to live in his family's rambling house in Hania after many years away.

The synagogue, which dates back to the 15th century, was in ruin. But over the next three years Stavroulakis made it his mission to raise funds and, with the help of the World Monuments Fund and other donors, oversee the building's rebirth. His aim was to make it a living spiritual presence, not simply a restored reminder of the past.

The synagogue now functions as a museum, and it hosts exhibitions and cultural events.

It’s also an active house of worship. A small Havurah community whose members include Christians and some Muslims -- as well as Jews of all persuasions -- regularly assembles there to celebrate Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

Stavroulakis himself leads daily prayers each morning, whether a minyan is present or not.

Prayers were held as usual at 9 a.m. Jan. 6, the morning after the arson attack. The fire had gutted a stairway, wreaked havoc on the synagogue library, and covered walls and precious furnishings with a thick layer of soot.

"Fortunately," Stavroulakis said, "the fabric of the synagogue was and is intact."

He was referring to the physical structure of the building, but I think he also meant that the symbolic identity of the synagogue also had survived -- and would be maintained.

"We must be angry over what has happened to our synagogue," he told the small group of worshipers gathered for prayers amid the soot. "If we were not, it would be an indication that we were either indifferent or morally numb."

But, Stavroulakis asked, just where should the anger be directed? Local indifference and the ignorance that promotes racism had to be addressed.

"We have tried at Etz Hayyim to be a small presence in the midst of what is at times almost aggressive ignorance," he wrote on the synagogue blog. "We have done this to such a degree that our doors are open from early in the morning until late in the day so that the synagogue assumes its role as a place of prayer, recollection and reconciliation."

There is, Stavroulakis wrote, little if any sign of overt security.

"This character of the synagogue must not change and the doors must remain open," he wrote. If not, that means "we have given in to the ignorance that has perpetrated this desecration."

A week after the attack, the Etz Hayyim blog posted pictures showing that thanks in large part to volunteers, the walls of the sanctuary already had been painted and other clean-up work was well under way.

"The impact of this [attack] will be wider than simply an act of terrorism against Jews," Stavroulakis told me. "Already it is being seen in a much wider social context that has to do with civic responsibility and care."

 Read story at JTA web site

Greece -- Full Report on the Destructive Arson Fire at the Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Hania

 

 Destroyed library of synagogue. All Photos courtesty Etz Hayyim web site

Sam Gruber posts pictures and a full description of the destructive arson attack Tuesday night on the beautiful Etz Hayyim synagogue in Hania, Crete.

The fire severely damaged the recently restored ezrat nashim (former women's section) of the historic synagogue, and entirely destroyed the library and computer stations. Additional damage from soot and water to the rest of the structure and furnishing can be repaired, but at a considerable cost.

Sam posts the description presented on the synagogue's web site by our old friend Nikos Stavrolakis, the director of the synagogue complex, who personally raised money for and oversaw the restoration of the building in the late 1990s.  I vividly remember visiting the synagogue with Nikos in 1996, when it was still pretty much a ruin, and listening to his hopes and plans for it.

In his description, Nikos reflected about the significance of the synagogue and the attempt to destroy it --noting that the perpetrators had thrown and bar of soap against the burning building -- a reference to a "common anti-semitic quip in Greek [that] runs…’I'll make you into a bar of soap!’" and that local people apparently did not react.

What was quite notable was the lack of ‘locals’ despite the quite incredible noise of the synagogue alarm system and sirens from the two fire engines screeching through the neighborhood. What was even more disturbing and an obvious sign of a lack of civic responsibility was the apparent lack of sensitivity to the fact that had the synagogue been engulfed in flames at least half of the old city of Hania would have gone up in flames as the narrow streets and inaccessible quarters would have prevented access by the fire brigades.

We must be angry over what has happened to our synagogue. If we were not it would be an indication that we were either indifferent or morally numb. But exactly against what is our anger directed? The urban context in which Etz Hayyim figures at this moment must be considered carefully and any indifference on the part of the citizens to the material fabric of this city and its collective ‘psyche’ is tantamount to abetting to a degree the desecration of monuments, of homes and sites of common meeting.

What we must be angry about is the ignorance that determines racism, discrimination or badly examined lives. We have tried at Etz Hayyim to be a small presence in the midst of what is at times almost aggressive ignorance. We have done this to such a degree that our doors are open from early in the morning until late in the day so that the Synagogue assumes its role as a place of prayer, recollection and reconciliation. In many ways we have been successful through this quiet presence – perhaps our ‘silent presence’ wears not too well on some and is even a source of annoyance to others.

Often I have pointed out that we are perhaps the only synagogue of significance in Greece, possibly Europe, where there is little if any overt sign of protective security. Hand-bags are not checked, ID cards and passports are not examined, and one is not obliged to sign in. This character of the Synagogue must not change and the doors must remain open – or we have given in to the ignorance that has perpetrated this desecration. Our awareness of what ignorance can do to us will certainly determine how certain repairs are to be made – but at the same time we must be cautious about allowing ignorance to affect or determine the nature of our presence. We will have a heavy burden of funding the necessary renovations and we hope that you as either old friends or new ones will assist us. Any donations will be deeply appreciated and, of course, welcome.

The web site has a slide show of images showing the extent of the damage, which included the destruction of the valuable library and music collection.

At approximately 12:20-1:00 AM on the night of the 5^th January [,,,] one or two or even more individuals made their way into the south garden of the synagogue by climbing over the iron gate. Subsequent to this they set about making an improvised incendiary device by tearing open a large Ottoman cushion in the mikveh and then with the contents stuffed a canister that was filled with some flammable liquid which was then set afire under the wooden stair of the ezrat nashim. 

(The upper floor of the women’s section (ezrat nashim) serves as the office of the director as well as a library and reading room and contains valuable books in various languages on Ottoman, Byzantine and Jewish art and architecture as well as resource books on European and Near Eastern History from pre-historic times as well as a large section on Cretan history. A computer and CD player with over 150 CDs of Sephardic liturgical and secular music were also kept in the office.) Within probably minutes the assailants had taken off and the fire produced smoke that poured into the synagogue proper and then out into the street through the oculus in the facade of the synagogue.

Yannis Pietra, an Albanian emigrant living not far from the Synagogue, smelled the smoke and looking into the street saw it belching out of the facade and called the police, fire-station and then set off to find the director who arrived not long after along with Besnik Seitas the handyman of the Synagogue. At roughly the same time a young Moroccan, Nasr Alassoud, also traced the smoke that was coming down the street to the harbor. He proved to be a much needed hand by the director. By 1:45 AM the fire brigade had extinguished the fire and the police had begun their work. But the residual damage was only going to be apparent the next day.

Make donatation to efforts to repair the synagogue and rebuild the library to:

ALPHA BANK (Hania, Crete)
Account name: Friends of Etz Hayyim
Account # 776-002101-087154
IBAN:  GR74 0140 6600 7760 0210 1087 154
Nicholas Hannan-Stavroulakis / Director Etz Hayyim Synagogue/ Hania

Greece and the Greek Islands

Many people see Greece as a cheap package tour to get some rest and sunshine, but how many people who actually go to Greece SEE Greece. Greece has a rich history that goes back for over 4,000 years. The ancestors of Hellenes, which is the mainland of Greece, were explorers who travelled the Seas, both the Mediterranean and the Black Sea - covering many distances in search of new people to trade with. The Greeks settled from the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and along the coast of North Africa during their travels.

The people of Greece have always had a strong desire for independence, and enjoy their freedom enough to fight for it over the years. Alexander the Great is perhaps the most well known Greek, conquering most of the known world during the 4th century BC, with a plan to Hellenize it. In 146 BC, Greece was defeated by the Romans, and in 330 AD, Emperor Constantine founded the Eastern Roman Empire. By 1828, the Greeks in a small area of the country had won back their independence, and they continued to fight for the rest of their land. After World War II, many of the islands were returned to Greece, independence, and freedom.

The country of Greece is a peninsular and mountainous land, geographically located in Southern Europe, and characterized by more than 1400 beautiful islands. The Greece islandsattract people from all over the world to spend their vacations and holidays, and since the weather in Greece year round is full of sunshine and mild temperatures, you'll be sure to experience the beautiful nature of Greece. With over 13,676 km of white sandy beach coastlines, and crystal clear, sparkling waters, every beach lover is sure to enjoy a trip to Greece!

Greece is situated along the Mediterranean, comfortably located between Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Greece is surrounded by the Aegean and Ionian Sea. Some of the most visited islands include Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Corfu, Lefkada and Alonissos.

There are hundreds of Islands, all owned by Greece but many unpopulated. The islands that are used by tourists come in many different characters and flavours catering from young peoples holidays, through family and young children to older and retired people, choose your island well, it will be the choice between one persons nightmare vs. another’s paradise!.

Next time you visit Greece, take time to study the Greek food in the shops and restaurants.

You might find there are many of the local food you have never heard of. Spend longer look at the menu and ask the locals what they eat, a great way to discover new food. As well as tourist food, they also have many delicious recipes worth sampling. Even the famous Greek Salad is different in many areas of Greece and is often eaten every day.

Many believe that wine was invented in Greece, its well worth sampling many of the local brews, if the thinking is true, they have more experience than anyone else in the world!

Finding best accommodations in Greece is not difficult, and you have many options to choose from. There are the Five star hotels, Resorts, along with villas, apartments, rooms available for people travelling in Greece, with ‘island hopping’ a favourite amongst many people, young and old alike!.

So next time you’re planning a trip to the ‘Greek islands’, research your trip and include some of the many other sites and experiences that can be found in this ancient land.

For more information, please visit Travelling to Greece

Source by : http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Edwards

Santorini

Setelah jalan-jalan di Athens beberapa hari kita langsung terbang ke Santorini, salah satu dari sekian banyak pulau2 kecil di Yunani, apalagi saat itu beberapa kota di Yunani sedang dilanda kebakaran, yang mana asapnya bisa dilihat dari Athens, untungnya kita harus angkat kaki dari Athens. Santorini atau yang dikenal juga dengan nama lamanya THERA atau THIRA adalah salah satu island dari sekian banyak island di Yunani, yang merupakan bagian dari kepulauan Cyclades yang juga merupakan salah satu dari beberapa ancient vulcanoes yang berada di sebelah selatan Aegean sea.

Fira

Oia

Santorini adalah sebuah pulau kecil yang kalau anda pergi dari awal pulau ke ujungnya hanya diperlukan waktu sekitar 1/2 jam dengan menggunakan mobil, kecepatan nya pun sangat lambat mengingat jalanan di Santorini meliuk-liuk. Fira, ibukota Santorini yang berada 260 m dari permukaan laut, Arsitektur spektakuler Kota Fira berupa rumah putih yang mepunyai sekitar 500 anak tangga yang tampil mencolok terhadap gelapnya Caldera, membuat Fira dipromosikan sebagai One of the Most Breathtakingly Beautiful Places on the Earth. Keindahan Santorini tak dapat dipungkiri lagi. Santorini terkenal dengan blue domed church nya, gereja-gereja putih dengan kubah biru, rumah-rumah bercat putih-biru sangat kontras dengan warna laut dan langit yang biru.

Kota-kota yang ramai dikunjungi parawisatawan adalah Fira (dimana kami memilih salah satu hotel untuk menginap), Oia (kota favorite gw) dan Kamari, pantai perpasir hitam, pasir vulkanik. Santorini merupakan tempat untuk berkasmaran, dimana-dimana ditemukan pasangan yang berbulan madu, atau pasangan yang ingin beromantis ria, dan tak sedikit pasangan yang melakukan upacara perkawinan yang romantis di Santorini.

Di Oia dapat di booking rumah-rumah traditional yang persis berada dipinggir laut. Ada yang mempunyai private swimming pool, asyik ye berenang di swimming pool sambil memandang laut.... Selama 3 hari disana kita menyewa 4 wheel motorcycle, asyik deh menelusuri pulau dipinggir laut dari ujung pulau ke ujung lainnya dengan 4 wheel motor, dari Oia kita menelusuri pulau melintasi laut yang biru, dengan angin sepoi-sepoi, melintasi kebun-kebun anggur yang menghasilkan salah satu wine termahal yang bernama VIN SANTO, melihat kelinci berlarian diantara perbukitan, dari atas melihat kota yang berserakan rumah-rumah putih, berhenti di salah satu spot terbaik untuk memandang indah nya Caldera yang terkenal, sampai ke Pharos, ujung pulau Santorini yang berdiri sebuah Mercu suar.

Kamari Beach

1) 4 wheel motrocycle yg kami sewa. 2) Menikmati kopi dan pemandangan terakhir di Santorini

ATHENA

August 2007

Rencana ke Greece udah selalu gue cetuskan sejak lama bertahun2 lalu, tapi selalu ngga jadi karena rencana tujuan liburan kita selalu berubah2. Akhirnya tercapailah bulan Agustus kemaren, gue dan suami berangkat via Genova-Rome-Athens. Badai kita titip sama nenek dan kakeknya di Italy, jadi kita bisa lebih leluasa jalan-jalannya. Kita menginap di hotel yang posisinya sangat strategis di lingkungan tempat-tempat wisata seperti Acropolis, Monastiraki, Pssiri dan Plaka. Ke tempat2 ini kita hanya perlu berjalan kaki saja. Dan hotel ini juga menghadap ke Acropolis, dan kebetulan top roof diatas hotel adalah sebuah restaurant dan juga sebagai ruangan breakfast, jadi setiap pagi kita menikmati breakfast sambil memandangi Acropolis dari jauh.

Hari pertama rencananya kita mau ke Acropolis, masuk lewat pintu Ancient Agora di Monastiraki, beli tiket/orang harganya 12 euro, begitu sampai di Ancient Agora kita baru tahu kalau Acropolisnya berada jauh di atas sana, gue jadi give up, ngga mau naik, ngebayangin nanjak aja ngga bisa, masalahnya pada waktu itu gue lagi hamil 3 bulan. Gue bilang ama suami, lo naik aja sendiri, gue nunggu disini, tapi dia malah ngasih gue speech kalo sampe di Athens buat apa kalo ngga naik ke Acropolis, jadi gue pikir bener juga. Masa sih gue cuma bisa memandangi aja dari jauh? Akhirnya dengan susah payah gue merambat2 naik ke Acropolis yang tingginya minta ampun di panas terik kota Athens. Sepanjang jalan gue ngomel2 kenapa mereka ngga sediakan cable car atau donkey buat orang2 yang ngga kuat nanjak kayak gue. Jadinya kita setiap 10 meter berhenti karena gue kecapekan. Butuh waktu yang lama buat kita sampai diatas karena sedikit-sedikit harus istirahat, dan begitu kita sampe di atas rasanya gue pengen tereak “I DID IT!!!”.

Gue, yg lg hamil 3 bulan dgn bangga bisa sampai keatas :)

Rasanya bangga juga hamil 3 bulan tapi bias sampe ke Templenya Athena itu, kenapa gue bilang bangga? Karena gue itu benci banget climbing, hiking…. Makasih deh kalo yang urusan nanjak2.… Jadi kalo gue bisa nanjak pas hamil 3 bulan, berat, panas, capek… suami gue aja bangga…. Haha

Open air theatre

Tempat nongkrong para turis di Athens itu di Pssiri, Plaka dan Monastiraki, area2 ini di penuche dengan restaurants, bars dan kafe. Tapi Monastirakilah yang paling ramai karena tempatnya sangat strategis karena view nya Acropolis, jadi dua malam itu kita selalu dinner di Monastiraki sambil memandangi Acropolis yang diterangi dengan lampu2 sorot, indah banget. Dan satu malamnya lagi di salah satu Taverna di Pssiri yang lebih menyediakan sea food.

Taverna itu seperti Trattoria di Italy, lebih seder hana dan lebih murah dari restaurant, tapi kalo di Athens, semua yang namanya Taverna itu bagus2 dan harganya seperti harga restaurant, jadi ngga ngaruh kalo di Athens, kecuali di pulau2 kecil di Egypt, kalo Taverna biasanya murah banget.

Greek food is one of the best food, mereka banyak sekali menggunakan kambing dan Veal di Athens, dan sea food di pulau2. Makanan kesukaan gue di Athens ialah Lamb Souvlaki, dan Kleftiko; goat yang sudah dibumbui dan dibungkus dengan paper lalu di masak dalam oven, wuihhhh enaknyaaaa....

Pemandangan di Athens

Kita juga sempat ke National Archeological Museum (dari hotel naik Metro) yang menyimpan mask nya Agamemnon, bekas2 panah dan tombak dari perang 300, dan sculpture 2 dari orang2 terkenal bekas kejayaan Greece. Seperti Zeus (gambar disebelah), Poseidon, Aphrodite, Eros si Cupid dsb.

Ongkos akomodasi di Athens tidak terlalu mahal dibanding negara2 Eropa lainnya, seperti ongkos taxi dan juga harga makanan sedikit lebih murah. Pengalamn lucu kita, sebelum pergi kita udah baca2 buku panduan sejenis Lonely Planet, disebutkan dalam buku: Bila ingin naik taxi dari airport ke downtown Athens, ongkosnya TIDAK LEBIH dari 25 Euro. Nah kita naik taxi dong, abis belum ngerti kalo naik metro mesti turun dimana, setelah sampe hotel di downtown, ternyata argonya sebesar 30 Euro dan supir taxinya minta 40 Euro, alasannya bayar tol dsb, gue hanya tersenyum, lucu ya... ngga cuma di Indonesia berlaku sistem cheating, tetapi juga di Eropa.

Jalanan di Athens

Hari pertama kita sampai di Athens, hari itu pulalah terjadinya kebakaran di banyak kota2 di Greece, hari kedua Athens penuh dengan abu di udara yang terbawa angin dari lokasi kebakaran, hari kedua gue udah cetacean karena berita2 di TV tentang kebakaran di Greece yang lokasinya tiap jam bertambah, maka hari ke tiga kita cabut ke Santorini, salah satu pulau terindah di Greece….

*Turut berduka cita atas korban-korban kebakaran di Yunani selama periode August 2007*