The Algerian synagogue, “Chaloum Lebhar,” has been demolished by local authorities due to the risk of collapse, local media reports.
The historic synagogue in the Bab El Oued neighborhood of Algiers was destroyed as part of a project to remove old, dilapidated buildings. The synagogue’s roof and walls had collapsed, posing a danger to people nearby, the reports claim. Previous efforts to destroy the synagogue had been prevented by the local Jewish community.
The Chaloum Lebhar synagogue was built in 1894 on a 180-square-meter (1,938-square-foot) plot of land donated to the Jewish community by Chaloum Lebhar.
One of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, Algeria once had as many as 130,000 Jews, but most left for France and Israel when the country gained independence in 1962. Just several dozen Jews are believed to live there today.
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