THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Writer Finds Unusual Communities, Practices
in Visits to Synagogue of Istanbul and Rome
By JACK SIEGEL
but statistical. He said
they had about 100 mem-
bers. "How many Jews in
When I left Lod for Is- Istanbul," I said. "Seven-
tanbul, it was with some teen thousand," he said
trepidation. Advice was and 25,000 in all Turkey.
\--) the Jewish community
"Are you free here?" I
there was not outgoing asked.
and wouldn't be eager to
"Of course," he said,
talk.
Also,
inter- gesturing around him.
governmental relations
"And Jews are in the
were touchy and while I government?"
wr
asked to stay
He clucked with 'his
a\,
I wasn't recom- tongue the way people in
mended to go in with the Middle East do when
notebook open. I had
they say a silent but em-
personal anxiety ap- phatic no.
proaching Istanbul; my
I left with a last look
passport had not been at So
the shul. On the main
stamped in Israel, at my street,
I passed the store
own request, and I antici- of a man
I met in the
pated a Turkish official afternoon. He was closing
-might be curious about up. When he saw me, he
this and ask questions.
greeted me, asked if I
But the officials took were an Italian and I said
little notice of me. They no, American. He sidled
_ stamped me and passed up
to me and said, "Lis-
me through.
ten, perhaps you know a
I enlisted the aid of the certain Epstein who lives
concierge and through in Brooklyn, New York
him' got the name of the . • ..
biggest synagogue and
Earlier efforts to
the rabbi, whose name I make contact with the
had originally. This one Jewish community of
was Neve Sholom and the Rome were unavailing
concierge gave me since I was told the lead-
printed directions. I ership was out of Rome on
chose to walk, as it was vacation. The rabbi, who
Saturday.
was spiritual head of all
I finally found the shul
the community, was on
and it was closed with no holiday on the Isle ,of
one there except for an old Elba. All this came to-
gabbai. He spoke a few gether by a Friday during
words of 'English and I my visit to Rome, and I
said, the shul is closed on went that evening to the
Saturday? He didn't ans- Jewish Synagogue on
wer and when I asked for Lungotevere Cenci.
the rabbi he told me the
The shul itself was on an
— latter was on vacation. But elegant street. It was a fine
he allowed me inside. It building and had the look
was a sturdy building with of time on it but I disco-
a high dome and a bima vered it was built in the
. and some stained glass early 1900s. Inside I had a
. windows but it was empty strange feeling I was in
of congregants, except for one of the side churches
one old and one young.man inside St. Peter's. It was
\_ who were singing. The well and richly built, the
gabbai gave me a yar- marble pillars reached to a
mulke and I listened for a high-domed ceiling. From
while but the gabbai was the rear, the impression of
eager for me to leave, so I the bima and what might
left.
be called the apse was . . .
I wasn't happy with Christian.
that experience and en-
Services began at 8:15
listed the aid of the con- p.m. and only a few people
cierge.
i This time he found were there. I went in, took
another shul, called Beit a yarmulke from a cluster
Israel and wrote on .a and sat in the rear row,
piece of paper, for me:
near the door. The
"Bomonti, Hahudi. Hav-
shamos wore a black un-
rasi." It sounded hierog-
lyphic but it worked won-
ders as I walked there
that evening.
In the courtyard there
was a room filled with
several men. One came
out, he was dressed well
and_wore a yarmulke. In
F ::;c:h I said I was an
Ai..-Aican Jew, visiting,
and wanted to see the
shul. He led me in. There
were several people
there.
I couldn't tell if the shul
had been there years or
was new with the appear-
ance of being old. I asked
the man. "It is not an an-
tiquity," he said. "Some
years ago we fixed it
over." It was old-looking
inside, but well kept.
(A Seven Arts Feature)
iform with a stove pipe
hat. The women sat on
the right side or upstairs
behind a grilled iron
fence.
strong Catholic influence
existed. People in the
congregation seemed in-
different to a visitor from
anywhere, even far away.
Soon the services ended.
I asked around for some-
body who spoke English,
or Yiddish, and was
brought to a young man
who spoke English. I
asked about the shul, its
histoiy and then he told me
he was an Israeli on a spe-
cial assignment in Rome
for El Al. We went outside
and he said there were
about 35,000 Jews in all
Italy.
I asked him what he
thought of the services
and he said he felt a
It was cool outside and
nearby, on another
street, there was a string
of lights. Everybody, it
seemed, had come a long
way. The shamos came
out in street clothes,
locked the doors and left.
So did the others.
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I pointed at the people
and asked what they were
doing. "Singing Palms,"
the man said. When I
asked how large the con-
gregation was, he became
defensive. I explained my
interest was not critical
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