The head of the Jewish community in Lebanon, Yitzhak Arazi, has passed away. State media reported on Wednesday. Arazi headed a community of no more than 30 people.
His lawyer, Bassem al-Hut, told AFP that Arazi was 80 years old when he died and was head of the small Jewish community council. "He died yesterday and was buried today in the Jewish cemetery in Beirut," the lawyer said.
Remained linked to Lebanon
In the years before the civil war, the Jewish community numbered between 10,20 and <>,<> Jews. In light of the difficult situation in the country in general and of the Jews in particular, their number dropped to a few dozen. In recent decades, the community has suffered from terrorist attacks by Syrian agents and terrorist organizations. Many of the survivors of the community emigrated to America or Europe - especially France. "They remained connected to Lebanon and many of them would visit it," Al Hutt said.
Magen Avraham Synagogue in Wadi El Yahud - inaugurated in 1926, destroyed in the civil war, photo: Reuters
Among other things, Arazi oversaw the restoration of the Magen Avraham synagogue – the only one in Beirut left in the Wadi Abu Gamil area, formerly known as Wadi al Yahud. In an interview with AFP in 2009, he said they hoped the synagogue's restoration initiative would lead to the reexpansion of the Jewish community. This synagogue was reportedly inaugurated in 1926 and was one of the largest in the Arab world, but during the civil war it was destroyed and looted.
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