Do you have 45 shekels to spare? This synagogue can be yours
: this is the starting amount for which the building of the ancient synagogue in Saloni in Belarus is offered for sale.
It is a baroque building, which was established in 1642 and was active until 1940 (excluding the period when it suffered from fire damage at the end of the 19th century).
A few years ago Ilona Karabayeva, a writer from Minsk, bought the building, for which she sold her apartment in 2021.
She established a fundraising fund, but already in 2022 gave up on the project.
The reason: after the start of the war in Ukraine, the flow of donations from Belarusians stopped, while financing through international organizations became impossible due to the sanctions on Lukashenko's dictatorship.
The synagogue offered for sale in Belarus, photo: none
The synagogue, which has an area of 673.3 square meters, has returned to the ownership of the local authority, which is again trying to sell it - and of course bring in a handsome amount. Part of the terms of the tender is a commitment to preserve the historical-cultural value of the building within a month of the purchase. Unfortunately, the tender allows the use of the building as well For the benefit of restaurants, commerce or entertainment. According to the independent website "Zarcalo", just documentation for the purpose of submitting documents cost the last owner about 100 thousand dollars.
At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union used the building for storage and trade - like many other religious facilities throughout the country.
It has been empty since the 1990s.
So far, other attempts to preserve the building with private money have also failed.
The ironic part is that the Salonim Synagogue has the status of a cultural heritage object of the Republic of Belarus, but it seems that until now the authorities in Minsk have not found the funding to save the building.
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