“Until 1910, the island had 4 500 Jews
who prayed in six shuls, and when the Italians took over in 1912, they still prospered
until the downhill slide began, as well as
the emigration of the Rhodesli Jews. From
1936 onwards, the Italians began enforcing
anti-Jewish laws. But, the Jewish presence
remained right up until the war had all but
ended, when the Germans moved in after
the Italians switched sides. “On 23 July
1944, the Germans who had occupied the
island made all Jews walk to the docks
(having sounded the siren so that nobody
else would be in the streets) and forced
them to board three coal ships, and sent
them to Athens, where they kept them in a
detention camp,” explains Turiel. This was
before loading them then onto cattle wagons bound directly for Auschwitz, where
they executed all but 150 people from the
original 1 650 they held in Rhodes and Kos.
There are only three Jewish families liv-
ing on Rhodes today, but the one remaining synagogue is open every day to allow
tourists to visit this beautiful structure. In
the summer months, the island teems with
ex-Rhodesli Jews who go to spend the summer there, or to celebrate functions or the
High Holy Days there, or just for holiday.
And while, sadly, the direct line of the
South African Jewish community to the island of Rhodes is aging, says Menashe, the
community here as well as in Cape Town
boasts strong ties to their Rhodesli heritage. Turiel explains that the very few Jews
from Rhodes who are still alive throughout
the world today live mostly in Europe and
America, bar one Jew in Harare who is the
only known Jew from Rhodes there.
MEMORY LANE
“Two years ago, my brother-in-law and I
took our families to Rhodes for our 60th
birthdays – and it was an unforgettable
experience. We celebrated in the courtyard
of the famous Kahal Shalom Shul, the
Warm up with Premier Hotels & Resorts’
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