The Beit Yehuda Synagogue, also known as Assayag Synagogue, is a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Tangier, Morocco. The synagogue was completed in 1890.
Last used as a synagogue in the c. 1950s, the building has housed the Jewish Museum of Tangier, a Jewish museum and cultural landmark, since 2022.
Overview
Unlike other Moroccan cities, Tangier had no walled Jewish quarter or mellah.[1]: 93 Even so, its synagogues were clustered in a neighborhood on the southwestern side of the medina,[2] known as Beni Idder for the family that initiated its development.[1]: 92
The Beit Yehuda Synagogue was founded in 1890 slightly north of Beni Idder on the other side of rue Es-Siaghine. It remained in service until the late 1950s. It was then abandoned for about six decades.[3]
The former synagogue's revival as a museum was one of the cultural initiatives launched by the Moroccan government in the wake of the Israel–Morocco normalization agreement of December 2020.[4] The renovation was led by architect Malika Laâroussi, and the creation of the museum by museographer Isabelle Timsit.[5] The museum was inaugurated on 19 August 2022.[6]
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