About the project
The Beit Yisra’el Synagogue (dedicated 1895) was one of the first synagogues built outside the Old City walls. Services continued in the synagogue after 1948, despite the exposure to enemy sniping on the edge of no-man’s land. The synagogue was renovated in 1967 and in 1975 the Jerusalem Foundation supported a critical program of repairs. The Foundation supported creation of Beit Midrash Ephra’im, a hall for Torah study located in a former water cistern under the building’s terrace in 1981, and renovations to repair structural damage to the synagogue following a major snowstorm in 1992. The synagogue was rededicated in 1994, following repairs to the building’s substructure, walls and roof, addition of a new kitchen, and installation of new plumbing, electrical and heating systems.
