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Dar Bishi Synagogue at Tripoli, Libya

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History and Redesigns Originally built in 1770, the Dar Bishi Synagogue served as a Jewish center for years until it fell into disrepair in the early twentieth century. Since its creation, the site has undergone numerous remodels ordered by the country’s changing leadership.⁹ Upon Italy’s occupation of Libya, the space was redesigned in the style of European synagogues at the time so that the Italian government could use it as a symbol of the new regime’s progress. This new design was created by Italian Jewish architect Umberto Di Segni, and was unveiled in 1923.¹⁰ At the time, the Italian government brought notable political figures to visit the space, including royal family members, dignitaries, and even Benito Mussolini. In the 1970s, the building was renovated to reflect mosque architecture, yet the building ultimately remains in poor condition. There was another restoration attempt from the Libyan government in the 1980s, but the process was short-lived.¹¹

Restoration Efforts The Dar Bishi Synagogue has been abandoned since the Jewish community of Libya was expelled from the country in 1967.² Most of Libya's synagogues have been torn down or put to other uses; Dar Bishi is one of the few with potential to be restored.³ In 2011, Dr. David Gerbi, the representative of the Italian Section of the World Organization of the Jews of Libya, singlehandedly broke down the the concrete wall that covered the synagogue's entrance, allowing in a team of restorers armed with brooms and buckets to begin cleaning the building. Unfortunately, the restoration work was put on hold in October 2011 after hundreds of protesters gathered in Tripoli and Gerbi was forced to leave the country.⁴

Potential Destruction After Gerbi's unsuccessful restoration efforts, local authorities have made plans to convert the space into an Islamic library. Gerbi and other Jewish activists have publicly opposed the decision in an effort to maintain one of the last surviving sites of Libyan Jewish life. ^{11 12}

     Diarna Re-Opens Tripoli's Dar Bishi Synagogue (with Narration)

Tripoli's Jewish Community Jews first arrived in Libya more than 2,000 years ago, settling mostly in coastal cities such as Tripoli and Benghazi.⁵ By the time of the Italian occupation of Libya in 1911, the Jewish population of Tripoli was 8,509 out of approximately 30,000 people in the city.⁶ The occupation led to struggles between traditional and modernizing factions in the community; in an effort to defuse the struggle, the colonial authorities invited Italian Rabbi Elia Artomo to serve as chief rabbi of Tripoli.⁷ Relations between the Jewish community and the colonial government began to deteriorate after the Fascists took power in Italy. In 1942 Mussolini ordered that Jews of foreign nationalities living in Libya be sent to camps in Libya or Europe. Anti-Jewish riots swept the country in 1945 and 1948; between 1949 and 1951 most of the Jewish population emigrated to Europe or Israel.⁸ The remaining Jews were forcibly expelled in 1967. 

Tripoli, Libya

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