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Etz Hayyim Synagogue, Crete (Greece)

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Background on Greek Jewish History: Jewish history in Greece goes back farther than any other Jewish community in Europe. The first recorded existence of Jews in Greece hails all the way back to the time of Alexander the Great, when a Jew between Athens and Cholkos named “Moschos, son of Moschion the Jew” (who was likely a slave) was found in a stone inscription in Orophos [1]. The first inklings of proto-Romaniote communities likely started at, or shortly after, this period, with both Jewish migrants from mercantile communities establishing trading outposts in this section of the Eastern Mediterranean. According to various written and oral legends by Romaniote Jews, Romaniote genesis in Greece started via a Roman slave ship carrying enslaved Judeans bound for Rome being swept off course and landing in Greece after the Judean defeat in the Bar Kochba Revolt [2]. While it is unlikely that the Romaniote community actually began as late as 70CE, it is likely that Judean slaves, Hellenic-Jewish prosyletes, and others greatly enlarged the pre-existing Romaniote community during the time of Roman dominance in the 1st century CE. 

With the rise of the Byzantine Empire, the Jewish communities of Greece truly evolved into their own, distinct Jewish community which we today refer to as Romaniotes. The basis for the name derives from the name Rhomania, the name connoted to the Byzantine Empire, hence Romaniotes emerged as a title meaning inhabitant of Rhomania [3]. This title (Romaniotes) was for Jews only as Christians of the Byzantine Empire were likewise referred to as Romans. Archaeological discoveries attests to some of the earliest Jewish synagogues found to date hailing from the early Byzantine period, specifically a synagogue found on the island of Aegina in 1829 [4]. 

The Romaniote community would gradually spread beyond modern day Greece, reaching southern Italy, Crimea (Romaniotes were likewise a likely progenitor of Krymchaks), the Balkans, and Asia Minor. A famous empress of Bulgaria, Sarah-Theodora, was most likely of Romaniote descent (although a convert to Christianity) and her son, Ivan Shishman, would go on to rule as emperor of Bulgaria [5]. The southern Italian Romaniote community would be particularly crucial in recounting Jewish history and establishing respective religious rites that would influence both Roman rites and Ashkenazi rites, specifically through literary/historical works like the Sefer Yosippon, Lekach Tov, Sefer Ahimaaz, Sefer Hachmoni, various piyyutim, alongside many other works [6][7][8]. Persecution was also a constant, ranging from Justinian I’s harsh prevention of studying of Mishna, as well as governmental job restrictions, to the Fourth Crusades targeting Romaniote communities in newly acquired Frankish lands (that were once Greece) [9][10]. 

Following Ottoman expansion into various areas heavily concentrated with Romaniote Jews (pre-1492), such Jews came to play a dominant early role in Jewish Ottoman affairs due to their concentration in Constantinople. This notion truly came to life when Sultan Mehmed II ordered Jews, Christians, and Muslims to resettle newly conquered Constantinople, thus Balkan and Anatolian Romaniotes soon made up 10% of the city’s population (hence giving them authority in important religious matters) [11].  Romaniotes (not including Greco-Karaite Jews) possessed separate yet related religious rites to other European Jewish communities. They also created their own Judeo-Greek language, which was also utilized by Constantinople Karaites, called Yevanic. The language likely hails from the Hellenistic-Jewish Koine (or Jewish-Hellenistic Greek) [12]. 

Following the Spanish Inquisition (alongside the wider Catholic Inquisition which pushed southern Italian Romaniotes into Greece), an influx of Jews began to settle in both Greece and Asia Minor, thus expanding pre-existing Jewish communities of this region. Most of these Jews were Sephardi, thus speaking a different language (Ladino) and following different religious rites than the native Romaniote community. With an influx of Sephardi Jews into the Balkans and Anatolia, many Romaniotes were gradually assimilated into the general Sephardi population [13]. It is believed, in Thessaloniki alone, around 20,000 Jews settled in the city following the Spanish Inquisition, leading to Jews becoming the city’s majority population by 1519. Thessaloniki, or Salonika in Ladino, was the central hub of Jewish life in Greece during Ottoman rule [14]. Ottomans utilized the local Jews for extensive commercial trading projects throughout the Balkans and Anatolia. Ottoman officials also heavily relied on the local Jews to fill administrative roles for the empire. A relatively famous figure in Sephardic history, Joseph Nasi, was appointed Duchy of the Aegean, a maritime state initially under Venetian rule that would be transferred to Ottoman control [15]. 

With the rise of the 19th century, the Jewish population of Greece continued to increase; however, this burgeoning population created a myriad of problems including resource scarcity. This century and the early 20th century would also see Greek Christian populations, newly liberated from Ottoman occupation, impose pogroms on local Jews. After various towns were reconquered by the Greek army, many Jews were considered Turkish collaborators, causing widespread violence and forced conversions to Greek orthodoxy [16]. The situation was deteriorating heavily, forcing the Venizelos government to take strong measures against antisemitism in Greece [17]. Many Greek Jews would migrate to British Mandatory Palestine under the Fifth Aliyah, specifically settling in Haifa and Tel Aviv [18]. Sadly, with the rise of the Holocaust, Greece would experience one of the highest death rates at 80-90% mortality for its Jews, thus nearly exterminating the entire global Romaniote population and most of the other Jewish inhabitants of the land. 

The local attitude towards Jews during the Holocaust was nuanced. Multiple examples exist of mayors of islands seeking to cooperate with Hitler versus stories of figures like Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou who famously protested against Nazi abduction and extermination of Greek Jews [19]. Following the Holocaust, despite minor episodes of sporadic violence against Jews, Greek Jewry has had a long and slow recovery; however, with the help of various contributors, memorials to Greek-Jewish history (thought to have been destroyed by the Nazis) were established to ensure such memory is presrved.

 

Jewish History of Crete: The earliest recorded inception of any Jewish presence on Crete is believed to have begun around 400-300 BCE, likely due to Egyptian military missions which saw Jewish slaves within their ranks [20]. The presence of a Jewish community, with a synagogue, is attested to in the 4th century on epitaph inscriptions found in Crete, specifically about communities in Kassanoi and Kissamos [21]. The Roman historian Tacitus even claimed that the Jewish people originated on the island, with the name Judea deriving from Crete’s Mount Ida [22]. During the Maccabean period, other Jewish settlements are likely to have also centered on the island as this period saw the first large-scale establishment of Jewish communities across Greece and Asia Minor by Hellenized Jews. A Jewish community is attested to in Gortyna in the First Book of Maccabees (dated somewhere around 140 BCE) [23]. Following Roman military expansion to Crete, according to Jewish historians/philosophers such as Philo of Alexandria, such Jewish communities thrived and expanded, including to cities like Hania and Knossos [24]. These communities would form the basis for a continuous Romaniote community on Crete for the next 2,000 years.

Following the rise of the Byzantine Empire, little documentation specifically exists about Crete’s Jews; however, one can be sure Jewish communities were on the island. Certain discriminatory policies were also enacted gainst Crete’s Jews under the late Byzantine Empire were only permitted to live outside city walls and as close as possible to the city gates [25]. 

Following the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine Empire would likewise fall, thus making Crete a protected entity of Venice known as the “Kingdom of Kandia” [26]. Venetian records indicate that a large influx of Sephardi Jews arrived to Crete due to three distinct antisemitic events. The first was the 1391 Spanish pogroms/religious persecutions against Jews, the second was the fall of Constantinople to Turks in 1453, and the third event was the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 [27]. Unlike other Greek Jewish communities, where Sephardi communities caused the local Romaniotes to be absorbed into their culture/language/religious rites, it seems in Crete the Sephardi migrants were absorbed into Romaniote culture/language/religious rites [28].

These communities would continually prosper under Venetian rule due to local Jews integral roles as merchants/traders/shippers. Like other European Jews at the time, Crete’s Jews were likewise segregated into ghettos called “Zudecca.’ Three specific Cretan towns where such a large Jewish presence and resulting ghetto emerged was Hania, Rethymnon, and Heraklion [29]. Jews covered many trades outside of just mercantile business, including philosophical/theological pursuits alongside doctors/lawyers/rabbis. Rural Jewish communities existed as well, specializing in making kosher cheeses/wines and other produce for both domestic consumption and export. Nine synagogues, at the start of the 17th century, existed for all the Jewish communities of the island, and Etz Hayyim (which specifically followed Romaniote rites unlike other Sephardic congregations in Hania) was one of such synagogues [30].

For 200 years, starting at the mid seventeenth century, Ottoman rule would be consolidated in Crete. Ottoman’s designated Hania as the island’s capital, thus many of the island’s Jews flocked there [31]. The Ottoman millet system would undue some of the previous oppression by Venetian rule, including certain religious freedoms, removing mandates for ghettoization, and allowing Jews to buy property. Ottoman rule was not entirely beneficial as economic hardship under the Ottomans likewise pushed Cretan Jews to migrate (alongside revolts on the island) to other port cities to pursue mercantile trades. Census data states the majority of Jews in the late 19th century on the island resides in Hania, with a minority in Heraklion [32].

The next major period for Crete’s Jews was German occupation of Greece. Jewish-heavy towns like Hania were heavily bombed. Following Hanian occupation, the local Jews faced grave restrictions, ending with most being deported to Auschwitz in 1944. A now famous event from 1941 accounts how Jewish prisoners from the island were being sent to European concentration camps; however, a British vessel torpedoed the ship with all the Jewish prisoners inside as well [33].

History of the Etz Hayyim Synagogue: The Etz Hayyim Synagogue, also called Kal Kadosh Etz Hayyim or Holy Congregation of the Tree of Life, is the last remaining testament to the local Romaniote community of the island. The synagogue, located in Hania, emerged in the 17th century when the local Romaniote [34] community overtook an abandoned 15th century church dedicated to St. Catherine [35]. The synagogue is located in the historic Hanian Jewish neighborhood of Evraiki (likewise where Beth Shalom, an old Sephardic synagogue, once existed but was destroyed by a Nazi bomb in 1941) [36].

The synagogue largely fell out of use after the German occupation of Greece. During the occupation, especially after the destruction of Beth Shalom, Etz Hayyim served both Romaniote and Sephardi congregants [37]. After most of the Jewish community was wiped out, the synagogue was looted of important religious artifacts/manuscripts, desecrated, and damaged from bombings on the city. The synagogue was subsequently handed over to squatters tasked with digginging into the walls in search of buried gold [38]. Tombs in the courtyard were broken into, the interior of the synagogue was divided into partitions by parts of the Bema, Ehal, and benches, the stone pediment of the gate was torn down, the mikveh was completely disconnected and divided, and finally the Ganiti inscriptions over the entrance were gouged out [39]. 

By 1957, the property was handed over to the Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece. There were disputes with neighbors of the synagogue who attempted to encroach on both respective courtyards on the property. There was also general disrespect to the compound from local residents who utilized the courtyard as a dumping ground [40].

In 1995, the World Monuments Fund listed the site as endangered and in need of immediate conservation (which was especially dire after a 1995 earthquake in Hania, causing the roof to collapse). This effort was prompted by Nicholas Stavroulakis, a Greek Jew, presenting a paper on the decaying state of the synagogue. The President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece Moise Maissis and his successor Moise Constantini both approved a project to conserve the synagogue, with both the Rothschild and Lauder families donating money for the project [41].

Mr. Stavroulakis was subsequently chosen to lead the project on reconstructing the synagogue. On October 10, 1999, the synagogue was rededicated by Rabbi Yakov Arar of Athens, Rabbi Isaak Mizan of Athens, and Rabbi Yacob Dayan of Salonika. 350 individuals attended, including Greek Jews, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and foreign individuals [42]. Mr. Stavroulakis stated he took up the project because the disgraced ex-synagogue was testament to Hitler’s success which sought to erase both one of the oldest diasporic communities and an integral part of Crete’s history. The synagogue was sadly attacked in 2010; however, Mr. Stavroulakis and others claimed it was not antisemitic but rather a “halfharted attempt at burglary” [43]. 

Today, the synagogue is open for utilization by researchers studying the synagogue/Cretan Jewry’s past; however, not enough Jews remain on Crete to even have a quorum for prayer. Mainly non-Jews utilize the site (specifically a multi-faith group called the Havurah); furthermore, Nicholas Stavroulakis, who was the primary Jewish leader of the site, died in 2017. The synagogue is likewise maintained via mainly non-Jewish volunteers who simultaneously run the library from the synagogue [44]. When services are held, Sephardic rites with a unique Haggadah text are followed; however, typically only events for high holidays are hosted [45].

Regarding the maintained structures of the synagogue, two notable preserved features include the mikveh and the courtyard. The mikveh, unsealed from a cement barrier during renovations, is one the oldest and still functioning mikvehs anywhere. Once you enter through the marble gate, one should notice two courtyards. The mikveh is located in such courtyards and sustained by an ice cold natural spring. Other noticeable courtyard features include the graves and tombstones of the past rabbis of the synagogue [46]. Famous rabbis like Chief Rabbi of Crete, Abraham Evlagon, are specifically noted as having their graves and tombstones in the courtyard [47]. When one enters the shul, they will notice the benches facing a central aisle between the reading platform and Ark, as per Romaniote customs to sit at opposing walls. Finally, the library is upstairs and open to the public [48]

Hania, Crete, Greece