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Synagogue at Constantine, Algeria
The Synagogue at Constantine, and other synagogues throughout the city, became headquarters for the Front de libération nationale (FLN) after the majority of Constantine's Jewish population fled Algeria for France and Israel in the 1960s [1].
Description
The Jewish community had a long history of life in Constantine, Algeria beginning as early as the eighth century [2]. During the fifteen century, Constantine was reported to be one of the most important Jewish towns within a Muslim country. The Jews constructed a "mellah" (Jewish quarter) during the eighteenth century. In 1818 the Jewish population in Constantine numbered about 5,000, but it fell to 3,436 during French conquest in 1837. However, the population rose again, reaching 12,000 by 1934 [3]. As the Vichy government persecuted the Jewish community through the 1940s and tensions between Muslims and Jews rose due to poor economic circumstances through the 1950s, Constantine's Jews began to flee Algeria. At the end of the French colonial regime, in 1962, the majority of Constantine's Jewish community of 15,000-20,000 emigrated to France and Israel, leaving only about a thousand Jews in Constantine after independence. By the end of the 1960s, the Jewish community in Constantine consisted only of a few individuals [4].
Diarna Insights: Cheikh Raymond's Record Store in Constantine, Algeria
Constantine Part I Preview
Sources
[1] Robert Atall, "Constantine," Encyclopedia Judaica, The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2013, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_04589.html.
[2] Yossef Charvit, "Constantine," Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman, Brill Online, 2014, Reference, Wellesley College, 19 June 2014 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/constantine-COM_0005720>.
[3] David Corcos, "Constantine," Encyclopedia Judaica, The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2013, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_04589.html.
[4] Yossef Charvit, "Constantine," Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman, Brill Online, 2014, Reference, Wellesley College, 19 June 2014 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/constantine-COM_0005720>.
Photos
"Constantine.jpg." Terminus Carthage. N.d. Accessed, June 12, 2014, http://profburp.com/plans1903/imagepages/constantine.html.
"Les Juifs D'Algerie: Fetes Juives, Synagogues, Cimetieres, Tsadikims, Pelerinages." Forum Zlabia. 2001. Accessed June 12, 2014, http://zlabia.com/forum/read.php?9,4084.
University of Texas Libraries. University of Texas. N.d. Accessed June 12, 2014, http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/algeria_city_plans/txu-oclc-6543133.jpg.
Videos
DiarnaInfo. "Diarna Insights: Cheikh Raymond's Record Store in Constantine, Algeria." Online video clip. YouTube. March 18, 2014. Accessed June 19, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYb6b5DEx9A.
DiarnaInfo. "Constantine Part I Preview." Online video clip. Youtube. March 9, 2014. Accessed June 19, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB0TJ3o2EQE.