İzmir Jewish Heritage Project

Jun 1

The "Izmir Jewish Heritage Project," also known as the "Cultural Wealth of İzmir - Sustaining Jewish Heritage," started on August 1, 2020. Led by the Izmir Jewish Community Foundation and funded by the European Commission, the project aims to safeguard the Jewish heritage within Izmir's cultural wealth. The Kentimiz Izmir Association is actively involved as a partner. Throughout a span of 41 months, a diverse range of activities will be undertaken to preserve the Jewish cultural heritage of Izmir and guarantee its transmission to future generations.

Under the project:

Restoration projects will be prepared for the Hevra and Foresteros synagogues, built in the 17th century but currently in a dilapidated state, located in the Havralar District of Izmir's Historic City Center. These synagogues, forming parts of a four-synagogue complex facing the same courtyard, have no other known example in the world. Efforts will be made for the recognition of this synagogue complex as a cultural heritage, tourism, and intercultural dialogue center in Turkey and internationally.
In line with this, a new platform will be established to strengthen local, national, and international communication networks. Activities will be carried out to enhance the interaction capacity of the platform. As part of the project, establishing a center for the platform's activities is also planned.
Four books will be prepared on subjects such as Izmir Sephardic Stories, Izmir Sephardic Women, Jewish Press in Izmir, and Traditional Synagogue Textiles.
Conferences, workshops, training programs, and study visits will be organized.
Efforts will be made to increase institutional capacity and promote greater awareness of this heritage through the implementation of corporate identity, website development, brochures, short films, and other initiatives

To obtain additional information about the İzmir Jewish Heritage Project, please contact the project team via email at info@izmirjh.com.

You can also visit the official project website at izmirjh.com for more details.

The main goal of this project is to create a new platform led by the İzmir Jewish Community Foundation, which aims to sustain the Jewish heritage within the cultural wealth of İzmir, Türkiye. The project intends to achieve this by:

(a) Establishing a robust platform that strengthens the İzmir Jewish Community Foundation's network, enhancing their ability to reach out and effectively communicate with their constituents.

(b) Promoting strategic collaboration between the İzmir Jewish Community Foundation, similar civil society organizations in the European Union and Türkiye, as well as local and national public authorities. This collaboration will focus on monitoring public actions, advocating for Jewish heritage preservation, and participating in decision-making processes, including the development of İzmir's city plans.

Furthermore, the project seeks to provide individuals and communities with opportunities to analyze global transformations, contribute to intercultural dialogue, foster new forms of cooperation, deepen their understanding of diverse heritages, and make meaningful contributions to economic and human development.