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history

the diaspora of the jews of rhodes

The Diaspora of the Jews of Rhodes was already a reality in the mid 19th c., bearing witness to the emigration of Jews from
Rhodes. At that time, alongside of the Zionist movement, there was a general tendency towards resettlement in Palestine, which
was then under British Mandate. As Rhodes was on the route to Eretz Israel, it became a travellers' stopping point and came under
their influence from very early on. This is evidenced in the monetary collections that were made at an early date in the synagogues
of Rhodes so that a Rhodian synagogue could be built in Eretz Israel.
Emigration was common throughout the Dodecanese in the early 20th c. and resulted in a series of demographic and social
changes. Many Jews of Rhodes left their homeland due to two fundamental issues: professional and financial difficulties. As the
situation in the Ottoman Empire deteriorated, in particular prior to 1915, more and more people left their island. Top of the list of
destinations for the Jews of Rhodes were Salisbury in Rhodesia, Elisabethville in the Belgian Congo (now the Republic of Zaire),
South Africa and the USA, and organizations were immediately set up there to welcome the new arrivals. Things were difficult for
those left behind, in community life as well as in the family.
Naturally, those who had left still remembered their native community. As well as providing financial support to those who stayed
on Rhodes, once the emigrants had become established financially and professionally, they returned to the island to find a bride
and then left again taking her with them. But even in their new home they cultivated an awareness of their roots in following
generations, maintaining local customs, building their own synagogues and making frequent trips back to the land of their
ancestors.

Ο Αλμπέρτος Άντζελ, στο κέντρο, με τα παιδιά του Μπέλλα και Σάμη Ο γάμος του Αλμπέρτου Άντζελ και της Φορτουνάτα Λεβή στη
σε οικογενειακές διακοπές στο Μιούζενμπεργκ, Νότια Αφρική, 1947. συναγωγή της Ελιζαμπεθβίλ, Βελγικό Κονγκό, 28.1.1939.
Alberto Angel, in the centre, with his children Bella and Sami, during The wedding of Alberto Angel and Fortunata Levy at the synagogue
a family holiday in Muizenberg, South Africa, 1947. of Elisabethville, Belgian Kongo, 28.1.1939.

These Jews, true offspring of Rhodes, were active in promoting and preserving their heritage. As a result, in October 1997 the
Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation, based in the USA, which owns a significant collection of photographs, documents and
artefacts, as well as an archive of rare tape-recordings, established the first Jewish Museum of Rhodes, housed in the old women's
section of Kahal Kadosh Shalom. Emigrants and survivors of the Holocaust from Rhodes have produced outstanding examples of
literary and historical writing related to their homeland. In 1987, Rebecca Amato-Levy recorded her memories in a book entitled
“I Remember Rhodes…”, and in 1978 Mark Angel made the history of the Jews of Rhodes the subject of his doctoral thesis.

Ο Ισραέλ Κοέν, πρώτος Εισιτήριο και συνοδευτικό
από αριστερά, σε έγγραφο της Δημοτικής Αρχής
εκδρομή με φίλους της Ρόδου, με τα οποία ήταν
στους καταρράκτες του εφοδιασμένη η Φορτουνάτα
Λιντό, στην Λεβή, όταν το 1938
Ελιζαμπεθβίλ του μετανάστευσε στην
Βελγικού Κονγκό, ca. Ελιζαμπεθβίλ του Βελγικού
1933. Κονγκό, μέσω Κέηπ Τάουν.
Israel Cohen, first from Ticket and accompanying
left, in an excursion with municipal certificate, issued to
friends at the cataracts of Fortunata Levy, for her 1938
Lido, in Elisabethville, immigration to Elisabethville,
Belgian Kongo, ca. Belgian Kongo,
1933. via Cape Town.