Wadi Abu Jamil

History

Formally known as Wadi al-Yahoud (meaning "Valley of the Jews"), the quarter was the center of the Lebanese Jewish community, with Beirut's largest and most important synagogue, the Maghen Abraham Synagogue, located there. The neighborhood was home to Lebanon's centuries-old Jewish community and also for the more recent Jewish refugees from Syria and Iraq.

Emigration from the community began in earnest after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. During the 1982 Lebanon War, Yasir Arafat's PLO forces took over much of the neighborhood, which was located along the dividing line between the two sides of the Lebanese Civil War. During the war, Israeli bombardment damaged the Magen Abraham Synagogue.

The area today is home to fewer than 100 Lebanese Jews.

Synagogue renovation

Renovation of the Maghen Abraham Synagogue began in the summer of 2009. Funding for the renovation includes donations from the Lebanese Jewish Community Council and Jewish Lebanese living overseas. Isaac Arazi, the leader of the Jewish community in Lebanon has managed to raise $40,000 from private donors. Renovation is estimated to cost between $1 million and $1.5 million. Solidere, the Lebanese joint-stock company responsible for much of Central Beirut’s reconstruction, has donated $150,000 toward the renovation effort. Lebanese architect Nabil Gholam has played an important role in the redevelopment planning process.