The historic synagogue in the city of Constanța, built more than 110 years ago and left abandoned and roofless for years, was rededicated in a festive ceremony attended by hundreds of Jews, senior Romanian government officials and representatives of the Jewish community.
Among those attending were Israel's ambassador to Romania, a Romanian government minister and the prime minister's special envoy for combating antisemitism, alongside local leaders and representatives of the Jewish community. The local mufti was also among the prominent participants, using his speech to call on Muslims to show love, respect and solidarity toward Jews.
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The synagogue in Constanța before the renovation
(Photo: Embassy of Israel in Romania)
Israel's ambassador to Romania, Lior Ben Dor, said at the ceremony: "This is a moving event with cultural and historical significance at the Constanța synagogue on the Black Sea coast."
The reconstruction effort was led by Silviu Vexler, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, in cooperation with the Romanian government.
"I was pleased to meet at the synagogue the president of the Jewish community in Constanța, Sorin Ionescu, as well as hundreds of Jews from across Romania, together with representatives of the Romanian government, the mayor and the county council president," Ben Dor said. "Romania once had more than 1,000 synagogues. The Jewish community, together with the Romanian government and local authorities, is making enormous efforts to preserve synagogues in cities across the country."
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A Torah scroll is brought into the synagogue in Constanța
(Photo: Embassy of Israel in Romania)
Constanța has a rich Jewish and Zionist history, at the center of which stands a historic synagogue that had fallen into near-total ruin. Now, after decades of neglect — and about 80 years after it ceased operating — the building has been restored and rededicated.
What makes the project particularly unusual is that it was funded entirely by the Romanian government, which invested millions of dollars in the restoration as a gesture of solidarity with the Jewish community and a public statement against antisemitism.