Manisa Jewish Community

Mavi Boncuk | Manisa (Magnasia), Jewish Community

Contributed by Mathilde Tagger

Manisa, formerly known as Magnasia or Magnésie, is situated in the North East of Izmir (38°36N 27°26E). A Jewish 'romaniote' community existed there from the Byzantine period, praying in the Etz Ha-Hayim Synagogue. After 1492, Jews expelled from Spain settled there, joining a hundred or so romaniote families. These newcomers founded two synagogues: Lorca and Toledo. At the end of the 19th century, Alliance Israélite Universelle inaugurated two schools, one for boys in 1891 and one for girls in 1896.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish community numbered about 2000 souls out of a total population of some 40,000. The Greeks had conquered Manisa in 1919 and when they retreated in 1922, a large conflagration destroyed much of the town including many Jewish institutions. Most of the Jews left their community and emigrated to France, South America, U.S. and Israel. Today, there are no Jews in Manisa. There were three Jewish cemeteries in Manisa.

The most ancient was damaged after the 1878 Turko-Russian war. In 1900 a wall was built around the second cemetery that was until then an open field. The third was acquired in the 1930s. The two ancient cemeteries have since been destroyed. At the time of writing his book, Abraham.Galante [1] could still read some of the oldest 16th c. tombstones. The tombstone data of the new cemetery has been collected and computerized by Prof. Minna Rozen (Diaspora Sudies Institute of Tel Aviv University) although this very important information has not yet been published.

[1]Galanta names Haim Matsliah; (died in 1906) as the last Chief Rabbi of Manisa