Hurva Synagogue
The
Hurva Synagogue was the main
synagogue in
Jerusalem in the
15th -
16th centuries (and possibly much earlier), attributed to
Rabbi Moses Ben Nahman (Ramban), until the
Ottomans closed it in
1589 because of Muslim incitement. It was burned by Arabs in
1721 (
Hurva means destruction in
Hebrew), but again rebuilt by
Zionists in the
19th century, becoming the most prominent synagogue on the Jerusalem skyline. When it was captured by the Arab Legion of
Jordan during the battle for Old Jerusalem in
1948, they dynamited it to show that they controlled the Jewish Quarter.