North Africa Jewish Heritage Center
Cultural centre and museum in Israel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Amar Worldwide North Africa Jewish Heritage Center is a cultural centre and museum in Jerusalem that opened in 2011.
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History
The North Africa Jewish Heritage Center is located in the heart of Jerusalem's Mahane Israel neighborhood, which was established in 1865.[1]The house was built in the mid-19th century by David ben Shimon, who founded the community of North African Jews in Jerusalem.[2]Then a two-story building, it served as the home of the rabbi and a number of other families, in addition to housing a synagogue and a school.[3]
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The museum has permanent and temporary exhibitions focused on the history and heritage of the Jewish communities of North Africa, particularly Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.[4]
The restoration was funded by the Casablanca, Morocco-based businessman David Amar, and was renamed in his honour. Work took four years and required a team of Moroccan craftsmen to create the intricate zellige mosaic tile work.[2]
Reconstructing the building in an authentic Moroccan style was controversial, as some saw it as "importing foreign architecture and damaging a historic building", but it was envisaged as an important tourist site.[2]
The center opened in June 2011 in the presence of President Shimon Peres and former President Yitzhak Navon.[2]
