Temple Emil

Former synagogue in Manila, Philippines

Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue (1924–1945)

Year consecrated1924

StatusDestroyed

Temple Emil
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue (1924–1945)
Year consecrated	1924
Status	Destroyed
Location
Location	Taft Avenue, Metro Manila
Country	The Philippines
Architecture
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Moorish Revival
Funded by	Emil Bachrach
Completed	1924
Destroyed	1945 (Battle of Manila)

The Temple Emil was a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Taft Avenue, in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The synagogue was destroyed in 1945, during the Battle of Manila in World War II.

The first Jews known to have settled in the Philippines were Spanish Jews, during the 1600s, with further wave of settlement during the 1870s, from Alsace. Following World War I, Russian Jews settled, to escape discrimination in Russia.^[1]^[2]

Consecrated in 1924 and completed in the Moorish Revival style,^[3] it was the first synagogue in the Philippines.^[4]^[5] Its construction was funded by the family of Emil Bachrach, an American Jew,^[6] at a time when the Philippines was technically an insular territory of the United States.^[1] During the 1930s and 1940s, thousands of European Jews emigrated to the Philippines.^[7]

The synagogue was destroyed in World War II during the 1945 Battle of Manila which led to the end of the Japanese occupation.^[8] It was the only synagogue on territory of the United States that was destroyed during World War II.^[1]

The Beth Yaacov Synagogue was built in 1982 to replace Temple Emil at another site in Makati.

References

1 2 3 Mooney, Ashley (November 11, 2014). "The Little Known Holocaust Story of Sanctuary in the Philippines". Duke Today. Duke University. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
↑ Saunders, Lee (March 20, 2023). "The Philippines: A small Jewish community with a giant heart - opinion". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
↑ "The Philippines: A distant haven from the Holocaust". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
↑ "Philippines Virtual Jewish History Tour". Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
↑ "Philippines". World Jewish Congress. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
↑ Harris, Bonnie (January 2013). "Manila Memories: History of Jews in the Philippines". Asian Jewish Life (11).
↑ Falk, Leah (May 15, 2017). "When The Philippines' First Synagogue Burned to the Ground". Jewish Telegraph Agency. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
↑ Harris, Bonnie. "Cantor Joseph Cysner: From Zbaszyn to Manila The Creation of an American Holocaust Haven" (PDF). UC Santa Barbara History Department. p. 62. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2023.