More than 500 years after the Jews were expelled from Sicily, the nascent Jewish community of Palermo will celebrate its rebirth on Thursday with the formal transfer of ownership of a facility owned by the church and monastery of St. Nicolo Tolentino, which sits atop the ruins of the Great Synagogue of Palermo. The transfer results from a request by the Jerusalem-based nonprofit Shavei Israel and the Istituto Siciliano di Studi Ebraici (ISSE, or Sicilian Institute of Jewish Studies).
The official handover ceremony marks the anniversary of the January 12, 1493 expulsion of the island’s Jews, and will usher in the opening of the first local synagogue in Palermo, Sicily’s capital, since the 15th century. The move comes as growing numbers of people throughout Sicily are rediscovering their Jewish roots. Archbishop Corrado Lorefice of Palermo will officially deliver part of the complex to the local Jewish community, which numbers some 60-70 people, represented by the ISSE, which is affiliated with Shavei Israel.