| Gaza synagogue | |
| Image Upright: | 1.4 |
| Festivals: | --> |
| Organizational Status: | --> |
| Functional Status: | Ruins |
| Location: | Rimal, Gaza City |
| Country: | State of Palestine |
| Map Type: | Palestine Gaza |
| Map Size: | 250 |
| Map Relief: | 1 |
| Coordinates: | 31.5205°N 34.4325°W |
| Year Completed: | 508 CE |
| Date Destroyed: | --> |
| Elevation Ft: | --> |
The Gaza synagogue is a former ancient Jewish synagogue, that was built in 508 CE during the Byzantine period, Located in the ancient port city of Gaza, then known as "Maiumas", currently the Rimal district of Gaza City, in the State of Palestine, the archeological ruins of the former synagogue were discovered in 1965.[1]
In 1965, Abd el Mohsen el Khashab led excavations in Gaza on behalf of the Egyptian Antiquities Department. During the work they uncovered the remains of a structure they interpretated as a church. It contained two mosaics with inscriptions in Greek and Hebrew.[2]
The mosaic was dated to 508-09 CE and measured 3m (10feet) high by 1.9m (06.2feet) wide.[1] [3] It was originally described as depicting a female saint playing the harp.[4] The Egyptian archaeologists stated that the mosaic was in fact an Orpheus mosaic, Orpheus being a figure from Greek mythology who was commonly associated with Jesus or David and used in Byzantine art.[5] Shortly after the mosaic's discovery, the main figure's face was gouged out. When Israel captured the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six-Day War, the mosaic was transferred to the Israel Museum for restoration.[6]
The mosaic floor of the synagogue is on show at the Museum of the Good Samaritan, located on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road near the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim in the West Bank.[7]
Since, the Gaza synagogue was closed and Jews were not allowed to worship at the holy site. During the Israeli invasion of Gaza as part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the Gaza synagogue was briefly used as a place of worship by soldiers of the IDF to pray amidst their invasion into Gaza,[8] prior to the establishment of the Abraham Temple in November 2023.[9]
The best known panel of the mosaic floor shows King David, who is named in a Hebrew inscription reading "David", while sitting and playing a lyre with a number of wild animals listening tamely in front of him. The iconography is a clear example of David being depicted in the posture of the legendary Greek musician Orpheus.[10]
The central inscription of the mosaic says: "We, Menachem and Yeshua, sons of the late Yishay, wood merchants, as a sign of admiration for the most holy site, donated this mosaic in the month of Luos, year 569" (corresponding to approximately July-August of the year 508; the census of the Jews of Gaza began with the expulsion of Gavinius, during the reign of Pompey, in 61 BCE).[11]