Istanbuli Synagogue
As the Sephardi community of Jerusalem grew, a large group of immigrants arrived from Istanbul, Turkey, who used the adjacent building as a synagogue from 1764. Over time, the Istanbuli Synagogue, (Hebrew: בית הכנסת האיסטנבולי), attracted worshipers from the Eastern communities, including Kurdistan and from North and West Africa. The Istanbuli Synagogue is now used by a Spanish and Portuguese congregation following mostly the London rite.
The Aron Kodesh dates from the seventeenth century and was imported from a synagogue which had been destroyed in Ancona, Italy. The bimah, constructed in the eighteenth century, came from a synagogue in Pesaro, Italy. The synagogue was renovated in 1836.
During the Israel War of Independence the synagogue was occupied by Arabs. After Israel gained control of the Old City during the Six Day War, it was renovated.
As the Istanbuli synagogue is the largest of the four, it is used for the inauguration of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel.
Read more about this topic: Four Sephardic Synagogues