Moldova -- Fire Damages Ruined Chisinau Synagogue Listed as Historic Monument

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Here's a cross post from Jewish Heritage Europe -- Claude Cahn, who lives near this synagogue in Chisinau, says he will check the site and provide more information:

According to a report (including video) on Moldovan TV, fire -- possibly due to arson -- has damaged what had been the already gaping ruins of an early 20th century synagogue, located on Rabbi Tirelson street. The fire was doused within half an hour and the extent of the damage was not clear.

The media quote neighbors as saying the ruined synagogue - which despite its condition was listed as a local historic monument -- had been bought recently by a group of Jews who wanted to rebuilt it.

Budapest -- Q6Q7 Jewish District Festival Holds a Spring Edition at Passover

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

For the past few years, Budapest's downtown Jewish Quarter, straddling the 7th and 6th Districts, has been the scene of a Hanukkah festival that takes place in various local clubs, galleries, restaurants, cafes and other venues.

This Spring, the organizers are offering a similar Quarter6Quarter7 festival over Passover, April 6-14.

The program includes both first and second night seders, as well as concerts, dances, films, talks and guided tours of the district.

Budapest -- Jewish Heritage Conference

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I'm taking part in what promises to be a fascinating conference tomorrow and Thursday in Budapest on Jewish Heritage in the Digital Era. Some of the top people in the field in Central Europe will be presenting and the discussion should be interesting. I'll be presenting on the Jewish Heritage Europe web site and how we hope it follows up on the Bratislava meeting held 3 years ago.

Here's the program:

Program 

Jewish Heritage in the Digital Era / Zsidó örökség a digitális korszakban 
28. 03. 2012

Jewish Monuments in the Visegrad Countries I. /Zsidó műemlékek a visegrádi országokban I.  
Chair: Tamas Paszternak

10:00: Greetings: Gusztáv Zoltai, Director of the Jewish Community of Budapest / Zoltai Gusztáv, a Budapesti Zsidó Hitközség igazgatójának köszöntője 

10:30: Key-note: Klein, Rudolf: Synagogues of Hungary / Magyarország zsinagógái

11:30: Coffee–break

11:45: Toronyi, Zsuzsanna: The history of Jewish heritage protection in Hungary / A magyarországi zsidó örökségvédelem története  

12:15: Ruth Ellen Gruber: The Bratislava declaration, 2009 / A Pozsonyi nyilatkozat, 2009

13:00: LUNCH / EBÉD

Jewish Monuments in the Visegrad Countries II. /Zsidó műemlékek a visegrádi országokban II.   
Chair: Zsuzsanna Toronyi

14:00: Bergman, Eleonora, Poland / Lengyelország  

14:30: Borsky, Maros, Slovakia / Szlovákia 

15:00: Berankova, Zuzana, Polakovic, Daniel, Czech Republic / Csehország 

15:30: Balogh, István, Anna Gabor, Hungary / Magyarország 

16:00: Jaroslav Klenovsky, Czech Republic  / Csehország

16:30: Laszlo Negyela, Serbia / Szerbia 
         
17:00: Coffee - Questions and Answers / Kérdések és válaszok   

18:00: Discussion by walking in the Jewish Quarter: Contemporary questions of the heritage protection, lead by Andrea Deák and Zoltán Nagy, with participation of Anna Perczel / Beszélgetés séta közben a zsidó negyedben: a műemlékvédelem aktuális kérdéseiről. A sétát vezeti Deák Andrea és Nagy Zoltán, Peczel Anna részvételével    

18:00: Film-screening:  I Can Ghetto! documentary film realized by Istvan Javor / Negyedem, negyeded, Jávor István filmje, Hungarian with English subtitles - link to the film / megnézem   

29. 03. 2012 

Digitized Heritage / Digitalizált örökség 

9:00: Greetings - dr. Péter Feldmájer, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities / dr Feldmájer Péter MAZSIHISZ elnök köszöntője 

9:30: Gabor Kadar: DEGOB – Digitized testimonies / A Deportáltakat Gondozó Országos Bizottság digitalizált jegyzőkönyvei  

10:00: Anna Szász: Voices of the 20th Century - Digitized oral history resources / A 20. század hangja - digitalizált oral history források 

10:30: Edyta Kurek: Judaica Europeana – Digitized heritage / Judaica Europeana - Digitális örökségünk presentation 

11.00: Coffee

11:30: Marcel Kenesei: Centropa – Digitized family stories / Centropa - Digitalizált családtörténetek 

12:00: Ákos Gordon: Social media in the heritage protection - Közösségi média az örökségvédelemben

12:30: Robert Langh: MOME – Digital interpretations of the heritage / Az örökség mint digitális művészet 

13:00: Lunch

Digitization and Restitution

The section is organized by Agnes Peresztegi

14:00: Ágnes Peresztegi: Databases, Provenance Research, Restitution / Adattárak, eredetkutatás és restitúció  

14:30: Marc Masurovsky: Creating Databases, Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume, a Case Study / Adattárkészítési esettanulmány: művészeti tárgyak a Jeu de Paume-ban 

15:30: Databases Assisting Restitution Efforts  – Roundtable discussion (participants: Agnes Peresztegi, Misha Sidenberg, Marc Masurovsky, Gabor Kadar) / Hogyan segítik az adattárak a restitúciós törekvéseket? Kerekasztal-beszélgetés 

17:00: Conclusion / Zárszó   

MaMa Nyonya Restaurant (Home cook) at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru.

MaMa Nyonya Restaurant (N1.52412 E103.78532) is located along Jalan Molek 1/28 of Taman Molek, just behind the Alliance Bank of Tmn Molek branch.

Due to some of my friends strongly recommended, we decide to have our Nyonya food dinner in the restaurant. The dinner peak hour already passed when we were there, only left one table of customer in the restaurant...I like to have dinner in less crowded environment...

The entrance of Mama Nyonya Restaurant (smoking session)

The non smoking session...

Nice environment and decent setting. I like it simple...

Our order for the Nyonya dinner :-
1)  Ayam Pongteh (as usual)
2)  Nyonya Chap-chai (mixed vegatables) as usual...
3)  Cincalok omelette (as usual)
4)  Sweet sour fish (my daughter's favorite)
5)  Kapitan chicken

Ayam Pongteh (Nyonya Cuisine)

Nyonya Chap Chai (Mixed vegatables)

Cincalok omelette (Nyonya Cuisine)

Sweet sour fish (special request, not in the menu)

Kapitan Chicken (Nyonya Cuisine)

Nyonya Cendol (Dessert)

The tatse of this MaMa Nyonya Restaurant was similar to the Kenny's Delight Nyonya Restaurant we visited before at Malacca. Authentic Nyonya Food! All dishes were tasty, my wife like the taste of the Chicken Pongteh very much! I found the Kapitan Chicken was Special and Delicious! The Nyonya Chap-chai was slightly bland and I still prefer more palm sugar in the Cendol...

Overall, we were satisfied with the foods! Well, now we no need to drive all the way to Malacca for having the Nyonya dinner, we can have the same Authentic food in Johor Bahru too!

The Damage was MYR74.00 for 3 adults and 1 kid included drinks. (Standard Chartered Credit Card member entitle for anothe 15% discount).
Reasonable price and justified with the foods quality.

We will definitely visit this restaurant more often!

MaMa Nyonya Restaurant

8, Jalan Molek 1/28, 

Taman Molek, Johor Bahru

Tel : +6016-7167190 (Grace Lim)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MaMa-Nyonya-FOOD/110292562374357

Location map of Mama Nyonya Restaurant at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru.

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Kenny's Delight Nyonya Restaurant at Malacca (Melaka).

Kenny's Delight Nyonya Restaurant (N2.19471 E102.26065) is located exactly at the intersection of Jalan Tamby Abdullah and Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho of Malacca.

"Kenny's Delight serves authentic Nyonya cuisine, tastefully prepared by MasterChef Kenny Chan who has been dishing out mouth-watering Nyonya gourmet and local snacks since 1990.

As a seventh generation Baba who dresses as Nyonya for his TV character as the Matriach, Bibik Kim Neo, MasterChef Kenny will bring you onto a gastronomic adventure comprising of popular dishes like Chicken Pong Teh, Chili Garam Fish, Syinky Beans Sambal Prawns and etc.

Even his Mee Rebus, Nyonya Laksa and Mee Siam is out-of-this-world.  And don't miss out on the ever popular Nyonya Chendol, made from Pandan leaf extract, not artificial colouring. "

Entrance of Kenny's Delight Restaurant, Malacca

I was attracted by the unique Peranakan building and decided to have our dinner on one of the Saturday evening...it has a small parking area beside the restaurant and it's abit inconvenience to enter it because of the busy junction location.

There's a beautiful small garden area once we stepped into the restaurant...and there are tables for small group of customers (4 persons)...

The small garden and the outdoor dining area...

Service counter is located at the end of the garden...

The Unique Peranakan building just right in front of the garden...I like it Very Much!

The unique Peranakan building of Kenny's Delight Nyonya Restaurant

Do you notice the small door just next to the staircase? It was a some kind of basement of the building and also an Air-conditioned dining area. But we chose the non Air-conditioned dining area on top of it, we prefer fresh air... :)

The basement dining area (Air-conditioned)

One of the dining area of Kenny's Delight Nyonya Restaurant...Very Unique!

Our order for the Nyonya Cuisine :-

*  Deep Fried fish with Nyonya spicy sauce

*  Ayam Pongteh

*  Lady finger (Nyonya cook)

*  Cincalok Omelette

*  Nyonya Cendol (Dessert)

The deep fried fish and Nyonya Spicy sauce (we requested to separate the sauce that the children can taste it)

The Nyonya spicy sauce for the fish above

Ayam pongteh

Ladu finger with sambal

Cincalok omelette

The Nyonya Cendol

OH Man! Delicious!
It was the Authentic Nyonya taste! Thanks Master Chef - Kenny. All of us like it very much! I like the Special spicy sauce of the fish very much!
Cripsy skin of the fish and special Nyonya spicy sauce! Tender chicken pongteh and not salty. Soft and nice lady finger and my daughter like the Cincalok omelette very much! But I prefer more palm sugar in the Cendol...:)
We really enjoy our dinner in the nice environment of the restaurant despite some vehicles sound from the road...

I forgot the Damage of that night but it was Definitely reasonable price for 4 adults and 2 children.

It's worth the second visit to the restaurant to try out other delicious dishes! :)

Friendly staff from Kenny's Delight Nyonya Restaurant

Kenny's Delight Nyonya Restaurant

135-A, Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho,

75000 Malacca town.

Tel : +6012 6128978

https://www.facebook.com/KennysDelight

*  Please take note of the business hour to avoid any disappointment, it's different every day. You can check in their Facebook page.

** Kenny's Delight Restaurant had moved to 33, Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya, Melaka with the new name : Big Nyonya Restaurant. Tel : +6012 6128978.

Location map of Kenny's Delight Restaurant at Malacca.

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Slovakia --1966 footage of synagogue & destruction of Bratislava Jewish quarter

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Thanks to David Kraus, here is some extraordinary footage from Bratislava in 1966, showing the beginning of the destruction of parts of the Old Town, including the historic Jewish quarter, to make way for the construction of the New Bridge. There are some remarkable shots of the twin-towered, Moorish style synagogue before its demolition in the path of the construction.

Jewish Cemetery in Poland Vandalized

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Police are investigating a vandal attack on the Jewish cemetery in Wysokie Mazowieckie, Poland, which took place the night of March 18.

Unknown persons spray-painted swastikas and anti-semitic images and slogans, including a favorite slogan of neo-Nazi groups, "Here is Poland -- not Israel.".

The incident is the latest in a series of vandal attacks against Jewish heritage sites in that part of Poland.

Monika Krawczyk, the CEO of FODZ, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland, notes that FODZ renovated the cemetery in 2006 and regularly maintains it, and the cemetery is enclosed by a fence. But this did not deter the vandals.

You can see a gallery of pictures of the damage provided by Monica on the web site www.jewish-heritage-europe.eu

Second visit to Lazio Restaurant and Bar at Danga Bay, Johor Bahru.

I was invited to Lazio Restaurant and Bar at Danga Bay for food tasting on one of the Monday evening...the restaurant just hired a New Chef and going launch a whole new series of Menu. Thanks to Mr Emerson for giving me a opportunity to try out the new western foods in the restaurant.

The Lazio Restaurant at Danga Bay

I was a bit late for the event and I missed some starter on that evening...
The VIPs and guests were all in position to taste the Delicious Pizzas and Western foods while I was there...:)

Guests and VIPs

 

There also a photograher in the restaurant to take photos for the making of new Menus...
I took the time to snap some photos of the pizza's making by the pizza master before the next dish serve...

Everyone are work seriously to ensure the pizzas are Delicious!

I like the his serious way...

At last...the Pizza is ready to serve!

On the 'first half', I had many type of pizzas...some were Good and some were not that cheesy...(but it's improve a lot since my friend visited few days ago...)

Choices of Pizzas on that evening...

I like the pizza above, especially the Salmon...

The seafood pizza.

After the Pizza session, another series of western foods continue to serve on the table...
Lamb Shank, Lamb Rack, Grilled Salmon, Medium raw Terderloin...

The Striploin Steak

When all the foods almost finish, it was the turn for dessert...'Fruit Pizza'.

Fruit pizza

I'm satisfied with all the new series of pizzas and western foods here, the Fruit Pizza was special! Well, I will definitely visit again with my family for more Yummilicious foods! :)

Once the food tasting session over, we had some Draught Beers on the next door - Lazio Bar.

Lazio Bar

It was early and we were the first customers of the evening...

Piano anyone?

The bar counter

I like the concept of the bar because the door will open (after 7pm) and let you feel the cool sea breeze of Johor straits...you can even choose to enjoy your drinks at the Alfesco area. That will be A different experience while having a cold beer in my hand and watching yachts pass-by...and if you are lucky, you will witness the Beautiful sunset of Danga Bay!

When the night fall, there will be a 3 pieces band (un-plug) perform on the stage and playing some nice and soft music, don't forget to request your favorite song! :)

Lazio Bar promotion for the moment (March 2012) :-
*  Tuesday 4-8pm
    Tiger Beer draught one mug - RM7+
*  Thursday 4-8pm
    Tiger Beer draught 'two mugs' - RM9+
    Guiness Stout draught 'two pints' - RM15+

GRAB IT AND DON'T MISS THE GOOD DEAL!

Do enjoy your dinner and relax in the bar if you visit Danga Bay of Johor Bahru!

Lazio Restaurant and Bar
Danga Bay, Johor Bahru.
Tel : +607-2217988/+607-2215688
https://www.facebook.com/LazioCafe

Location map of Lazio Italian Restaurant & Lazio Bar at Danga Bay, Johor Bahru

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Off Geographical Topic -- historic synagogues being razed in US

By Ruth Ellen Gruber


Every so often I like (or actually dislike) to post news demonstrating how some of the issues regarding what to do with deteriorating or dilapidated synagogues also affect buildings in the United States. Of course, the history is different: the buildings in the US did not lose their congregations because of the Holocaust (or communist pressure) but by normal demographic shifts. Still, there are parallels about preservation versus urban development; funding, memory, and the significance of built heritage.

Two cases in the U.S. are current: the planned demolition of the historic Anshe Kenesseth Israel synagogue building in Chicago, and the threatened demolition of the former Ahavath Sholom synagogue, in Buffalo, NY.

In Chicago, architectural blogger Lee Bey reports that

The old Anshe Kenesseth Israel temple, 3411 W. Douglas Blvd, will come down by force of an emergency demolition order issued by a judge last December. Preservationists, neighborhood residents and the building's owners, Abundant Life World Outreach ministry, had been working to delay demolition and develop a fundraising and reuse plan for the building, As recently as last Sunday, they cleaned up the building's exterior in hopes of convincing the city not to raze the structure.

The owners changed their mind, he reports, and demolition was expected to begin very soon. The once-grand synagogue was built in 1913,  when the neighborhood was largely Jewish. Later, as the neighborhood changed, it became an African-American Baptist church, where Martin Luther King spoke in the 1960s. It closed about a decade ago and has since stood empty. Lee Bey provides vivid photographic documentation  that shows its dual history.

There is a lengthy article, with pictures, about the Buffalo synagogue on the FixBuffalo blog. Built in 1903,  too became a church,  Greater New Hope Church of God in Christ, in the 1960s and has stood empty for a decade. The demolition order was issued in December, despite the fact that the building has been designated a local landmark.

In December, Housing Court Judge Patrick Carney issued an order to demolish the City's oldest synagogue, one of the last remaining vestiges of Jewish life on the City's East Side.    The familiar onion domed landmark on Jefferson Avenue was designed by A. E. Minks and Sons and built in 1903.  With the cooperation of Rev. Jerome Ferrell and his congregation, the Greater New Hope Church of God in Christ, this historic structure was designated a local landmark by the City's Preservation Board in 1997. 

Samuel D. Gruber discusses the case of the Buffalo synagogue on his blog. 

The structure is now empty and in disrepair.  The building is one of the last standing synagogue of the "facade-dome" type that was popular at the end of the 19th century.  

Architecturally, the building is most readily notable for its single 'onion' style dome set over the central entrance bay of the facade.  Variations of this type of arrangement are known in synagogue architecture beginning in Europe in the mid-19th century.  One example is the destroyed synagogue of Jelgava, Latvia.  The style was especially common in Moorish style buildings such as Ahavath Sholom.  Major American examples include Temple Sinai in Chicago (Dankmar Adler, arch.) and Temple Beth El in New York (Brunner & Tryon, archs.) which were demolished decades ago. Tiny Gemiluth Chassed in Port Gibson, Mississippi survives. Time may not be long for Buffalo's Ahavath Sholom, but local efforts to save the building may stave off the wrecking ball. [...] 

You can read more about the synagogue in this article by Chana Kotzin from the February 10, 2012  issue of the Buffalo Jewish Review.  Kotzin runs the Buffalo Jewish archives and has been collecting history about the building, its congregation and the old East Side Jewish neighborhood. 

 There is a Flickr feed of photos of the synagogue HERE.

Seafood dinner at Kukup Fishing Village, Johor.

We having our dinner at the first Seafood Restaurant (N1.32552 E103.44256) on the right after the Kukup Jetty (forgive me that I forgot the name of the restaurant). We were there quite early in the evening, just because of want to enjoy the view of Kukup before the dinner...

Kukup Jetty

It was cool and relaxing evening, too bad that day was cloudy and I didn't expect the nice sunset over there...

The Seafood Restaurant next to the Kukup Jetty

Once getting dark...we started to order our foods...

*  Mixed vegetables

*  Kangkong belacan

*  Steam fish

*  Hotplate taufu

*  Steam salted crabs

The foods served on our table pretty fast...

Mixed vegetables

Kangkong Belacan

Steam fish

Steamed salted crabs

We all enjoyed the dinner Very much! Especially in the nice environment! The foods were Delicious especially the seafoods were Fresh! I like the Salted crabs very much!

If my memory serve me well, the Damage was about RM140.00 for 4 adults and 2 kids included drinks. It's always reasonable price when you have seafood at Kukup, that is one of the main reason the small fishing village attract so many tourists and seafood lovers everyday...

We had a walk at the Fishing Village after the dinner until almost midnight, and back to the Kukup Golf Resort with few bottles of beers...:)

The boat...

Location map of the Seafood Restaurant at Kukup, Johor.

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