Oliver Etting's Bar Mitzvah Tikkun Olam Project

For my Bar Mitzvah, I'm raising funds to cover the renovations of my great-grandmother's synagogue in Ioannina, Greece, which has survived for thousands of years. Please read on for my research about the Jewish history of Ioannina and my personal connection to this important project. All money raised will go directly to fund this project, through the help of its sister synagogue in New York City, Kehila Kedosha Janina.

*Anyone who donates $100 or more will receive a set of 8 note cards with my original artwork of the Ioannina Synagogue in Greece.*

My drawing of the staircase to the women's area of the synagogue in Ioannina that my great-grandma Mary and her family used to use.

The actual staircase outside the synagogue.

Jewish History of Ioannina

The Jewish people have a very long history in the small town of Ioannina, Greece. In fact, Greece was the first country in all of Europe with a Jewish presence, dating back to the fourth century B.C.E. Also archaeologists have found ruins of Jewish synagogues from the second century B.C.E. While many people have only heard of two types of Jews, the Sephardic and the Ashkenazi, there is actually another known as Romaniote Jews. This type of Jew originated in Rome and is one of the oldest Jewish communities in existence, and the oldest Jews in all of Europe. The Romaniote Jews spoke Judaic-Greek, also known as Yevanic, which is a Greek dialect that contained some Hebrew, along with some Aramaic and Turkish words, whereas today's Rominiote Jews speak modern Greek, or the language of their country. Before the Holocaust, Greece had one of the biggest Jewish populations in the world, and within Greece, the town of Ioannina had a large Romaniote population out of all the towns and cities in Greece. Ioannina is in central Greece and has a big wall surrounding the center of the town. Inside those walls were the synagogue, and some homes. There was one main gate that led outside the walls, into the part of Ioannina where most people lived, and where all the jobs were. Inside the walls, there were small courtyards and tons of greenery and beauty. Around 20,000 people lived in Ioannina, 1,950 of them being Jews. Only one hundred of those Jews survived the war, my great-grandmother was one of them.

Plaque in the synagogue to honor the lives of Ioannina Jews who were killed in the Holocaust - pictured are the names of the Negrin Family, my great-grandma's family.

My Connection to Ioannina

My Great-Grandmother was named Mary (born Rachel). She was born in Ioannina, Greece, and was a Romaniote Jew. She went to the temple, which was inside the walls, for every holiday, and Jewish event. She was part of a big family, with many siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. When the Nazis arrived in Ioannina, they took all the Jews out of their homes and gathered them up next to a lake in Ioannina. They destroyed Jewish property and stole their things. The Jews were first sent to Larissa, before being put in cattle cars, and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Mary, my great-grandmother, was sent to Auschwitz. There were two lines of people, one of them was for those who would be killed immediately, and the other line was for people that would be sent there to work. She was placed in the work line and was held in Auschwitz for about a year. They were soon going to kill her when the war ended and Auschwitz was liberated. Then she went back to Ioannina with her three cousins she survived with and learned that none of her other family had survived. She was put in a refugee camp. Around that time, a matchmaker matched her with my great-grandpa, Ike. They had one daughter in Greece named Sara before they left. They were thinking about moving to Israel, but then decided to move to the United States. They moved to Ohio, which is where they had their second daughter, Zoe. Then they moved to Inglewood, California, and had three more daughters, Esther, Gentille, and Betty, along with one son, Albie. Gentille is my grandma and she had three children, Jessica (my mom), Phil, and Amanda. Then, my mom, Jessica met my dad, Joshua and they had my two younger brothers and me. The Romaniote tradition of Judaism has now been passed on to our family, including me.

My great-grandma Mary and My great-grandpa Ike

Ancient Torahs in the Ark at the Ioannina Synagogue

Courtyard outside the Ioannina Synagogue

What I am Raising Money for

As you have read in the past paragraphs, the small town of Ioannina is important to my family and has been an important Romaniote community for thousands of years. There used to be a newer temple outside of the walls, and an older, large temple inside of the Ioannina walls. Unfortunately, the temple on the outside of the walls was destroyed during the Holocaust, but the main, big temple (the one that my great-grandma was a part of) inside the walls survived. The mayor of the town had convinced the Germans that they were going to use it as a library. The Germans believed the Mayor and took all the nice furniture, but did not destroy it or the Torahs. After the war, the Mayor was rewarded and highly respected for his bold actions, and for helping to keep the temple alive. Although around 2,000 Jews lived there before, only one hundred of them survived. Of those survivors, almost all of them immigrated to another country, leaving very few Jews left in Ioannina. Before the Holocaust, hundreds of Jews would crowd the synagogues, now it is a place of worship for far fewer, but it is also an important historical landmark that Jews from around the world visit each year because of its rich history.

The ancient temple of Ioannina which has been alive for over a thousand years needs your help now to continue to survive. I am raising money to replace their windows and to cover small renovations to ensure its survival. Please help me try to save one of the oldest synagogues and one that hundreds of our ancestors prayed in. Thank you.

*Anyone who donates $100 or more will receive a set of 8 note cards with my original artwork of the Ioannina Synagagogue in Greece.*

Me visiting the synagogue in Ioannina when I was 1-years-old.