The last Jews of Romania
In Romania, dwindling Jewish communities keep their faith and traditions alive, even as they face an uncertain future
Alexandru Kepes, 82, a Holocaust survivor, guards an Oradea synagogue going through renovations.
(Image credit: May 24, 2016)
A memorial plaque at the Sas Chevra Synagogue reads, "In memory of our brothers and sisters deported to Auschwitz."
(Image credit: Aug. 28, 2013)
The Jewish Orthodox Cemetery, inactive since 1952, in Velenta, eastern Oradea. The cemetery holds around 4,000 graves. Some of the tombstones predate the 19th century. Most have fallen into disrepair.
(Image credit: Jan. 13, 2015)
The sun sets over the Great Synagogue on the final day of Hanukkah. Tomer Corinaldi, center, visits from Israel to celebrate Hanukkah with the Jewish community and teach lessons from the Torah.
(Image credit: Dec. 23, 2014)
The women of the Jewish community in Oradea attend the Shabbat service at the Sas Chevra Synagogue. Orthodox tradition dictates that men and women sit on different sides of the sanctuary during services.
(Image credit: July 26, 2013)
A group of Jewish men meet for their weekly reading of the Torah.
(Image credit: April 11, 2013)
Five Bar and Bat Mitzvahs are celebrated jointly during the Shabbat service at the Jewish community center. The Bar and Bat Mitzvahs were the first in several years.
(Image credit: Jan. 16, 2015)
The empty Zion Neologic Synagogue, on the edge of the Crisul Repede River, in Oradea. The 1,000-seat synagogue, built in 1878, is being turned into a museum and concert hall.
(Image credit: March 13, 2013)