The Jobar Synagogue was an ancient synagogue complex destroyed in May 2014. Also known as the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue it was situated in the village of Jobar now encompassed by the metropolitan area of the City of Damascus. It was once adjoined to a complex with rooms for the rabbi and other functionaries of the community. The synagogue was built atop a cave traditionally thought to have served the prophet Elijah in hiding. The hall center was said to be the place where Elijah anointed Elisa. During the Syrian civil war it was hit by mortar bombs, looted, and later 2/3 of the synagogue were totally destroyed at the end of May 2014. History and traditions The synagogue had a plaque stating it was from 720 and was frequently but incorrectly perceived to be a 2,000-year-old synagogue located in the suburb of Jobar, Damascus. The earliest verifiable literary sources indicate that it is at least medieval in origin. It was built in commemoration of the biblical prophet Elijah, and has been a place of Jewish pilgrimage for many centuries. It also is the burial-place of a wonder-working sage of the sixteenth century. According to tradition, the synagogue was built atop a cave where the prophet Elijah concealed himself during persecution. The synagogue was said to have been built by Elisha and repaired during the first century by Eleazar ben Arach. Another tradition states that the biblical anointing by Elisha of King Hazael of Syria took place at the synagogue. Though much cited as one of the earliest sources mentioning the existence of a synagogue at Jobar is from the Talmud, there is no incontrovertible evidence to support the reading that states that Rabbi Rafram bar Pappa prayed there. The challenge to this interpretation has also led to discord and controversy (although according to the anthropologist and researcher Dr. Adam Blitz, from the content and comparison with the traditional explanations it is clear that the town of Abi Gobar was in Babylonia and not near Damascus.) Medieval period During the medieval period, Jobar was home to a significant Jewish community. Shams Ibn Tulun Al Dimashki (d. 1546) mentions that "Jobar is a Jewish village with a Muslim presence." In 1210 a French Jew, Samuel ben Samson, while visiting Damascus, recounted the "beautiful synagogue situated outside the city", (in Jobar). An anonymous Jewish traveller who arrived a few years after the Spanish