immigration (Edict of Expulsion of the Jews of Spain) found 60 Jewish families living in the village of Jobar, who had a very beautiful synagogue. "I have never seen anything like it," says the author; "it is supported by thirteen columns." The Chronicle of Joseph Sambari (1672) says that the Jewish community of Damascus lived chiefly in Jobar, and he knows of the synagogue of Elisha and the cave of Elijah the Tishbite. Benjamin II (d. 1864) described the synagogue as reminding him of "the Mosque Moawiah". "The interior is supported by 13 marble pillars, six on the right and seven on the left side, and is everywhere inlaid with marble. There is only one portal by which to enter. Under the holy shrine ... is a grotto ... the descent to which is by a flight of about 20 steps. According to the Jews, the Prophet Elisha is said to have found in this grotto a place of refuge.... At the entrance of the synagogue, toward the middle of the wall to the right, is an irregularly formed stone, on which can be observed the traces of several steps. Tradition asserts that upon this step sat King Hazael when the Prophet Elisha anointed him king." 19th century onward Documents from the early 19th century reveal properties in the village that belonged to Jewish wakf (religious endowment), which were leased to members of other communities. During the rioting following accusation of ritual murder against the Jews of Damascus in 1840, the mob fell upon the synagogue, pillaged it and destroyed the scrolls of the Law. In 1847, only one Jewish family was left in the village, and they took care of the synagogue. On festival days, many of Jews from Damascus assembled at the synagogue to worship and during the year, the synagogue was often visited by Jews. A few rooms in the court adjoining the synagogue were used as a retreat by some Damascus Jews for a few days during the spring and summer. After the establishment of the State of Israel, Jews in Syria faced greater discrimination as the Syrian government enforced tighter restrictions on them. Jewish property could not be sold and those that had been abandoned were confiscated. Part of the land associated with the synagogue was taken over and converted into a school for displaced Palestinian Arabs. The synagogue is venerated as one of Syria's