A new Jewish museum in Cyprus aims to be a bridge-builder to the Arab world and beyond, a place where visitors who may never set foot in Israel can learn about Judaism, the Holocaust and the tumultuous beginnings of the Jewish state.
Items going on display in the seven-story structure in Larnaca, which is scheduled to open in 2019, will include some of more than 100 Torah scrolls found by Russian forces in the Nazis' possession and which for decades were kept at a military installation 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Moscow.
A key selling point for placing the museum on the eastern Mediterranean island is its proximity to the Middle East.
Visitors will be able to don headgear for a number of state-of-the-art virtual reality exhibits, including one on the post-war internment camps run by the British on Cyprus where more than 51,000 European Jewish refugees were held. On another floor, visitors be able to learn about the Nazi concentration camps where millions of Jews and others were exterminated in the Holocaust, while a third floor will exhibit the sights and sounds of Jerusalem.
"Through education, we can make a big difference and a big change," said Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin, who was born in Israel and moved to Cyprus in 2002, where he leads its 3,500-strong Jewish community.
"It's an opportunity for a prince from Abu Dhabi to learn about Jerusalem, to open the door to these people and learn about the Holocaust."
The museum was the brainchild of Raskin and Sibyl Silver, director of the U.S.-based Jewish Heritage Foundation. Silver will also provide the museum with objects the Nazis stole from eastern European countries that were recovered by the Soviet Red Army.
The rare Torah scrolls, some of which date from the 19th century, tell the stories of once-thriving Jewish communities in Europe that were wiped out, Silver said. She said the Russian authorities continue to hold legal jurisdiction over the scrolls but have agreed for them to go on display in Cyprus because of Russia's traditional bonds with the island.
Raskin also keeps two Torah scrolls at the Cyprus Jewish Community Center in the southern coastal town of Larnaca that will eventually be put on display at the museum, which will be built adjacent to the center. The oldest, which comes from Germany, is more than 200 years old and is written in a rare handwriting style.
With Cyprus experiencing record numbers of tourists, Raskin aims to attract vacationers and businesspeople from Arab countries, Russia and Israel. He estimates the museum will cost around €9 million ($10.5 million).
He also wants to shine a light on Cyprus' link to post-World War II Jewish history. He says a dedicated exhibition would honor Cypriots such as the late Prodromos Papavasiliou, who helped thousands of Jews during their time in the internment camps in the late 1940s.
"One of the most important things for me to complete my mission is to show these righteous people," Raskin said.
Silver said the project has the backing of Holocaust educators including Rabbi Michael Berenbaum, the former project director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the head of Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation. Jewish and Israeli celebrities will be on hand to promote the museum at its opening.
