The Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem was the central synagogue in Eretz Israel before the War of Independence. In the early 18th century Hasidim led by Rabbi Yehuda purchased the land with the intention of building an Ashkenazi synagogue in Jerusalem. After the rabbiƒ??s death, the building remained unfinished and was eventually burned by the Arabs.< p>

From that time it was known as the Hurva (or Ruin) of Rabbi Yehuda HaHasid.< p>

In the 19th century the synagogue was rebuilt with financial assistance of Moses Montefiore. The tallest structure in the Old City, its domed ceiling was 82 feet high and it contained 42-foot-high window arches. The center of Jewish spiritual life and the home of important communal institutions, during World War II the Hurva was the site of the launching of the Jewish Brigade and, in a mass prayer service, the cry went out to save European Jewry.< p>

This beautiful building was destroyed by the Jordanian Legion i