Replacing the ancient temple of Jerusalem, the synagogue is a vital building for the Jewish religion; it is where worship services, beit tefilah (a house for prayer), the study of God, and, in some cases, beit midrash (a house for study) take place. The word “synagogue” translates to the term “temple,” which means that to reform the Jews, the synagogue is a permanent replacement for the ancient Temple. They believe that even if it were possible, there would be no need to rebuild the Temple or resume sacrifices, so the synagogue is the only “temple” that will ever be needed. However, many non-Reform Jews find this term offensive, believing it to lack respect for the true temple. In Orthodox Judaism, the place of worship is called a shul, a Yiddish word derived from the German word for “school.” Conservative Jews use the word “synagogue.” So, when in doubt, “synagogue” is the best term to use since it is the least offensive and most widely understood. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Founded in 1555, in the Rione Sant'Angelo, near the Tiber River, in the southern part of Campo de'Fiori, Rome's Jewish ghetto is one of Rome's best attractions and also one of the least known; it is the oldest Jewish community in all of Europe, dating back to the 2nd century. The Jews came from Judea when the Roman Empire had made some sort of alliance with them under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, a Jewish priest. Its boundaries were established in a Papal Bull, which is a kind of public decree, letter patent, or charter issued by a pope, along with various discriminatory laws about what professions Jews could and could not pursue. Selling fish was one of the accepted professions, which still gives its name to the streets in the area of ​​the old fish market. The great synagogue of Rome was built shortly after the unification of Italy in 1870, when the Kingdom of Italy conquered Rome and the Papal States ceased to exist. The Roman ghetto was demolished and Jews were granted citizenship. The building that had previously housed the ghetto's synagogue (a complicated structure that housed five synagogues in one building) was demolished, and the Jewish community began making plans for a massive new building. The synagogue was attacked on 9 October 1982 by armed Palestinian militants at the close of the Sabbath morning service, only one person, a child, was killed and 37 others were injured. While no group claimed responsibility, one of the attackers was identified as Osama Abdel al-Zomar, an alleged member of the Abu Nidal terrorist organization, who was later arrested in Greece for illegal trafficking of explosives. He was deported to Libya in 1989. A plaque was placed at the entrance of the synagogue in memory of the attack, and another plaque in memory of Stefano Gaj Tache, the deceased child.