The dilapidated structure of the Magen Avraham synagogue is nearly all that remains of the Jewish presence in Lebanon. A once vibrant community that numbered in the tens of thousands is now almost non-existent. The few Jews that remain in Lebanon live as discreetly as possible. A new project to raise $1 million, launched by the Lebanese Jewish Community Council to restore the Magen Avraham synagogue in downtown Beirut, holds the possibility of bringing back the community’s presence. Those behind the renovation plan want to reestablish Magen Avraham as a functioning synagogue, and they’ve raised hopes that an overt Jewish presence in Beirut and the Mount Lebanon environs — which has Jewish history that may stretch back as far as 3,000 years — can emerge again. The Magen Avraham synagogue — the name means “Abraham’s Shield” — was built in 1926 in what was the Jewish quarter of Wadi Abu
