Alhambra Cinema (Israel)

The Alhambra Cinema is a former Arab-owned cinema on Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa, Israel, designed in the Art Deco style in 1937 by Lebanese architect Elias Al-Mor. Since 2012, the building is housing the "Ideal Center of Scientology for the Middle East", a main Scientology branch in the region.[1] It was named after the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain. It was active as an Arab cultural institution in the British Mandate period. It was again used as a cinema after the establishment of Israel, then as a theatre after 1963, but was eventually largely abandoned for decades until its restoration in 2010-2012.

Alhambra Cinema in 1937, with an Arab flag on the turret

History
Alhambra as a Scientology 'Ideal Center' after restoration

The cinema opened in May 1937 and was one of the biggest and luxurious cinemas in Palestine. It became a cultural centre and hosted famous Arab artists such as Umm Kulthum, Farid al-Atrash and Leila Mourad.[2] Local residents, both local Arabs and Jews originating from Arab countries, came to the shows together with their families.[2]

The cinema was owned and managed by Palestinian Arabs, among them Isa al-Safri, Muhammad Abduh Hilmi, Muhammad Musa al-Husayni, Muhammad Younis al-Husayni, Muhammad Ramadan Hammu, Hasan Arafeh, Abdul-Rahman Alhaj Ibrahim, and Mughnnam Mughnnam.[3] Photos from 1937, during the Arab revolt in Palestine, show an Arab flag studded with light bulbs fitted as a permanent fixture at the top of the building's turret.

After the 1948 war it became Israeli property and reopened under the name "Yafor".[1] In 1963 it was taken over by the impresario Giora Godik who turned it into an independent theatre,[1] again under the name "Alhambra". In the late 1970s the building was largely abandoned. Until 2007 a bank used the main entrance, which faces the boulevard, as a branch.[1] Starting in 2010 the derelict building, affected by decades of transformations, underwent careful restoration and refurbishment and in 2012 it was inaugurated as an Israeli and regional centre for Scientology.[1]

See also

References
  1. Rosenblum, Keshet (30 August 2012). "Alhambra Cinema in Jaffa Reopens as Scientology Center". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  2. Hilel, Maayan (2013). "Under the Radar: Arab and Jews Crossing Cultural Boundaries in Mandatory Palestine". p. 2-3. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. "3 - الأخبار - Al-Akhbar, 9/3/1938". web.archive.org. 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  • "JAFFA'S NEW CINEMA". The Palestine Post. May 19, 1937.
  • Photo gallery of pre- and post-restoration Alhambra. Website of Eyal Ziv, the architect who restored the building in 2010-2012.


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