Kehila Kedosha Janina 1927

Kehila Kedosha Janina is unique in that it is the only community of Romaniote Jews in the country and one of the last in the world. The Romaniotes are a group of Greek Jews who emigrated from the Northern Greek city of Janina. Unlike the Sephardi Jews, who lived more north in the Greek city of Selonica in Thessaloniki, the Romaniotes were living in Greece as early as the time of the Romans. While Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews speak Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, Romaniotes speak Greek, eat Greek food, and hold other Greek customs. All but a handful of Romaniotes in Janina were killed in the Holocaust, leaving just 35 living Romaniotes in the city.

The Romaniotes immigrated to the Lower East Side in 1906 and established a congregation. In 1927, the Romaniotes built the Kehila Kedosha Janina synagogue at 280 Broome Street and formed a tight-knit community. Congregation members would stand at the docks at Ellis Island and bring newly-immigrated Romaniotes to join their community in the Lower East Side.

In 1999, the synagogue was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Historic National Landmark in 2004.

Kehila Kedosha Janina contiunes to hold traditional Romaniote services and also houses a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the 2,000-year-old Romaniote Community.