Only the west and south facades remain from the original building. Here's a postcard showing its interior in 1901:
Naturally, the idea of a historic synagogue being built in the Jewish Quarter on its original spot is regarded as a terrible crime by Israel's peace partner - you know, the people who claim that they would respect all religions in any peace agreement.
Official PA news agency Wafa reports:
Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the head of Jerusalem Affairs, Ahmed Qurei ('Abu Ala'), said the scheme to build a synagogue 'Jewel of Israel' is a disaster threatening the future of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, pointing out that Israel continues Judaizing the holy city.
In a press release Thursday evening, Qurei warned of ...the Israeli scheme aiming to build a synagogue in the old city, which is just 200 meters from the Al-Aqsa mosque, located on the western side.
It is noteworthy that this scheme provides for the restoration of an old synagogue, noting that this synagogue was built on the ruins of an Islamic chapel, and will consist of three floors above the ground and will be covered with a huge dome that will rise about 24 meters high.
Qurei noted that ..this would be the third synagogue of its kind in recent years; previously the "Hurva" synagogue and the "Ohel Yitzchak" , and said that all these synagogues were built on the ruins of a pure Islamic endowments.
...Qurei highlighted that the occupation authorities seek to marginalize and change the status quo to the greatness of Islamic architecture that characterizes the Old City of Jerusalem through its buildings, .... as the occupation authorities try today to obscure the view of the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock .
That, by the way, is the "threat" - Muslims insist that their buildings be the highest ones in the city, and the Jewish Quarter is on a hill, meaning that the Hurva and Tiferet Yisrael domes are taller than the Dome of the Rock. This is what really bugs them.
For context, here's what Tiferet Yisrael looked like (domed building on the left), looking up from the Temple Mount in the 1920s.
