Jerusalem is G-d’s capital city, the heart and soul of the Jewish nation. Of course, there’s only one Jerusalem—but many places across the world earned the nickname too! Read on for 10 Jewish communities across five continents (and beyond) that enjoyed this unique distinction.
1. Vilna, Lithuania
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| The Great Synagogue in Vilna, circa 1920s. |
Perhaps the most famous city to be dubbed Jerusalem is Vilna (Vilnius), known as the “Jerusalem of Lithuania” or “Jerusalem of the North.” This title comes as no surprise: for centuries, Vilna was a famous center of Jewish life and scholarship. Before the Holocaust, the city was home to 60,000 Jews (a third of its total population), 100 synagogues, and countless mikvahs, Jewish schools, and charitable institutions—making it one of the greatest Jewish communities in all of Eastern Europe.
Read: 16 Facts About the Jews of Lithuania
2. Salonica, Greece
Located on the Mediterranean coast, Thessaloniki (Salonica) was once home to what may have been the most prominent Sephardic community in the world. Jews made up the majority of the city’s population, numbering as many as 60,000, and it boasted many fine yeshivahs, printing presses, and other vital cornerstones of Jewish life. The local port was even closed on Shabbat to accommodate the Jewish dockworkers! Salonica’s importance earned it the nicknames “Jerusalem of the Balkans” and “La Madre de Israel”—Ladino for “Mother of Israel.”
Read: 15 Facts About the Jews of Greece
3. Kulashi, Georgia
The Jewish community of Georgia, in the Caucasus region, is ancient, dating back thousands of years. While Jews lived all across the area, one town stood out: Kulashi. At its peak in the 1960s, all 12,000 of the town's residents were Jewish! Known as the “Jerusalem of Georgia,” Kulashi produced many Georgian rabbis (known as chachamim), and remarkably, Jewish life flourished there even under Soviet rule.
Read: 16 Facts About the Jews of Georgia
4. Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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| Interior of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam today. |
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Netherlands was a rare sanctuary of religious freedom in a continent plagued by expulsions and persecution. Its largest city, Amsterdam, blossomed into a vibrant center of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish life, with influence that radiated across Europe and beyond. Home to great Torah scholars, notable Jewish publishing houses, and generous patrons who supported Torah institutions near and far, Amsterdam rightly deserved its nickname: “Jerusalem of the West.”
Read: 14 Facts About Jewish Amsterdam
5. Sarajevo, Bosnia
Sarajevo is famous as the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the spark that ignited World War I. But the city is also home to an old and prestigious Jewish community, encompassing both Sephardic and later Ashkenazi Jews. A walk through Sarajevo reveals the traces of magnificent Jewish landmarks, such as great synagogues and Talmudical seminaries. Sarajevo’s long history of religious life earned the city its title: “Jerusalem of Europe.”
Watch: A History of the Sarajevo Haggadah
6. Djerba, Tunisia
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| Interior of El Ghriba Synagogue. (Issam Barhoumi) |
Tucked off the coast of Tunisia, the island of Djerba is home to an ancient Jewish community that, remarkably, continues to thrive even today. Its most famous synagogue, El Ghriba, is said to have been built by exiles from Jerusalem who incorporated a stone from the Holy Temple into its walls. A bastion of Torah scholarship and traditional Jewish life, Djerba produced rabbis who led communities across Tunisia and Libya—earning it the names “Jerusalem of Africa” and “Antechamber of Jerusalem.”1
Read: 13 Facts About the Jews of Djerba
7. American Jerusalems
What is the Jerusalem of America? Today, New York is an obvious candidate, with the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel. But several surprising places across the United States were once known as the “Jerusalem of America” or “Little Jerusalem.” These include Brownsville, Brooklyn (home to a remarkable 80,000 Jews in the 1920s); Chelsea, Massachusetts (a popular destination for Jewish immigrants in the early 1900s); and even Burlington, Vermont, which once hosted a notable community of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants.
Read: 14 Facts About the Jews of New York
8. Pitigliano, Italy
Pitigliano, a charming clifftop village in Tuscany, is known as La Piccola Gerusalemme (Italian for “Little Jerusalem”) for its historic Jewish community. Like elsewhere in Italy, Pitigliano’s Jews were confined to a cramped ghetto and required to wear identifying clothing. To make the most of their limited space, they carved out underground chambers, including a subterranean mikvah, matzah bakery, and wine cellar. Even today, with very few Jews remaining, the town’s iconic pastry is the sfratto—a baton-shaped cookie said to recall the rods used by officers to drive Jews into the ghetto.
Watch: The Origins and History of Venice’s Jewish Ghetto
9. Moisés Ville, Argentina
In 1889, a group of 136 Jewish families fled Russia and made their way to Argentina, where they founded an agricultural settlement called Moisés Ville, named after the Biblical Moses. After a difficult start—including a deadly typhus epidemic and raids by local gauchos (ranchers)—the settlement flourished, growing into a community of thousands who farmed the land, built dairy farms and factories, and carefully preserved their traditions. A small Jewish community still calls Moisés Ville home today—a town known as the “Jerusalem of South America.”
Read: 19 Facts About the Jews of Argentina
10. Jerusalem of the Heavens
There’s a Jerusalem in the heavens, too! The Talmud describes seven heavens, one of which—Zevul—is home to a celestial Jerusalem, Temple, and altar, where the angel Michael offers sacrifices.2 Elsewhere, the Talmud records G-d’s promise: “I will not enter the Jerusalem Above until I first enter the Jerusalem below.”3
May we soon merit the era of Moshiach, when Jews from Jerusalems across the world will gather together in the one true Jerusalem, in the Holy Land, may it happen speedily!
