AKRE, Kurdistan Region - The synagogue of Kanishki Ezekiel, located in the village of Shush in Akre district of Duhok province, is an archaeological temple that was a Jewish synagogue a century ago. The temple is about 700 years old.

The temple is 14 meters long, seven meters wide, five meters high and has a small doorway. There is a spring near the temple known as the "Jewish Spring where around 20 Jewish household used to live in Shush village in the 1940s, in coexistence with Christians and Muslims.

"We started registering archaeological sites in 2012. Before that, around 600 sites were registered during the Baathist regime. We have been able to sign contracts with three international German, Italian, and Polish universities to register these monuments. We have been able to record nearly 2,000 archaeological sites with them," Bekas Brifkani, director of the Duhok Archaeological Directorate, told Rudaw two months ago.  

Brifkani added that the number of archaeological sites in Duhok province is much higher, but they have not yet been registered.

"There are more than 150 important monuments in Akre district. Ezekiel's monument is one of the most important monuments that needed to be restored," Hiwa Shamal, director of the Akre Archaeological Directorate, told Rudaw, stressing the need to preserve the monuments and saying his team has drafted a plan to preserve Ezekiel's monument.

Shamal said that many university students visit Shush village for research purposes due to its importance.

According to Shamal, the US consul in Erbil visited Akre in 2019 and his team discussed the significant importance of Shush with the diplomat, after which the consulate agreed to "take responsibility for the restoration of the synagogue."

Restoration work on the synagogue is set to launch in the next few months, Shamal confirmed, saying that the contract was signed in September after all legal procedures were completed.

"When I was a child, I saw no difference in terms of language because were Kurds and spoke Kurdish. They also dressed in the same Kurdish clothes we wore. There was never a problem between us, everyone lived peacefully in our village and visited each other," 80-year-old Abdullah Yasin from Shush said.

Yasin recalled memories with a Jewish friend he used to play with.

"His name was Naji Ishaq. They left the village sadly and went to Israel when they were expelled. When they were expelled, they were all very unhappy and we were very sad. There was a man named Haji Qadir Agha in this village who had created an atmosphere in which we all lived as one nation without discrimination between religious communities," Yasin said.

Ahmad Salih, a historian from Shush, called the village "ancient" and said it existed before the advent of Islam and several religions lived together in the area, including Christians, Zoroastrians, and Jews.

"The village of   Shush is one of the most beautiful examples of coexistence in the Kurdistan Region, where they have been no social or religious problems throughout history," Salih said.