Bet ha-keneset ha-Ari ha-Ashkenazi (Safed)

The Ashkenazi Ari Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת האר"י האשכנזי, romanized: Beit haKnesset haAri haAshkenazi) is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Israel Najara Street, in Safed, in the Northern District of Israel. Dedicated in memory of Rabbi Isaac Luria, a kabbalist who was known by the Hebrew acronym "the ARI", the synagogue was completed in the late 16th-century, several years after his death in 1572. It may be the oldest synagogue in Israel that is still in use. The synagogue is known for its colorful and ornate Holy Ark. Though the synagogue is associated by name with the Ashkenazi community, today it serves as a place of worship for both Hasidic and Sephardic Jews and remains popular among worshippers of different affiliations. Another old Safed synagogue dedicated to Rabbi Isaac Luria is known as the Sephardic Ari Synagogue.