Gibraltar rocks to Hebrew 'God Save the Queen'

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/13/wgibr13.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/12/13/ixportal.html

The words of God Save the Queen sung in Hebrew reverberated round the Shaar Hashamayim synagogue in Gibraltar as part of a weekend of celebrations commemorating the rock's centuries-long role as a haven from anti-Semitism.

Led by a cantor in a black top hat, the tune of the national anthem rang out beneath the synagogue's vaulted ceiling and hanging silver oil lamps as members of the colony's 600-strong Jewish community gave thanks for the protection Gibraltar offered them in grimmer days. "In the dark times of expulsion and inquisition, Gibraltar lit the beacon of tolerance," said Professor Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.

Gibraltar provided a haven for Jews during the Second World War and was an escape route to which Jews were smuggled from Nazi-occupied Europe.

The Jews of Gibraltar are the only Jewish community to sing the anthem in Hebrew, asking not only for the Queen to be saved, but also "her husband". Jews have lived in Gibraltar since the 14th century. A document shows that the community issued an appeal in 1356 to ransom a group of Jews taken captive by pirates.