The Historic Casino of Rhodes By 1945, Jews were a rare sight in Rhodes. The Shoah had come over the island like a rogue wave in the night. In just a few short days, a thousand years of Jewish life and memory were swept into the sea, much of it lost forever. But in January of 1949, a different kind of Jew came up from the Aegean and strolled up to Rhode’s Grand Hotel of Roses. Today, this hotel persists as a dreary casino, but back then “The Roses” was bustling with activity