The synagogue was built in the 1930s by Iranian Jewish merchant Shimon Cohen and financed by an American jeweller whose name is recorded only as Rosenthal and who came to Bahrain to buy pearls.

Ebrahim Daoud Nonoo, the Jewish community's unofficial leader and a member of Bahrain's National Assembly, undertook to renovate the synagogue.

[6] A sign outside the building reads “Bahrain Synagogue” in English, and “House of Ten Commandments” in Arabic and Hebrew.

The Ark cover is blue velvet and dedicated, in Hebrew, to the community’s late rabbi Shimon Cohen.

The bima cover has a velvet cover dedicated in Hebrew to the normalization agreement between Bahrain and Israel, and the ark holds an Ashkenazi Torah, given to the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa by Jared Kushner, that has the following inscription: “In honor of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his vision, courage and leadership in bringing peace, respect and religious tolerance to the Middle East.