The Bet Hillel synagogue was founded in the house of the Palaci family. Rabbi Hayim Palaçi (1788-1869) and his son Rabbi Avraham Palaçi (1809-1899) are the most important religious scholars of the 19th Century İzmir Jewish Community. Both are referred to as the greatest of their times and their fame was beyond the boundaries of İzmir and Türkiye; and therefore European and the Middle Eastern religious scholars were coming to İzmir to consult them. Rabbi Hayim Palaçi has written a total of 72 books during his lifetime, 26 of which have been published, and in 1861 he was awarded by Sultan Abdulmecit with the title of “Religious Scholar as Authority of Justice”.

The synagogue is located close to Havra street in Kemeraltı.