Syria approves body to preserve Jewish heritage
According to AFP, Syria has announced that they have licensed a new organisation dedicated to preserving the country’s Jewish heritage. This is an initiative by Jews of Syrian origin living in the US. The organisation will also seek to restore seized Jewish properties. Cynics would see this as a PR move by the Syrian regime, which is anxious to be seen as legitimate by the US, even as war might soon break out between Syria and Israel (with thanks: David):
The al-Franji synagogue, one of the few preserved Jewish sites in Damascus
The decision comes as Syria’s small, historically rooted Jewish community seeks to restore a presence in the country following the arrival of the new governing authority in Damascus more than a year ago.
Minister of Social Affairs Hind Kabbawat told AFP that the government officially approved the formation of the Syrian Jewish Heritage Organization, making it the first officially licensed body focused on the country’s Jewish legacy.
“This is a strong message from the Syrian state that we do not discriminate between religions,” Kabbawat said. She added that Syria “supports all Syrians—of all faiths and sects—who want to build our new state.”
Henry Hamra, one of the organization’s founders and the son of Yosef Hamra—the last rabbi to leave Syria—told AFP that the group’s mission extends beyond cultural preservation.
“We will work to register Jewish properties and restore those that were confiscated during the previous regime,” he said, noting that the organization also intends to protect, maintain, and rehabilitate Jewish religious sites to make them accessible to Jewish visitors from around the world.
Hamra, who lives in the United States, joined the first Jewish delegation to visit Syria last February alongside his father.
Since then, multiple groups of Syrian Jews have visited Damascus, and President Ahmad al-Shara met a delegation of Syrian Jews in New York during the UN General Assembly.
Syria once hosted a vibrant Jewish community whose roots stretch back centuries before the Common Era. But regional wars and political tensions significantly affected their presence.
The Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the aftermath of the 1967 war, cast a long shadow over Jewish communities across the region, including Syria.
Under the rule of the Assad family:
-Jews were allowed to practice their religious rituals freely -They maintained friendly relations with surrounding communities
However, the regime of Hafez al-Assad imposed severe travel restrictions, barring Jews from leaving the country until 1992. After restrictions were lifted, the community’s population dwindled from around 5,000 to only a handful.
According to Moaz Mustafa, Executive Director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, who accompanied the recent visiting delegation, dozens of Jewish-owned homes have already been identified as seized by the Bashar al-Assad regime.
“There are dozens of houses we have counted so far from Jewish properties that were taken from them by the regime,” Mustafa said.
The licensing of the Syrian Jewish Heritage Organization marks a significant departure from the policies of the previous regime, signaling an effort by the new Syrian government to highlight inclusivity and address historical grievances. Whether the initiative will successfully restore confiscated properties or revive a centuries-old community remains tied to the broader political transformation underway in the country.
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Times of Israel article
