The Assad regime, both father and son, was hostile to all Jews, viewing them all as “Zionists” and not only those who were connected to Israel.
Ynet quoted Prof. Yaron Harel from Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, who studies Jewish communities in Islamic countries during the modern era.
“The regime viewed all Syrian Jews as hostages,” he explained. “During the reign of both Assads, no Jew identified publicly as Zionist. But every Jew was a Zionist to the Syrians.”
“On one hand, the Assad regime protected Jews from harassment by Palestinian refugees who arrived in Syria after 1948 and 1967, aiming to maintain order and stability. But the regime itself persecuted them,” Harel added.
“After 1948, the Syrian government restricted Jews in employment, culture, and education. Significant communal and personal assets were confiscated, bank accounts were frozen and Jews were barred from delivering money abroad or working in public-sector jobs. Nearly all Jewish schools were closed.”
“Following Eli Cohen’s arrest in 1965, the threat of sudden arrests loomed constantly and people began disappearing. After the Six-Day War in 1967, the situation deteriorated further.”
“ Community funds were seized, freedom of movement was entirely revoked and police stationed at the Jewish quarter’s entrance prevented any movement. Hafez Assad allowed Jews to leave Syria on the condition they took no property and didn’t go to Israel. This led to the eventual exodus of Syria’s Jewish community, leaving no Jewish presence behind.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
15 Responses
On this one, the assads were so correct:- Zionism & Judaism are 1 & the same, & 2 interchangeable words.
is the yichus of this community good?
Since 1948 CE, the government of Syria persecuted its Jews relentlessly, including: imprisonments, executions, not allowing Jews to leave Syria, constant police surveillance (even of old Jewish women), and torture (even of Jewish children as young as 6 years old).
During the decades following World War II, Syria was a refuge for convicted Nazi war criminals. Some of them were promoted to high positions in the government of Syria, under the Assad regime.
For many years, Syria was the international headquarters of the anti-Israel boycott.
According to one Jew who left Syria in 1959, 99% of Jews in Syria observed Shabbat, and there was not even one Jew in all of Syria who publicly violated Shabbat (in 1958).
is the yichus of this community good?
Are you joking? Possibly better than yours: for the past 100 years plus, they have not even accepted geirim- both in Syria and everywhere else- out of fear that it won’t be l’sheim shomayim but for marriage. Of course this practice is hugely controversial Rav Ovadia Yosef made a special trip to the US just to try to convince their leadership to change the policy, and he was unsuccessful- but all agree that this is what has kept them from intermarrying even if not all of them are observant they way we- and they- would all like.
Aren’t the syrians in Flatbush?
lakewoodbt said:
“Is the yichus of this community good?”
=========================
MY ANSWER:
Some Ashkenazic Rabbis said that Jews of the lands near Eretz Yisrael are more meyuchas than Ashkenazim.
Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names now, but if I remember correctly, Rabbi Shach ZTL ZYA was one of them.
PS1: Some Ashkenazic Rabbis said that Sephardic Jews pronounce Lashon HaKodesh more correctly than Ashkenazim.
Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names.
PS2: For many years, the world’s oldest Torah Scroll was held by the Jews of Syria. This is a well-known historical fact.
This Torah Scroll is known as the Aleppo Codex.
Go to wikipedia (dot) org and type-in Aleppo_Codex.
lakewoodbt said:
“Is the yichus of this community good?”
=========================
MY ANSWER:
Around 30 or 40 years ago, DNA from Syrian Jews today was found to be an exact match with DNA from Jews from 3,000 years ago.
I do not remember who did that research. Sorry about that.
Lakewoodbt are you kidding?
The Assad “regime” started in 1970~
So this article is questionable.
LakewoodBT,
They have one of, if not the best, Yichus out there.
As many know they banned Geirus for marriage as Ashkenazim did & continue to do.
It’s well known that Ashkenazi Jews yichut is riddled with many problems. Mizrachi Jews are much better yichut than most Ashkenazi Jews. But I feel that comment was a troller.
If im not mistaken It says in the Gemara that a person that make a lot of noise about how special their yichus is it’s usually a sign of the opposite ( that is not an exact quote) as the story goes about the person who claimed he was a cohen from the family of chashmonaim and made a whole story about it and it turned out he was a slave
Most Syrians today are from Sphardim(spain/portugal) and earlier Karaim, mixed with Ashkenazi refugees and slaves over the centuries.
The original Syria-Palestine jews were expelled from the Eastern Roman empire 1700 years ago, and they went to the Western Roman lands, mainly Italy, (Gaul)France and Cologne (Roman “colony” in Germany), (spain expelled them early on at the same time), later becoming known as Ashkenazim (German)
To happy new year
You are probably right. If you ask the Jews that immigrated during the Assad regime they will tell you that he was good to the Jews. Restoring all the rights that was taken from them after the holocaust. So this article is probably a misrepresentation because it’s taking the records of pre Assad and seemingly blaming Assad for them.
And to lakewoodbt
Who questioned the yichus of this community. You gotta be kidding me!! They’re the most meyuchas on the planet. Tracing all the way back to David hamelech which was basically part of eretz Yisroel for a lot of dinim and never really went into galus.
lakewoodbt,
Is your’s good enough to question that of others? Please confirm how you know that there are absolutely no skeletons in your yichus closet.