With only six Jews left in Syria, emigres now have a chance to return
Henry Hamra vividly recalls the day he was allowed to leave Syria. His uncle, the Jewish community’s rabbi, was called in for a meeting with Syria’s president at the time, Hafez al-Assad. “He told him, ‘You could go anywhere in the world except Israel,’” recalled Hamra, who was only 15 at the time. Assad had decided to lift a decades-old travel ban on the Jewish population, and soon the Hamras and thousands of others left the country.
At the time, Hamra thought he would never return. But today, he is leading efforts to rebuild and renovate Jewish religious sites after the Assad regime fell in December and most American sanctions were lifted in May.
Jews have lived in Syria for more than a millennium and have a rich history there. Their numbers, however, dwindled to only six people due to years of hostility. Now, those who left can finally go back, if just for a visit.
Hamra, like many Syrians living in the United States, was glued to his television the night that more than 50 years of Assad family rule came to an end. He said he immediately started making plans to return and with the help of Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the D.C.-based Syrian Emergency Task Force, was able to go back with his father and others in February to meet with Syria’s new rulers.
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