Syrian jews

Syrian Jews in Damascus donate meat for iftar, support Muslim families in need during Ramadan

Needy families receive Ramadan support as a small remaining Jewish community highlights longstanding ties with Muslim neighbors.

Participants in the event from the Jewish community of Damascus.
Entrance of a synagogue in a Jewish neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, February 18, 2025.

Jewish merchant walks free after 20-days in Syrian prison, authorities say all charges cleared

Avi Gold in Damascus wearing a scarf with the Syrian flag, over an illustrative backdrop of the flag.

Jewish traveler says locals 'radiated love for Israel' during Syria trip

Members of the subcommittees for Syrian parliament elections sit at the Syrian parliament on the day they take an oath before the Higher Judicial Committee for Elections, in Damascus, Syria September 3, 2025.

Rabbi runs for Syrian parliament, ending 58-year ban on Jewish candidates


Rabbi urges US Congress to reject permanent extension of Caesar Act

The Syrian Jewish community—absent for more than three decades—will not be able to revive its heritage or return to the country under such a restrictive economic environment, according to critics.

The Dura Europos Synagogue wall paintings in the National Museum of Damascus on September 16, 2025.

From Satmar to Syria: The hassidic mission to discover relics of ancient Jewish civilizations

Despite the current lack of Jewish presence, Satmar Hassid Moshe Klein says it is obvious that a great many Jews once lived in Syria.

AT THE ruins of the Jobar Synagogue in Aleppo.

After years of war, world’s oldest synagogue paintings are revealed as intact in Damascus

Jewish sites and synagogues suffered lootings and bombardment over the course of the war, which followed the emigration of virtually all Syrian Jews.

The Dura Europos Synagogue wall paintings in the National Museum of Damascus on September 16, 2025.

New discovery highlights Jewish scouts and identity in Syria

A rare testimony from the Alliance Israélite Universelle shows the Jewish Scout Movement in Damascus, highlighting its role in Jewish identity and culture.

 Jewish scouts in uniforms holding flags bearing the name Alliance Scouts of Damascus

How a small delegation of US Jews got to Syria for the first time in decades

Visiting historic synagogues and praying with Torah scrolls that had remained intact through the country’s brutal, 14-year civil war, these Jews were celebrating a homecoming.

 Syrian Rabbi Yousef Hamra and accompanying Jews visit the Frenc and Raki churches, the Maimonides Jewish School and the Jobar Synagogue, which was largely destroyed during the civil war, in the historic districts of Damascus, Syria on February 18, 2025.

This week in Jewish history: Israel's first astronaut, invention of cardioverter-defibrillator

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars.

 ILAN RAMON in front of an F16 aircraft.

Julani asked to protect historic Syrian synagogue in Syria by Israeli rabbi

Rabbi Binyamin Hamra, son of the late Rabbi Avraham Hamra, appealed to Julani to protect the country’s Jewish community and preserve its historic sites, including the Jobar Synagogue.

 Jewish pupils in the Maimonides school in 'Amārah al Juwwānīyah, in the historic Maison Lisbona in Damascus. The photo was taken shortly before the exodus of most of the remaining Syrian Jewish community in 1992.

Celebrating Assad regime’s fall, Jews remaining in Syria calls on Syrian Jewish émigrés to visit

Syria's Jewish population dwindles to nine, reflecting centuries of history and resilience amid upheaval. Residents recall a once-thriving community, cultural ties, and the destruction of synagogues.

 Bukhoor Shamantoub, a Jewish resident of Damascus

Syrian Jews can finally visit one of the oldest synagogues in the world

Syria's historic Jobar synagogue is safe to visit after years of war, revealing looting and heavy damage.

 A damaged synagogue is seen in the Damascus suburb of Jobar December 14, 2014. The shrine and synagogue of prophet Eliahou Hanabi, dates back to 720 B.C.

Torah Scroll rescued from ancient Syrian synagogue to be returned - report

The move is set to come during a visit by Syrian Jewish businessmen and Syria's chief Rabbi in early 2025.

Reading a torah scroll