{"id":1124,"date":"2024-12-30T10:54:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T10:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jagsystem.com\/"},"modified":"2024-12-30T10:54:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T10:54:47","slug":"a-queda-de-assad-permite-o-acesso-a-sinagoga-de-2700-anos-em-damasco-mas-restaram-apenas-9-judeus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/israelagora.com.br\/en\/?page_id=1124","title":{"rendered":"Assad’s fall allows access to 2,700-year-old synagogue in damascus; only 9 jews remain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bakhour Chamntoub, 74, right, the head of the Jewish community in Syria and one of the people who refused to leave Syria despite opportunities abroad and the nearly 14-year-old war, speaks with a Syrian man during his visit to the destroyed Jobar Synagogue, also known as Eliyahu Hanavi, in Jobar neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, December 26, 2024. (AP Photo\/Omar Sanadiki)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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\r\n\t#Sinagogue<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>

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\r\n\tJOBAR, Syria (AP) – In this Damascus suburb, the few Jews still living in Syria can once again make pilgrimages to one of the world’s oldest synagogues, where people from across the region once came to pray<\/strong><\/p>

Syria’s 13-year civil war has left the synagogue largely destroyed.<\/p>

\r\nIts walls and ceilings have collapsed, and some artifacts are missing.<\/p>

\r\nA marble plaque in Arabic at the entrance indicates it was built 720 years before Christ.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nWith the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in early December, people can now safely visit the suburb of Jobar, which was heavily shelled by government forces while under rebel control.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nSyria was once home to one of the world’s largest Jewish communities.<\/p>

\r\nHowever, those numbers have declined dramatically, especially since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and due to anti-Jewish unrest and persecution.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nToday, only nine Jews live in Syria, according to the community leader, most of them elderly.<\/p>

\r\nIt is believed that within a few years there will be no Syrian Jews left in the country.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nOn Thursday, one of the visitors to the Jobar Synagogue, also known as the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, was Bakhour Chamntoub, 74, the head of the Jewish community in Syria.<\/p>

\r\nHe told The Associated Press that the synagogue means a lot to them, during his first visit in 15 years.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nChamntoub was shocked to see that part of the synagogue had been reduced to rubble.<\/p>

\r\nHe said that Jews from all over the world have contacted him, offering to help with the reconstruction.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nHe never left Syria during the war, unlike his 12 siblings who emigrated.<\/p>

\r\nChamntoub is happy in Syria, where he says he is respected by the community.<\/p>

\r\nHe has never faced discrimination, although other Jews avoid identifying themselves openly due to the climate of hostility towards Israel and the fear of being considered spies or collaborators.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe Jewish presence in Syria dates back to the visit of the prophet Elijah to Damascus almost 3,000 years ago.<\/p>

\r\nAfter the First Crusade in 1099, when Jerusalem was conquered by Christian armies and its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants were massacred, many Jews fled to Damascus.<\/p>

\r\nAnother wave of Jews arrived from Europe, fleeing the Spanish Inquisition that began in 1492.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nAt the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish community in Syria numbered about 100,000 people.<\/p>

\r\nWith the creation of Israel, tensions and restrictions increased, leading many to emigrate to Israel, the United States and other countries.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nUnder the Assad dynasty, which lasted 54 years, Jews were able to practice their religion freely, but with travel restrictions until the early 1990s.<\/p>

\r\nWhen those restrictions were relaxed following Arab-Israeli peace talks, many more left.<\/p>

\r\nBefore the Syrian conflict in 2011, Chamntoub and other members of the community would hold prayers at Jobar on Saturdays.<\/p>

\r\nHe recalls Torahs written on gazelle hides, candelabras, tapestries and carpets, all likely stolen during the war.<\/p>

\r\nBarakat Hazroumi, a Muslim who grew up near the synagogue, recounted how he would help Jews light lights or candles on Saturdays, since they are not allowed to do physical work on that day.<\/p>

\r\nHe described the site as a beautiful religious space that needs to be rebuilt from scratch.<\/p>

\r\nAfter Jobar was retaken by Assad forces in 2018, security was tightened, limiting access.<\/p>

\r\nUnder Syria’s new rulers, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, everyone was promised freedom of religion, although there have been sectarian attacks, particularly against Assad’s Alawite minority.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nOn his way home to Damascus, Chamntoub passed the Maimonides Jewish school, which has been closed for decades, where Hebrew posters still hang on the walls.<\/p>

\r\nThe area is known as the Jewish Quarter, with many old houses closed by the state.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe Jewish community struggles to find kosher food.<\/p>

\r\nChamntoub gets meat from the United States through relatives and friends who visit Syria.<\/p>

\r\nHe prepares vegetarian meals and cares for an elderly Jewish woman, Firdos Mallakh, who lives alone with no relatives in Syria.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nChamntoub hopes that with Assad’s fall, there will be greater economic and social freedoms in the country.<\/p>

\r\nHe can now speak openly about his faith without needing permission from the authorities.<\/p>

\r\nHowever, with so few Jews in Damascus, synagogue services have ceased, and Chamntoub celebrates Hanukkah, which began on Wednesday, alone at home.

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This Friday, January 21, 2000, file photo, Youssef Jajati, a Jewish community leader in Syria, points out the Torah holy book preserved in a silver container in Jobar”s Synagogue which dates back to 718 BC. (AP Photo\/ Bassem Tellawi)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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Bakhour Chamntoub, 74, right, the head of the Jewish community in Syria and one of the people who refused to leave Syria despite opportunities abroad and the nearly 14-year-old war, speaks with a fellow Syrian Jew, 88-year-old Firdos Mallakh, at Mallakh”s home in Damascus, Syria, December 26, 2024. (AP Photo\/Omar Sanadiki)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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A Syrian man observes the destroyed Jobar Synagogue, also known as Eliyahu Hanavi, in Jobar neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, December 21, 2024. (AP Photo\/Hussein Malla)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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Published in 12\/30\/2024 10h54<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Portuguese version<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.<\/p>\r\n\t\t

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Reference article:<\/p>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\r\n\r\n