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Pi«* • THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE October IJ. 1*7* 2964 P—d*W Bd . N.W. Suite 654 *«>—*« Ga. 30305 404-262-7562 SEAFOOD CO. ‘ATLANTA'S F9CST SNCf rTM SPECIAL MON, thru THURS. 2 MAINE LOBSTERS mars Pt»— They're Rurmr>i OCEAN TROUT ALL-YOU-CAN EAT lorFnad ;95 Syrian Jews want out! American students discover truth behind propaganda bfMkZdtar JERUSALEM (JTA>—The <500 fki Jewish coumdy ia Dwiini is doonaitd by u 00 year-old Jewish supporter at the Syria* repine who is itpnM with dritrast by the Jewish population, two Aacriaa Jewish students recently told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency The two. Terry Magady. 23. and Daa Weiner, 22. both of Cahfnnha, spent free days last aKMth in the Syrian capital as part the region, mrhnhng Egypt, Jordan and Israel. "Every official transaction, including applications to go abroad, most go through a man called Mr. Torah," they explained. "He acts as a liaison between the government and the Jewish community. Unfortunately, be acu largely out of self-regard and sells information to Syrian officials about the comings and goiags of the community." The figurehead leader, as Magady and Weiner described him, is regarded by the Jewish community, who call him "a 50-50 Jew," with a mixture of distrust and fear. “Talk to Mr. Totah first,” they were told. "Totah will make a I haven't tasted Corned Beef like this since I left Neu York! AISLE ONE DELI! phone cal and everything win be OR.” Totah ■ also reportedly ia regular contact with the American Embassy in Damaacns. "We avoided Totah for as lo^ as we cowM. became we knew that meeting with him might prevent us from reaching the community at large,” they said. Torah, however, "caught up” with them on the fourth day of their visit, greeting them by anmeat one at the local synagogues. The next day, which mb by rninridtBi.i their last, two ~wrg dtrwrd* men visited them at the youth hostel at which they were staying, telling them “to be sure they were on their scheduled flight to Amman the next morning." They were. Totah presented the two students with what they termed a "white-washed" overview of Jewish life in Syria, denying any problems and minimizing the political oppression to which Syrian Jews are subjected. They received a different picture, however, from other, more forthcoming community mem bers. "We found an extremely affluent community, with surprising strong Jewish values and a strong Jewish identity, spiritually led by the well-liked and young Rabbi Albert Hamrah,” Magady said. "But this community is denied even minimal political freedoms and is subject to an ever present feeling of tension that things could get worse at any point.” Specifically, those concerns center on a political take over by Islamic radicals or another war with Israel. Most important, all want out of Syria Magady and Weiner reported teat community members branded tee controversial screening of a CBS-TV "go Minutes" program on Syrian Jewry a few years ago as a "total bice.” They pointed to the presence of Syrian officials who accompanied the television crew at all times as ample evidence of the one-sided picture of contentment and freedom which resulted. "We would give up everything we have here, all our possessions and.money, if we could just get out,” community members told the two students, with many expressing a desire to immigrate to Israel. “All we want is to be with our family and to keep our Jewish identity—anywhere else but here." Time and again, the two students heard expressions of bewilderment over the fact that many Iranian Jews chose to remain in Iran after the Shah was deposed. For them, the implications of the ascent of an Islamic republic are all too clear. Weiner and Magady related. For this reason, as well as one of safety, the Jewish community in Damascus is a cohesive one. clinging to remnants of Jewish tradition as a means of retaining their heritage. All shops dose on the Sabbath, some of the community observes kashrut. and attendance is high at two Jewish day schools and three synagogues. Six men are studying for their rabbinical ordination and religious artifacts arc freely brought in from abroad. Daily life for many of the community members, most of whom are brass and copper merchants, is a good one, and Weiner added that the impressive Jewish community center is reminiscent of a local Jewish community center hack in the U.S. Tensions between the Jewish community and Moslems have largely died down since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. But Magady and Weiner reported that it is an enforced, and perhaps illusory picture of harmony. Entire families are arbitrarily punished for the act of one individual and only family heads are allowed to go on periodic trips abroad, provided they leave their family and a S7000 deposit behind. In addition, some 400 women lack partners for marriage; emigration is a forbidden topic of discussion; and a plain-clothes policeman regularly patrols the shops in the Jewish quarter. Community members, the two students said, praise the pressure exerted on the Syrian government by American officials and world Jewry, contending that it is largely responsible for the fact that acts of violence committed against them are now at a minimum. But all fear that this respite is temporary and that time works against them. They look to Israel with great pride, listening regularly to Israel Radio's Arabic-language broadcasts and tending to glorify Israeli military prowess. “If only Israel would destroy this regime and free us," Magady and Weiner said one person told them. “For this we wait, because it is the only way we will ever get out of Syria." Old World Antiques Priced Below Mr Means. 1 VYeve priced ourselves into your market, with some of the lowest-priced European antiques ever to reach America. Every week, shipments ar rive from England and we offer new sales on old pieces like side boards. oak draw-leaf tables, bentwood. chairs, brass, statuary, mirrors, armoires. clocks, secretaries and chandeliers. Endless values on timeless classics, Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 5 I’M. TT. _ Tl niskAA T 1J “I I7.VIM in— — 1 np imaw r afp 1 id ■sl Norths*le Dr. 1 Ills 1111 11(12*1*’ 1 IlllA/j LIU* “1 H***vl! 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