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We Cant betMxi Down’
‘My_ brother’s keeper’
Let’s not forget the Jews of Syria
by Itzhak Sordo
Israeli shaliach, AJCC
Special lo The Southern Israelite
Together with all the Jews
around the world, I was happy to
see the release of Anatoly
Shcharansky. The pictures of
thousands of people dancing and
celebrating his coming to Israel
was unforgettable. Once more the
saying of “my brother’s keeper”
comes true. Israel feels responsible
to all the Jews around the world.
But especially in these moments of
excitement, we must not forget the
other refusniks who are suffering
in the Russian jails. Another
example of Israel being respon
sible for the well-being of Jews
around the world was “Operation
Moses.” When Israel brought over
10,000 Ethiopian Jews, the words
of Marvin Arrington in his letter to
the Atlanta Constitution stands
sufficiently without needing fur
ther commentary: “The Israelis
have demonstrated to the world
that there is a brotherhood of man
and that it is not bound to race. So
many talk of love, but Israel has
acted.”
But, together with our com
mitment to Soviet Jewry, we
shouldn’t forget even for one
minute our brothers and sisters in
Syria. According to official
figures, there were 4,500 Jews in
Syria in 1984.
From history, we know that the
beginning of the Jews in the land of
Syria was in the period of the
Second Temple. The Jewish
population of Antioch (which was
part of Syria in historic times) was
recorded in the “Book of
Maccabees” as being the largest
and most influential Jewish com
munity in Syria.
In 1840, there was the “Da
mascus Blood Libel.” A Christian
priest disappeared. His Muslim
aide, Syrian officials and other
Christians, including the French
consul, accused the Jews of
murdering him in order to use his
blood for baking matzot. The
authorities arrested dozens of
Jews, and tortured them to make
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them confess. Many succumbed to
the pressure. Others died and
several endured horrifying prison
terms.
After the establishment of the
State of Israel, attacks upon the
Jews in Syria continued. In July
1949, 13 Jews in Damscus were
killed and the synagogue in the city
was damaged. Since the Ba’ath
party came to power in Syria
(1963) the situation of the Jews has
gotten worse. After the Six-Day
War (1967) the Jewish community
was terrorized by arbitrary arrests,
physical attacks and other re
pressive measures. They found
themselves second-class citizens.
Until 1976, Jews were not per
mitted to leave Syria. Even today,
it is extremely difficult to obtain
permission.
The Chicago Daily News in
terviewed (in Dec. 1975) a 24-year-
old Jewish woman who told the
reporter: “After primary school,
there was no high school and no
chance to work in an office or
bank. We were surrounded by
hatred.” Her identifying papers
and those of all the other Jews were
stamped with the term of
“Musowi,” which means “Jew.”
In July 1977, the Syrian
president permitted 12 Jewish
women to marry men of the Syrian
Jewish community in New York
and move to the United States. But
the persecution continued: In
1980, two Jewish women in
Aleppo were raped; in Dec. 1983, a
pregnant Jewish woman and her
two children were murdered in the
town of Khaleb.
From all these facts, the main
question is: Are we doing enough
for those Jews and shouldn’t we do
more and not rest until they are all
safe in the promised land? Aren’t
we responsible for them? How can
we do better in order to continue to
raise the consciousness of the
world to the situation of those
Jews? As it is written: “Am I my
brother’s keeper?” The children of
Israel are responsible for one
another.
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PAGE 13 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE February 28, 1986