Latest news with #Hamra
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Surprising Allies for Syria's New Leaders: Some Jews Who Fled Long Ago
Henry Hamra left Damascus as a teenager more than 30 years ago and never stopped pining for home. 'It was my dream to go back,' he told lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday. In February, shortly after the Assad regime was toppled, Mr. Hamra and his father, Rabbi Yosef Hamra, finally returned with other Jews to see ancient sites that are remnants of many centuries of Syrian Jewish history. The new government of President Ahmed al-Shara, a former rebel leader with jihadist roots, helped make the trip happen. The visit was hopeful, but it also broke Mr. Hamra's heart. Fourteen years of civil war, and a thicket of financial restrictions imposed by the U.S. government and others, have crippled Syria, physically and economically. The sites he ached to see are in disrepair or destroyed, including the ancient Jobar synagogue and a Damascus cemetery that is the resting place of a prominent 16th- and 17th-century mystic. 'There's a lot of work that has to be done and I think the only thing that's stopping the whole thing is the sanctions,' Mr. Hamra said in a meeting with Representative Jimmy Panetta, Democrat of California. The Hamras have joined Syrian American advocacy groups, initially formed in opposition to the government of Bashar al-Assad, in lobbying the United States to lift sanctions on the new government. The family, prominent members of Brooklyn's large Syrian Jewish community, reached out to those groups for help making their visit to Syria, and were in turn enlisted to help make the case for sanctions relief, in a play calculated to intrigue American officials. But Marshall Whittman, spokesman for the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said, 'Any change in policy must be based on a sustained demonstration of positive behavior from the new Syrian government.' Israel remains deeply wary of Mr. al-Shara, a former member of Al Qaeda. Since the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli military has deployed troops in southern Syria and carried out hundreds of airstrikes. Israel has defended the moves as necessary for its security, but Syria has accused it of trying to destabilize the country and many Syrians worry about a long-term occupation. Mouaz Moustafa, who leads the Syria Emergency Task Force, an American nonprofit that facilitated the Jewish delegation's visit to Syria, said he had expected the trip to generate interest, precisely because Jews are seemingly unlikely champions of the new government. Mr. Hamra said he feared that without sanctions relief, Syria would not recover — and he would not be able to fulfill another dream that once seemed impossible, to restore what remains of Syrian Jewish history. Fewer than 10 Jews live in Syria, according to Abraham Marcus, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies Syrian Jewry. A century ago, there were tens of thousands. Over more than two millenniums under Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Ottomans, the numbers fluctuated but, Mr. Marcus said, 'there is a history of communities that were successful and prosperous and in most cases did not suffer from discrimination.' Around Israel's establishment in 1948, Syrian Jews faced hostility and many fled until the government imposed emigration and travel restrictions. In 1992, President Hafez al-Assad — the father of Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown last year — loosened the limits. Few Jews stayed. 'So little is left now,' the Syrian chief rabbi, Ibrahim al-Hamra — brother of Rabbi Yosef Hamra — said in 1994, before he emigrated, too. He died in Israel in 2021. Now, his relatives are making the rounds in Washington with Mr. Moustafa, who said they had met with people at the National Security Council, the State Department and on Capitol Hill. A State Department spokeswoman confirmed that a meeting took place; the White House did not respond to a request for comment. Maissa Kabbani, a Syrian Muslim who sought asylum in the United States decades ago, joined the Jewish delegation to Syria. Western officials have expressed concerns that Syria's new rulers are not committed to pluralism and protection of minorities, despite their pledges, so she said she saw the visit as an opportunity to prove a point. The symbolic value of the visit was also not lost on the Syrian Foreign Ministry, which welcomed the group and provided guidance, drivers and security, she said. Sanctions relief for Syria will not come quickly, if at all, but some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are making the case to the Trump administration. Representative Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month, arguing that 'broad restrictions' aimed at a defunct regime 'now risk undermining U.S. national security objectives and impeding Syria's reconstruction.' Mr. Wilson met with the Hamras on Tuesday and said he was 'encouraged' by their accounts of interactions with the new Syrian government. 'Obviously, the terrorist connections, we should be concerned,' he said. 'But people change, OK. As we see, whole countries change.' Later, Mr. Wilson posted on social media about the 'important meeting' with Syrian Jews. 'I agree with them,' he said. 'We must ease sanctions on the Syrian people to give them a chance to live.'
Nahar Net
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
American Jews who fled Syria ask US to lift sanctions so they can rebuild in Damascus
by Naharnet Newsdesk 07 March 2025, 13:22 American Jews who fled their Syrian homeland decades ago went to the White House this week to appeal to the Trump administration to lift sanctions on Syria that they say are blocking them from restoring some of the world's oldest synagogues and rebuilding the country's decimated Jewish community. For Henry Hamra, who fled Damascus as a teenager with his family in the 1990s, the 30 years since have been shadowed by worry for what they left behind. "I was just on the lookout the whole time. The old synagogues, the old cemetery, what's going on, who's taking care of it?' said Hamra, whose family has settled in New York. His family fled the Syrian capital to escape the repressive government of Hafez Assad. With the toppling of his son, Bashar Assad, in December and the end of Assad family rule, Hamra, his 77-year-old father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, and a small group of other Jews and non-Jews returned to Syria last month for the first time. They briefed State Department officials for the region last week and officials at the White House on Wednesday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. They were accompanied by Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of a group called the Syrian American Task Force, who was influential in the past in moving U.S. officials to sanction the Assad government over its institutionalized torture and killings. With Assad gone and the country trying to move out of poverty, Moustafa has been urging U.S. policymakers to lift sweeping sanctions that block most investment and business dealings in Syria. "If you want a stable and safe Syria ... even if it's as simple as rebuilding the oldest synagogue in the world, the only person that's able to make that a reality today is, frankly, Donald Trump," Moustafa said. Syria's Jewish community is one of the world's oldest, dating its history back to the prophet Elijah's time in Damascus nearly 3,000 years ago. It once had been one of the world's largest, and was still estimated at 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. Increased restrictions, surveillance and tensions after the creation of Israel and under the authoritarian Assad family sent tens of thousands fleeing in the 1990s. Today, only seven Jews are known to remain in Damascus, most of them elderly. What began as a largely peaceful uprising against the Assad family in 2011 grew into a vicious civil war, with a half-million dying as Russia and Iranian-backed militias fought to keep the Assads in power, and the Islamic State group imposing its rule on a wide swath of the country. A U.S.-led military coalition routed the Islamic State by 2019. Successive U.S. administrations piled sanctions on Syria over the Assad government's torture, imprisonment and killing of perceived opponents. Bashar Assad was ousted in December by a coalition of rebel groups led by an Islamist insurgent, Ahmad al-Sharaa, who today leads what he says is a transition government. He and his supporters have taken pains to safeguard members of Syria's many minority religious groups and pledged peaceful coexistence as they ask a skeptical international community to lift the crippling sanctions. Although incidents of revenge and collective punishment have been far less widespread than expected, many in Syria's minority communities — including Kurds, Christians, Druze and members of Assad's Alawite sect — are concerned and not convinced by promises of inclusive government. After the decades away, Yusuf Hamra's former Christian neighbors in the old city of Damascus recognized him on his trip back last month and stopped to embrace him, and share gossip on old acquaintances. The Hamras prayed in the long-neglected al-Franj synagogue, where he used to serve as a rabbi. His son, Henry Hamra, said he was shocked to see tiny children begging in the streets — a result, he said, of the sanctions. Visiting the site of what had been Syria's oldest synagogue of all, in the Jobar area of Damascus, Hamra found it in ruins from the war, with an ordnance shell still among the rubble. Hamra had become acquainted with Moustafa, then a U.S.-based opposition activist, when he reached out to him during the war to see if he could do anything to rescue precious artifacts inside the Jobar synagogue as fighting raged around it. A member of Moustafa's group suffered a shrapnel wound trying, and a member of a Jobar neighborhood council was killed. Both men were Muslim. Despite their effort, fighting later destroyed most of the structure. Hamra said Jews abroad want to be allowed to help restore their synagogues, their family homes and their schools in the capital's old city. Someday, he says, Syria's Jewish community could be like Morocco's, thriving in a Muslim country again. "My main goal is not to see my Jewish quarter, and my school, and my synagogue and everything fall apart," Hamra said.
Express Tribune
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
American Jews who fled Syria urge White House to lift sanctions for rebuilding in Damascus
Listen to article A group of American Jews, including Henry Hamra, who fled Syria decades ago, appealed to the White House on Wednesday to lift sanctions on Syria, which they say are hindering the restoration of some of the world's oldest synagogues and the rebuilding of Syria's Jewish community. Henry Hamra, who fled Damascus in the 1990s, expressed his concerns about the condition of Syria's Jewish heritage. "The old synagogues, the old cemetery, what's going on, who's taking care of it?" said Hamra, whose family now lives in New York. In December, with the fall of Bashar Assad's regime, Hamra and his father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, along with other community members, visited Syria for the first time in decades. The Hamras briefed US State Department officials and members of the White House about their plans to restore Syria's Jewish landmarks. Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian American Task Force, joined them, advocating for the lifting of sanctions to allow investment in Syria's reconstruction. "If you want a stable Syria... even if it's as simple as rebuilding the oldest synagogue in the world, the only person that's able to make that a reality today is, frankly, Donald Trump," Moustafa said. Syria's Jewish community, one of the world's oldest, has faced severe challenges. The once-thriving Jewish population, estimated at 100,000 in the early 20th century, has dwindled to only seven known members remaining in Damascus. The country has been devastated by civil war since 2011, leading to the destruction of many historical sites, including the Jobar synagogue, which Hamra visited. Despite efforts to protect and salvage artifacts during the conflict, much of the structure was destroyed in the fighting. Asserting that Syrian Jews abroad wish to help restore their heritage, Hamra said, 'My main goal is not to see my Jewish quarter, my school, and my synagogue fall apart.' The Hamras, alongside Moustafa, are urging the U.S. government to lift sanctions on Syria to facilitate investment and restoration efforts, which they believe will aid the revival of Syria's Jewish community, similar to Morocco's thriving Jewish presence in a Muslim-majority country.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
American Jews who fled Syria ask White House to lift sanctions so they can rebuild in Damascus
WASHINGTON (AP) — American Jews who fled their Syrian homeland decades ago went to the White House this week to appeal to the Trump administration to lift sanctions on Syria that they say are blocking them from restoring some of the world's oldest synagogues and rebuilding the country's decimated Jewish community. For Henry Hamra, who fled Damascus as a teenager with his family in the 1990s, the 30 years since have been shadowed by worry for what they left behind. 'I was just on the lookout the whole time. The old synagogues, the old cemetery, what's going on, who's taking care of it?' said Hamra, whose family has settled in New York. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. His family fled the Syrian capital to escape the repressive government of Hafez Assad. With the toppling of his son, Bashar Assad, in December and the end of Assad family rule, Hamra, his 77-year-old father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, and a small group of other Jews and non-Jews returned to Syria last month for the first time. They briefed State Department officials for the region last week and officials at the White House on Wednesday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. They were accompanied by Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of a group called the Syrian American Task Force, who was influential in the past in moving U.S. officials to sanction the Assad government over its institutionalized torture and killings. With Assad gone and the country trying to move out of poverty, Moustafa has been urging U.S. policymakers to lift sweeping sanctions that block most investment and business dealings in Syria. 'If you want a stable and safe Syria ... even if it's as simple as rebuilding the oldest synagogue in the world, the only person that's able to make that a reality today is, frankly, Donald Trump,' Moustafa said. Syria's Jewish community is one of the world's oldest, dating its history back to the prophet Elijah's time in Damascus nearly 3,000 years ago. It once had been one of the world's largest, and was still estimated at 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. Increased restrictions, surveillance and tensions after the creation of Israel and under the authoritarian Assad family sent tens of thousands fleeing in the 1990s. Today, only seven Jews are known to remain in Damascus, most of them elderly. What began as a largely peaceful uprising against the Assad family in 2011 grew into a vicious civil war, with a half-million dying as Russia and Iranian-backed militias fought to keep the Assads in power, and the Islamic State group imposing its rule on a wide swath of the country. A U.S.-led military coalition routed the Islamic State by 2019. Successive U.S. administrations piled sanctions on Syria over the Assad government's torture, imprisonment and killing of perceived opponents. Bashar Assad was ousted in December by a coalition of rebel groups led by an Islamist insurgent, Ahmad al-Sharaa, who today leads what he says is a transition government. He and his supporters have taken pains to safeguard members of Syria's many minority religious groups and pledged peaceful coexistence as they ask a skeptical international community to lift the crippling sanctions. Although incidents of revenge and collective punishment have been far less widespread than expected, many in Syria's minority communities — including Kurds, Christians, Druze and members of Assad's Alawite sect — are concerned and not convinced by promises of inclusive government. After the decades away, Yusuf Hamra's former Christian neighbors in the old city of Damascus recognized him on his trip back last month and stopped to embrace him, and share gossip on old acquaintances. The Hamras prayed in the long-neglected al-Franj synagogue, where he used to serve as a rabbi. His son, Henry Hamra, said he was shocked to see tiny children begging in the streets — a result, he said, of the sanctions. Visiting the site of what had been Syria's oldest synagogue of all, in the Jobar area of Damascus, Hamra found it in ruins from the war, with an ordnance shell still among the rubble. Hamra had become acquainted with Moustafa, then a U.S.-based opposition activist, when he reached out to him during the war to see if he could do anything to rescue precious artifacts inside the Jobar synagogue as fighting raged around it. A member of Moustafa's group suffered a shrapnel wound trying, and a member of a Jobar neighborhood council was killed. Both men were Muslim. Despite their effort, fighting later destroyed most of the structure. Hamra said Jews abroad want to be allowed to help restore their synagogues, their family homes and their schools in the capital's old city. Someday, he says, Syria's Jewish community could be like Morocco's, thriving in a Muslim country again. 'My main goal is not to see my Jewish quarter, and my school, and my synagogue and everything fall apart," Hamra said.
Arab News
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
American Jews who fled Syria ask White House to lift sanctions so they can rebuild in Damascus
WASHINGTON: American Jews who fled their Syrian homeland decades ago went to the White House this week to appeal to the Trump administration to lift sanctions on Syria that they say are blocking them from restoring some of the world's oldest synagogues and rebuilding the country's decimated Jewish community. For Henry Hamra, who fled Damascus as a teenager with his family in the 1990s, the 30 years since have been shadowed by worry for what they left behind. 'I was just on the lookout the whole time. The old synagogues, the old cemetery, what's going on, who's taking care of it?' said Hamra, whose family has settled in New York. His family fled the Syrian capital to escape the repressive government of Hafez Assad. With the toppling of his son, Bashar Assad, in December and the end of Assad family rule, Hamra, his 77-year-old father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, and a small group of other Jews and non-Jews returned to Syria last month for the first time. They briefed State Department officials for the region last week and officials at the White House on Wednesday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. They were accompanied by Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of a group called the Syrian American Task Force, who was influential in the past in moving US officials to sanction the Assad government over its institutionalized torture and killings. With Assad gone and the country trying to move out of poverty, Moustafa has been urging US policymakers to lift sweeping sanctions that block most investment and business dealings in Syria. 'If you want a stable and safe Syria ... even if it's as simple as rebuilding the oldest synagogue in the world, the only person that's able to make that a reality today is, frankly, Donald Trump,' Moustafa said. Syria's Jewish community is one of the world's oldest, dating its history back to the prophet Elijah's time in Damascus nearly 3,000 years ago. It once had been one of the world's largest, and was still estimated at 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. Increased restrictions, surveillance and tensions after the creation of Israel and under the authoritarian Assad family sent tens of thousands fleeing in the 1990s. Today, only seven Jews are known to remain in Damascus, most of them elderly. What began as a largely peaceful uprising against the Assad family in 2011 grew into a vicious civil war, with a half-million dying as Russia and Iranian-backed militias fought to keep the Assads in power, and the Daesh group imposing its rule on a wide swath of the country. A US-led military coalition routed the Islamic State by 2019. Successive US administrations piled sanctions on Syria over the Assad government's torture, imprisonment and killing of perceived opponents. Bashar Assad was ousted in December by a coalition of rebel groups led by an Islamist insurgent, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who today leads what he says is a transition government. He and his supporters have taken pains to safeguard members of Syria's many minority religious groups and pledged peaceful coexistence as they ask a skeptical international community to lift the crippling sanctions. Although incidents of revenge and collective punishment have been far less widespread than expected, many in Syria's minority communities — including Kurds, Christians, Druze and members of Assad's Alawite sect — are concerned and not convinced by promises of inclusive government. After the decades away, Yusuf Hamra's former Christian neighbors in the old city of Damascus recognized him on his trip back last month and stopped to embrace him, and share gossip on old acquaintances. The Hamras prayed in the long-neglected Al-Franj synagogue, where he used to serve as a rabbi. His son, Henry Hamra, said he was shocked to see tiny children begging in the streets — a result, he said, of the sanctions. Visiting the site of what had been Syria's oldest synagogue of all, in the Jobar area of Damascus, Hamra found it in ruins from the war, with an ordnance shell still among the rubble. Hamra had become acquainted with Moustafa, then a US-based opposition activist, when he reached out to him during the war to see if he could do anything to rescue precious artifacts inside the Jobar synagogue as fighting raged around it. A member of Moustafa's group suffered a shrapnel wound trying, and a member of a Jobar neighborhood council was killed. Both men were Muslim. Despite their effort, fighting later destroyed most of the structure. Hamra said Jews abroad want to be allowed to help restore their synagogues, their family homes and their schools in the capital's old city. Someday, he says, Syria's Jewish community could be like Morocco's, thriving in a Muslim country again. 'My main goal is not to see my Jewish quarter, and my school, and my synagogue and everything fall apart,' Hamra said.
