Seven old Jews, a locked synagogue, and a ruin. That’s what remains of the Jewish community of Syria.
In Damascus again after a hiatus of nearly eight years, I decided to see what remained of the city’s once flourishing Jewish community. The dictator was gone. The new Islamist rulers had yet to fully stamp their authority on the city and the country. It seemed an ideal time.
The Jewish Quarter of Damascus is located in the old city. There were 50,000 Jews in Syria at the beginning of the 20th century – an ancient and historic community dating to antiquity.
The Jews of Syria were divided by city origin, with two old communities – Damascus and Aleppo – maintaining a rivalry. A third, newer community had been established later in Qamishli, in the Kurdish-majority northeast.