Two Orthodox Jewish men from New York traveled to Syria at the end of August to see for themselves what was going on in the turbulent Middle East country, with a focus on the Jewish community, JNS has learned.
Moshe Klein and Dov Bleich, both in their late twenties, are successful New York businessmen who find inspiration traveling around the world. Klein said he had visited more than 100 countries, documenting Jewish heritage and communities, while Bleich said he had visited all 50 states in the United States.
Because Bleich has partners in the Syrian Jewish community in New York and Klein wanted to document the rich Jewish heritage of Syria, they decided to embark on what they told JNS turned out to be an “eye-opening journey.”
They flew from the United States to Jordan and entered Syria from the Jordanian border, staying at local hotels throughout their visit and departing three days later.
“We saw Damascus, we saw Aleppo, we saw Homs, we saw a Christian village called Malula, where people still speak Aramaic. We went to Palmyra, the ancient Roman ruins, which is very interesting, and we left through a city called Aleppo,” Bleich said.
A beautiful country
Asked for his overall impression, Klein said, “Damascus is a beautiful city and in general, Syria is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve seen. Of course, there’s a lot of ruins and from the civil war and terror groups and all that. Yet, I still find it beautiful. And the people were nice.”
He added, “Our driver was Muslim, our tour guide was Christian. We met people from many walks of life, including other Jews. And overall, we had an amazing time.”
They did not hide the fact that they were Jewish Americans. “We’re proud Americans, we’re proud Jews. Some people liked it, some didn’t and that’s fine,” Klein said. “We don’t think about haters.”
Bleich said that as observant Jews who come from prestigious rabbinic families, seeing the main synagogue in Damascus, the Jobar Synagogue (aka the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue), and the grave of Rabbi Chaim Vital, a famous 16th-century kabbalist, had been “a huge highlight, a huge high point. Seeing it was very moving for me.”
He added, “Surprisingly, it was in decent condition, despite it being desecrated in April.”
Regarding the synagogue, Bleich said, “It’s a very historic shul, very old, but unfortunately it’s completely in ruins. It was bombed during the civil war. The entire neighborhood is a mess.”
The last Jew in the Jewish Quarter
Asked about the Jews they met, they didn’t want to go into too many details to avoid endangering them, but they did meet one prominent Jew named Bakur Simantov, 75, in Damascus.
“He’s the last Jew living in the Jewish Quarter, where there once was a bustling, Jewish area with a cheder and kosher shops and stuff, which is no longer obviously there, but he still lives there,” Klein said. “He accompanied us. We davened (prayed) with him in the synagogue and we went to the Jewish cemetery with him. It was actually nice to see him walking back home with his tefillin and everyone said hi. It seems like, you know, he’s comfortable.”
They also encountered Jews who don’t live in the Jewish Quarter, some of whom were prosperous but preferred not to advertise their Jewishness. “But all in all, there are very few Jews left in Syria,” Klein said. “Less than a minyan.”
Were the Jews they spoke to pleased about the fall of the Assad regime and the emergence of the new Al-Sharaa regime in Syria? They preferred not to go into politics, saying diplomatically that Jews did not feel different from other groups, especially minorities. But, they noted, “a lot of people suffered” under the previous regime, including the Jews.
“Obviously, people are happy that’s gone,” Bleich added. “And at the same time, people are not sure how the new government is going to pan out. This is something that I heard from people from all walks of life.”
The Jewish community in Syria once numbered an estimated 100,000 people at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. After 1948, when Israel was established, the community faced state-sponsored persecution and discriminatory policies, which led to mass emigration and the elimination of the community by 1991.
‘A lot of hope’
Asked if they felt safe during their trip, Bleich said, “Obviously, Syria is not very safe. Anything can fall from the sky at any given time. There was definitely concerns. When our plane took off, it felt like there was a big feeling of ease. But, you know, nothing collapsed while we were there, Baruch Hashem.”
They were surprised to discover that the Syrians they met were in favor of a Syrian-Israeli peace treaty.
“People who heard that we’re Jewish actually said that, with the new government, they felt like the right thing would be a peace agreement with Israel,” Klein said. “They said things like, ‘Stop bombing us. We won’t bomb you. Let us mind our own business.’ Something along those lines.”
What was their message following their trip to Syria? “We learned a lot. And I saw a lot of hope,” Klein said. “Under the previous regime, life was tough. A lot of wars, a lot of terror, ISIS and stuff. And now the people hope for a better future. They do have hope.”
