Syrian Jews could hold the key to Middle East peace

(JNS) — There was quite a buzz in Damascus the other week with the visit of a Jewish delegation that included members of the venerable Hamra family, whose members have served as chief rabbis of Syria.

Even more remarkable was that it was openly cheered and welcomed by Syrians from all walks of life. This is not the first time that Syrian Jews have been welcomed back. In 2004 and again in 2021, during the Syrian civil war, then-President Bashar Assad allowed a group of New York Jews of Syrian origin to return publicly. The fall of the Ba’athist state presents an opportunity to create a regional peace deal.

After the recent horrific massacre on the coast of Syria, however, questions remain about the direction of the new leadership. Still, Syrian Jews have lobbied Washington to remove sanctions on Damascus.

Unlike other Arab and Muslim majority countries—save, perhaps, for Morocco—ordinary Syrians, especially those from the big cities of Aleppo and Damascus, were proud of their Jewish citizens and have longed for their return. The Jewish history in Syria dates back thousands of years but ended after a mass exodus of the community in the latter half of the 20th century.

There is competition now in Damascus and Aleppo as to who will host more delegations, and welcome back old neighbors and classmates.

Syrians are proud of U.S. Jews of Syrian descent who have excelled, like comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and many of the oldest Damascene families, such as Shashati, Sabbagh and Shalati proudly claim Jewish roots despite having converted years ago. In fact, the oldest families in Damascus claim to be Jewish originally just to prove how old they are.

Among those with Syrian Jewish heritage is Eyal Zamir, the new chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, whose maternal grandparents were from Aleppo.

Syrian author Sami Moubayed, a prominent contemporary Arab historian, recently included a mention in the Al Majalla political magazine that “a celebrated Syrian Jewish metalworker Maurice Nseiri” contributed to the building of the Presidential Palace in Damascus.

The BBC Arabic’s leading newscaster, Dina Waqqaf, did a special short documentary some years back on the unique history of Jewish families in Damascus, the old Jewish neighborhood and the few Jews that remained after the last big exodus in the 1990s. She spoke of her own childhood memories and a community ripped apart unjustly, as the report showed buildings and synagogues frozen in time with chairs, tables, clocks and gardens just waiting for the people to return. Those of us who have followed and traced the history of families who once lived here have seen a distinct longing to, at least, return to see the streets, houses and synagogues that remain.

Of course, one is not naive enough to think that overnight Syrian Jews will return and unlock the key to Middle East peace. But these are unprecedented times, even for such a volatile region.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to turn his attention from Gaza reconstruction toward the normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Arab states are running out of ideas to counter Trump’s Gaza plan. Perhaps, one of the most realistic out-of-the-box solutions lies in Abu Dhabi and its Abrahamic Family House, which is home to a synagogue, mosque and church.

Rabbi Elie Abadie, senior rabbi emeritus of the Jewish Council of the United Arab Emirates, whose family has deep roots in Syria, has achieved something unique in his community. He also used the goodwill of faith and his Syrian heritage to urge the Emiratis to rescue Yemeni Jews. He recently wrote an article about the hope of Syrian Jews and the expulsion of Jews from Arab land.

I have been speaking with members of some of the oldest Syrian Jewish families all the way from Golders Green in London to the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Lavalle in Buenos Aires. There is something special about the Syrian Jews among the wider history of the Children of Israel, dating back to time immemorial, and their tight relationship whether they are in New York or Abu Dhabi.

The Saudis, Emiratis and Egyptians all need a stable Syria. As Trump looks to get the Saudis to sign on to the Abraham Accords, it could be Syria and its Jews that could unlock a special geopolitical knot with peace dividends for all.

Kamal Alam is working on an oral history project on the history of Syrian Jews and is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.