Syrian Jews

Syrian Jews

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

A Jewish family in Damascus, pictured in their ancient Damascene home, in Ottoman Syria, 1901.

(Arabic: يهود سوريون‎) derive their origin from two groups: those who inhabited the region of today's Syria from the ancient times and those Sephardim who fled to Syria after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492 CE). There were large communities in Aleppo and Damascus for centuries, and a smaller community in Qamishli on the Turkish border near Nusaybin. In the first half of the 20th century a large percentage of Syrian Jews emigrated to the U.S., Central and South America and Israel. Most of the remainining Jews left in the 28 years following 1973, due in part to the efforts of Judith Feld Carr who claims to have helped some 3,228 Jews escape; emigration was officially allowed in 1992. Today there are about 25 Jews in Syria, all of them living in Damascus. The largest Syrian-Jewish community is located in Brooklyn, New York and is estimated at 75,000 strong. There are smaller communities elsewhere in the United States and in Latin America.

 

New Jersey

The New Jersey community is mainly based in Monmouth County, especially Deal, Elberon, Long Branch, Oakhurst and Bradley Beach. This largely consists of an abundance of people who come there during the summer months though some live there permanently, especially in the more inland regions of Eatontown, Oakhurst and West Deal. Hillel Yeshiva located in Ocean Township, is a notable private school that is popular among the youth of year round residents in the Deal area.