Some 400 unmarried Jewish women between the ages of 25-35, in the Jewish community in Damascus which numbers a few hundred families, are being forced to convert to Islam to find husbands, according to a woman tourist in Switzerland. Knesset member Yitzhak Yitzhaki, who met the tourist recently, said he planned to ask the Knesset to take action in the matter.
According to the tourist, who declined to be named, the women can find no husbands among the small Jewish community in Syria and are not allowed to leave the country. Intense pressure is being brought to bear on them to adopt the Moslem faith in order to marry and raise families. Several woman have given in to the pressure in recent months, the tourist said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
