Sixteen years ago this month, four young Jewish women from Syria attempted to flee their country illegally.
But the smugglers they hired to help guide them through the perilous journey turned out to be more dangerous than the journey itself, and the young women were later found murdered.
For years, their death was a symbol of the desperation Syrian Jews felt in a country in which blanket repression was the norm, and which for Jews was even worse.
As the anniversary of this tragic event approches, American Jewish groups are promoting anew their old campaign to pressure the Syrian government into easing restrictions against Jews, with the focus on allowing free emigration.
The groups also want to see six Jewish men now believed held in Syrian jails released and allowed to emigrate. The six reportedly were arrested for trying to escape from Syria.
The unofficial kickoff for the campaign will take place this weekend on Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath preceding Purim, when Jews traditionally recall historical threats to their existence.
Synagogue congregations are being called on to recite special prayers for Syrian Jews and to send letters of concern to Syrian President Hafez Assad, President Bush and other Syrian, U.S. and U.N. officials.
Campaign organizers, including the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council and the Council for the Rescue of Syrian Jews, say they want to capitalize on the new alliance between Syria and the United States to try to persuade a loosening of restrictions.
“We have to capitalize on that and use whatever leverage the United States has in conveying a message to Syria in a direct yet non-hostile manner,” said Abraham Bayer, director for international concerns at NJCRAC, the umbrella group for Jewish community relations.
The campaign also is calling on Syrian officials to allow the reunification of divided families and specifically the emigration of young Jewish women who are unable to find Jewish husbands.
SYRIA MAY NOW BE OPEN TO CHANGE
According to international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Helsinki Watch, Syria is a longtime serious human rights violator, with torture of prisoners common and freedom of speech and press severely constrained.
“Thousands of political prisoners, including hundreds of prisoners of conscience, continued to be detained under state of emergency legislation in force since 1963.” Amnesty International wrote in its 1990 annual report.
Nevertheless, Jewish leaders believe Syria may now be open to changing its policies concerning Jews, citing the recent U.S. State Department human rights report which indicated that “Syria did continue to respond positively to specific requests from the United States about the status of Syrian Jews.”
Campaign officials said they were pleased with the level of U.S. government involvement in passing messages along to Syrian officials. They are also heartened that Syrian officials have responded to inquiries, even if the responses have not yet led to public action.
About 4,000 Jews live in Syria, more than half of whom are in Damascus, with smaller communities of less than 1,000 each based in Aleppo and A1 Qamishli.
On the surface, Jewish life is maintained, with working synagogues and two Jewish elementary schools, according to the Council for the Rescue of Syrian Jews, founded in 1989 by members of New York’s Syrian Jewish community.
But the Jewish community in Syria is reported to be under constant surveillance by members of the Syrian secret police, known as mukhabarat, and a file is kept on every member of the community, according to the council.
Jews are generally denied all but the lowest level government jobs, while Jewish schools are run by Moslem directors and Hebrew instruction is prohibited, council officials say. Those requesting permission to travel abroad must leave behind family members and a large sum of money.
Those involved in the campaign said the process of freeing Syrian Jews would be a long one, but added they were confident that the new relationship between Syria and the United States would aid immeasurably in their struggle.
The lack of positive, public steps has at least been somewhat offset by Syrian acknowledgment of certain issues, such as family reunification, raised by those concerned about the plight of Syrian Jews.
“Our emphasis is on human rights, we feel this is a human rights issue and the Jews should be able to leave the country and return freely,” said Alice Harary, vice president of the Council for the Rescue of Syrian Jewry.
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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.
