A European tourist who recently visited Syria reported here that a number of Syrian Jewish youths prevented the head of the Syrian Jewish community from appearing on a Syrian television interview to which he had been invited by Syrian officials. The tourist said that Salim Totah had been invited to appear before a group of foreign correspondents and television crews.
The tourist said that when the scheduled interview became known, a number of young Syrian Jews surrounded Totah’s home and prevented him from leaving. They reportedly feared that he might make, under duress, statements which would not reflect the oppressive conditions imposed by government authorities on Jews. The Syrian Information Office was forced to cancel the press conference and the TV interview.
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