WASHINGTON (JTA) — Congress heard expert testimony on the fate of minorities in Syria, including Jews, during the two-year civil war in that country.
The joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations and Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa addressed the ongoing persecution of religious minority groups in light of the conflict in Syria.
“Before the war, Syria was a fairly pluralistic society, with Alawites, Shias, Ismalis, Yezidis, Druze, Christians, Jews and Sunnis living in relative peace, side by side,” said Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.), the human rights subcommittee chairman, at Tuesday’s hearing.
According to a special report released in April by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Syria contains “a very small Jewish community found in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo,” and “the escalating violence and humanitarian crisis impacts members of all religious communities, including their religious freedom.”
The hearing came in the wake of President Obama’s decision to send weapons to Syrian rebel forces.
