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What happened to relics of Syria’s Jewish history? Assad’s collapse spurs efforts to assess the damage.

JL;DR SUMMARY The collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria has brought to light the precarious state of the country's Jewish heritage sites, which have suffered neglect and damage from years of civil war. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryArchaeologySynagoguesJewish CommunitiesSyriaCivil WarCultural HeritageAleppoBashar Al AssadDura Europos

Places mentioned

Aleppo, Al-Hasakah, Syria
"By 1992, when Assads father acceded to pressure to let the Jews emigrate, there were about 4,000 Jews remaining in Aleppo and smaller numbers in Damascus and Qamishli."
Damascus, Syria
"In 2022, an estimate of Syrias Jews counted only four; this year, the widely circulating number is three."
Tadef, Al-Hasakah, Syria
"Tadef, a town east of Aleppo, was once a popular destination for Jews because of its shrine to the Jewish scribe and prophet Ezra, who was said to stop there on his way to Jerusalem."
Qamishli, Al-Hasakah, Syria
"A shopkeeper helps a customer at the Azra Alyahoodi (Azra the Jew) market also known as the Jewish market, in the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria, on July 27, 2023."
Apamea, Ar-Raqqah, Syria
"Scholars also worry about the ruins of Roman-era synagogues in Syrias ancient cities, such as Apamea and Dura-Europos."
Dura-Europos, Deir ez-Zor, Syria
"Scholars also worry about the ruins of Roman-era synagogues in Syrias ancient cities, such as Apamea and Dura-Europos."
Turkey
"A host of ancient Torah scrolls, tapestries, chandeliers and other artifacts from the synagogue went missing, with some resurfacing in Turkey."
Jerusalem, Israel
"(A recent virtual reality exhibition at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem allowed visitors to explore the famed synagogue as it stood in 1947, using photographs taken by a local woman who later emigrated.)"

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Cairo Item ID 38659
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2024-12-13 05:30:35 UTC
Curated 2024-12-13 08:30:56 UTC