Before leaving Syria for the U.S. in 1992, Henry Hamra worked in the garment trade with a Jewish-Muslim family in Damascus. Decades later, on his return trip, he reconnected with his former coworker’s brother, receiving an emotional welcome.

Hamra was part of the first American Jewish delegation to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime. The four-day trip, organized by the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), aimed to reconnect with Syrian Jewish heritage. The delegation, including Hamra’s father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, and Rabbi Asher Lopatin, visited synagogues, a cemetery, and a former Jewish school, finding most sites in disrepair.

Issam Khoury, a Syrian journalist exiled in New York, noted that while the new government has not addressed Syrian Jews specifically, it has called for all Syrians to return. He suggested that officials see Jewish involvement as a way to boost investment and ease sanctions. The nation still faces instability, and the future of religious minorities remains uncertain.

Despite the devastation, the group found remnants of Jewish life. Hamra located his ancestors’ graves, though many artifacts had been looted. The delegation met the few remaining Syrian Jews but struggled to gather a minyan.

Hamra hopes more Syrian Jews will take an interest in preserving their heritage. “These places hold our history,” he said. “We can’t just let them disappear.” You can read the story, by: Luke Tress

‘Excited Jews are coming back’: US Jewish group receives warm welcome in Syria