Syrian Jews return to Damascus

The French Magazine Marian Ann has said that Syria permitted its Jews in 1994 to leave the country. More than 3,000 Syrian Jews left for the US, but many of them returned to Syria.

In a report in its recent issue, the French weekly said that an Israeli journalist, al-Dad Pick was able to visit Syria in 1996 within the media delegation which accompanied French President Jacques Chirac on his Middle East tour then. The weekly added that Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and due to the progress attained in the Middle East peace and since 1994 left the Syrian Jews free to emigrate.

The weekly reported that more than 3,000 Jews left Syria for the US, and some of them returned to Syria, adding that number of Jews in Syria is almost 300.

Marian Ann magazine added that the Israeli journalist walked in the old quarters of Damascus on Saturday and saw the synagogue, young men and women, the elderly and children.

The magazine quoted al-Dad Pick as saying the Syrian Jews "decided to stay in Syria because they have the feeling that they have to preserve the Jewish life and a cultural heritage of 3,000 years."

The magazine said that the Jews survive in Syria with passports on which they are identified religiously as "Moussawi" (Arabic for: followers of the prophet Moussa (Arabic for Moses)), with a notable improvement in the protection provided to them by the security forces.