Syria’s New Government Returns Property to Syrian Jews Who Left Decades Ago

0:01Today on State of the World, Syria's new government returns property to its once vibrant Jewish community. You're listening to State of the World from NPR, the day's most vital international stories up close for their happening. It's Wednesday, February 11th. I'm Christine Arismeth. 30 years ago, thousands of Syrian Jews fled the repression of the former Assad regime, with many of them coming to the U.S. Now a new Syrian government, led by a former al-Qaeda commander who ended Assad's rule, is returning ownership of property to the Jewish community. Correspondent Jaina Raff and producer Jarwad Razula traveled to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and were there as one group entered a synagogue left unused for decades.

0:57At the synagogue's metal door, there's a search for the keys, held by a series of Syrian caretakers since the last Jews left Aleppo decades ago. And with a lock turning, a step back in time and another into the future. This is what they used to pray, is to pray when it's summertime, is to pray outside. Henry Humra of Brooklyn, New York, has returned to Syria, where he was born, where his father and grandfather were rabbis, to help restore its historic Jewish community. Shortly before this visit in December, Hamra met with Syrian President Ahmad Ashara. His father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, brought here by a U.S.-based activist group, the Syria Emergency Task Force, successfully lobbied the new government, which said in December it had licensed a Jewish heritage organization, led by Henry Hamra.

1:53to help return Jewish properties. This is the first day Hamra has been given the keys to the buildings, a sign that his organization is officially recognized. What we're trying to do is come see the properties and see what's the condition and try to help out to fix it and try to get back all the people's property. Hamra's family left in the early 1990s after the Assad regime lifted its ban on travel. Many Jews were unable to sell their homes before they left. Some of the houses ended up occupied by other Syrians. The government took possession of the synagogues. Believed to date back up to 3 ,000 years, Aleppo in the north had one of the biggest Jewish communities in this diverse but mostly Arab country.

2:43Without a rabbi to perform ceremonies, religious life here died decades ago. There are decades of dust on these burgundy velvet curtains. They look burgundy. They might be red. There's such a thick layer of dust over them. And they look like they haven't really been disturbed in years. I've gone inside. Where is the way? This used to be a school, I think. The adjacent schoolroom has desks piled up on top of each other. A weak grey light filters through windows covered in grime. There are now only six Jews living in Syria, according to the Hamras, all of them elderly. Next door to the synagogue in a neighbourhood damaged by more than a decade of war is a tiny plumbing supply shop.

3:37The owner, Abu Alal Mahandas, is 75. He says he's happy Syria is helping Jewish citizens come back. while Israel, which is attacking and occupying parts of Syria, is controversial. Syrian-American Jews are mostly seen here as Syrian. We hope they come back, Mohandas says. They were our friends. They'll bring life back to the city. Across town, Henry Humra sees for the first time the jewel of Aleppo's Jewish community.

4:14Beautiful place. It's the central synagogue in Aleppo, also known as the Albandara Synagogue. It's 1 ,400 years old, and it's been restored several times. The scale of it speaks to a once huge and vibrant Jewish community. But this is very, it's huge. It is. Huge, this is the oldest synagogue. This synagogue, from the moment you walk in, everything seems larger than life. There are huge arches made of stone on top of Roman columns. There are marble checkerboard inlaid floors in different colors. And rooms flow into rooms, courtyards into courtyards. Beautiful, really beautiful. Hummer's family is in the menswear business in New York.

5:03In religious life, he's a counter, melodiously leading prayers at Temple. He wanders through the open spaces of the synagogue here, stepping up into an elevated marble platform where cantors stood over centuries. Syria's new president is a former al-Qaeda leader. He renounced the militant Islamist ideology. But Syrian minorities here and abroad are still afraid they could be targeted. The government has said that in handing over Jewish property, It wants to send a message that the new Syria doesn't discriminate between religions. The Humras were part of the successful lobbying of the White House last year to lift devastating U.S.

5:46financial sanctions against Syria. It's going to take a lot of time for Syria to come back. There's no electricity so much, there's no water so much. Humra says he's felt very safe visiting Syria, but he says security would have to improve dramatically for Syrian Jews to move back. He's brought his son, Joseph, who's 21, and says he can't stop smiling. If you see my face, I've never had this face in my life. Joseph says almost all his friends want to come. I'm planning on bringing all of them and seeing all their roots, like where their grandparents, their parents grew up, where some of their grandparents are buried.

6:28It's an extraordinary moment in what is essentially a brand new country, A chance for some Syrian Jews to visit what they still call the old country, one many thought had been lost to them forever. Jane Araf, NPR News, Aleppo, Syria.

6:51That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.