16
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, July 10, 1981
Authorities, Fanatics Persecute Syrian Jews
By MOSHE RON
The Jewish News Special
Israel Correspondent
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TEL AVIV — A few days
ago we met some American
tourists who had just visited
Syria. They described the
terrible situation of 5,000
Syrian Jews. the Syrian
authorities persecute them,
but do not allow them to
leave the country. The Sy-
rian Jews are living in a
state of a double fright:
They have to suffer from the
authorities and from the
fanatical Moslem Brother-
hood.
The Jews try .o flee the
country, but most are
caught on the border and
sentenced to years of prison.
The Syrian Border Police
has killed and wounded
some Jews who have tried to
escape.
A few years ago the bor-
der police caught four young
Jewish girls when they
tried to cross the border.
They were murdered. The
brutal murders were de-
nounced by several interna-
tional institutions. During
the burial of the four girls,
Syrian Jews demonstrated.
The demonstration was
brutally broken up by the
Syrian police.
The tourists told us that
the Syrian Jews are liv-
ing as if they were in
prison. Their possessions
are confiscated when
they die. Jews are ar-
rested without reason
and kept for months in
prison. Many arrested
Jews simply vanish.
One tourist told us that a
short time ago the Syrian
Secret Service searched
Jewish apartments for
propaganda material of the
Moslem Brotherhood oppo-
sition. One Syrian officer
ordered a Jewish woman to
take off her clothes for a
search and then raped the
woman in the presence of
her husband. Raping of
Jewish girls happens often.
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The Syrian Jews are not
involved in any political ac-
tivity. They are not allowed
in the army or in govern-
ment jobs. Their identity
cards identify them as Jews.
They are not allowed to
leave the country.
After the murder of the
four Jewish girls, some in-
ternational organizations
appealed to former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter to
exert his influence with Sy-
rian President Hafez Assad
to allow Jewish girls to
leave Syria to enable them
to marry Jewish husbands.
This appeal did not
There are few eligible
Jewish men in Syria and
Jewish girls are being
pressed to convert to the
Moslem faith.
A Jewishwoman who
tried to cross the border
with her four children
was shot at by the Syrian
border guards and seri-
ously wounded. She was
transferred to a hospital
and latter allowed to go
abroad, because the Sy-
rian doctors could not
hear her. She had to pay
to the Syrian authorities
$10,000 as a pledge that
she would return. Her
husband and four chil-
dren were not allowed to
accompany her.
A few months ago a group
of Jews who tried to cross
the border were caught.
Though they were set free
by the court the Syrian
authorities detained seven
of them, including a 14-year
old boy, in order to deter
Jews from trying to cross
the border. There are Jews
who have been sentenced to
five years of prison for such
an attempt.
Some Syrian Jews who
have received exit permits
for commercial travel had to
pay $6,000. If they do not
return on time the money is
confiscated. If they do not
return at all, their pos-
2 blks. W. of Coolidge
NEW YORK (JTA) —
The results of the Foreign
Policy Association's "Great
Decision'81" public opinion
poll indicated that a major-
ity of Americans clearly
favor the United States to
continue workihg closely
with Egypt and Israel to
achieve success in the
negotiations for authonomy
on the West Bank and Gaza
strip.
The FPA reported that 64
percent of 8,848 respon-
dents endorsed the Camp
David process, 14 percent
favored by-passing the
Camp David agreements in
favor of a new initiative and
18 percent would prefer to
let Israel and Arabs work
out matters among them-
selves. Four percent of the
respondents held other
views which were not de-
tailed in the FPA report.
According to the FPA,
this year's division of opin-
ion on the Arab-Israeli con-
flict was similar to the re-
sponse elicited by its poll a
year ago. But the proportion
urging the U.S. to work
closely with Egypt and Is-
rael increased.
sessions are confiscated.
Jews who wish to visit other
cities in Syria have to in-
form the authorities in ad-
vance. Jewish homes are
often visited by security
people to check if anyone is
missing.
The 4000 Jews in Damas-
cus are living in great fear.
There are 750 Jews in Haleb
and 200 Jews in Kamishli.
Not every place has a rabbi,
shokhet or mohel. In
Damascus there are 18
synagogues, in Aleppo tjree.
There are Jewish schools,
but the teaching is under
the supervision of the secret
police. In the University of
Damascus there are few
Jewish students.
Damascus has . 20 Jewish
doctors, 20 pharmacists,
five dentists and two
lawyers. The Jews are
mostly .busy with commerce
but their economic situation
is difficult. They are not
allowed to have private cars
and to sell their possessions
to other non-Jews.
Reform Request
End to Rabbinate
JERUSALEM (JNI) —
The 92nd convention of the
Central Conference of
American Rabbis (CCAR)
has demanded "the dises-
tablishment of the rabbi-
nate in Israel" for the
mutual recognition and
rights of Reform and Con-
servative rabbis.
Adopted by the 500 Re-
form rabbis at a conference
in Jerusalem June 25, the
resolution was inspired by
last year's Chief Rabbinate
Law which transferred the
capacity to authorize rabbis
empowered to officiate at
marriages from local reli-
gious councils to the Chief
Rabbinate.
Court Permits
Non-Government
TV Broadcasts
TEL AVIV (JNI) — Last
month's Supreme Court in-
junction forbidding the
Communications Ministry
to jam "pirate TV" broad-
casts allowed Tel Aviv resi-
dents to watch the broad-
cast of "Patton" by the ship
Odelia.
Restriction of the minis-
try's jamming policy also
allowed the screening of
"Fiddler on the Roof," "The
Sound of Music," and "The
Boston Strangler." Antenna
companies were swamped
by calls from Tel Aviv and
Dan residents who wanted
to install equipment capa-
ble of receiving the broad-
casts alongside Israel's
government-controlled sta-
tion.
French Attitude
Called Routine
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
Bernard Henry Levy, re-
garded as one of the most
prominent young writers
and philosophers in France,
told a press conference in
Jerusalem that anti-
Semitism is not a new phe-
nomenon in his country but
"an integral part of French
*culture."