A Minyan In Damascus

By: Larry Gordon

Moshe Klein lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He describes himself as a “Satmar yungerman” with an unusual interest. Moshe sent me some photos the other day of his most recent escapade, which was a recent visit to both Damascus and Aleppo, Syria.

His passion, he says, is historic Jewish communities, and very often his visits to these countries are just days or weeks before whatever remnants there are of the Jewish community disappear.

That was not the case in Syria, but Syria and the Syrian government are in a state of flux. On one hand, there is talk of Syria under their new government and leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa joining the Abraham Accords. At the same time, while Moshe was in Damascus last week, the Israeli Air Force bombed what they believe to be terror installations put into effect by the Turkish government with Turkish President Erdoğan intent on incorporating parts of Syria into Turkey.

Moshe Klein says that for the three days he and his friends were in Damascus, they had minyans in shul as well as when they were holed up in their hotel rooms during the IAF bombing run.

Syria is at a crossroads, with a few hundred Jews still living in Aleppo and a much smaller number in Damascus. Since Bashar al-Assad fled into exile in Russia, there has been renewed interest in Jewish life in both Syrian cities. But Moshe observes that even within the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn there are disputes and debates about maintaining the existing synagogues in the country.

Moshe Klein, 30, is married with a young family, but says that since he was 19 years old, he has travelled to over 100 countries that once boasted thriving Jewish communities. He says that his findings are recorded in heritage publications and he also lectures about his findings to communities all over the world.

As for the future of Syria, he says that it is too early to tell what direction it will take. He describes how he walked through Damascus with members of the community who still live there, and everyone was cordial, greeting him and his friends politely.

Over the past few years, Moshe and his travel companions have visited remnants of Jewish communities in places like Iraq, Tunisia, and Egypt.

Moshe Klein has some great stories to tell and some outstanding photos to go along with them. He’s a young man with a very special interest in the history of Jewish communities around the world. It’s true, he agrees, that there are not too many Jews doing what he does, and he feels that at the very least, someone has to do it, so why not him? n

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