Syrian authorities license Jewish heritage group to restore confiscated properties
First official permit for Jewish organization signals Syria’s effort to preserve heritage and return seized properties
Syrian authorities on Wednesday granted an unprecedented license to a Jewish‑Syrian organization that plans to document and return properties confiscated under previous governments and restore Jewish heritage sites across the country.
The move, announced in Damascus by Syria’s Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hind Kabawat, marks a rare official step toward acknowledging the historical presence of the Jewish community in Syria.
Kabawat, speaking to Agence France‑Presse (AFP) after meeting with the president of the Jewish Heritage in Syria Foundation, Henry Hamra, said the authorization sends “a strong message from the Syrian state that we do not discriminate between one religion and another.” She added that the government intends to support “all Syrian men and women of every religion and sect who want to build our new state.”
Henry Hamra, who leads the newly licensed foundation and fled Syria in the 1990s with his father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, said the group will “work on making an inventory of Jewish properties and returning those confiscated during the previous regime, as well as protecting, caring for, and restoring holy sites so that they are accessible to all Jews in the world.” His father was reportedly the last rabbi to leave Syria amid travel restrictions under the former regime.
The foundation’s license comes amid broader efforts by Syria’s current authorities to engage with the country’s dwindling Jewish community, which once numbered thousands but is now reduced to a handful of individuals.
Advocates within Syria and abroad have already begun counting dozens of Jewish‑owned homes that were confiscated during the years of the Assad family’s rule, indicating the scope of the restitution work ahead. The licensing of the Jewish Heritage in Syria Foundation is seen by supporters as a first step in addressing long‑standing grievances and preserving a cultural legacy that predates the modern era.
While tangible outcomes of the initiative remain to be seen, the government’s move represents a significant departure from past practices and a potential opening for religious and cultural reconciliation within a nation still recovering from years of conflict and political upheaval.