Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Syrian Jews
Self-designation: Musta'arabim (native Mizrahi Jews) and Sephardim
اليهود السوريون
Religious communities
Jews lived in Syria from antiquity: the Dura-Europos synagogue of 244 CE is one of the earliest known, and large communities lived in Damascus and Aleppo with a smaller one in Qamishli. Nearly all emigrated after 1948 and especially after 1992; only a few remain.
The synagogue of Dura-Europos, dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244 CE, preserved extensive figurative wall paintings, which are now displayed in their original arrangement in the National Museum of Damascus. The Central Synagogue of Aleppo, possibly of 5th-century origin, kept the Aleppo Codex for over 500 years.
Sources and details
Syrian Jewry combined native Musta'arabi communities with Sephardim who arrived after 1492. Damascus had its Jewish Quarter with the Elfrange, Menarsha and Racqy synagogues, and Jobar had a synagogue associated by tradition with the prophet Elijah. The 1840 Damascus affair and the 1947 Aleppo riot, which burned the Central Synagogue, are key events.
MRG estimates that about 40,000 Jews lived in Syria before 1948; in 1992 about 4,000 members of the Damascus community received exit permits. Reports in 2024-25 counted fewer than ten remaining. The Jobar synagogue was two-thirds destroyed by May 2014; its damaged Torah scrolls were reported in storage in Damascus in 2025.
Sites connected with this community 12
- QamishliHasakah · Historic architecture
Qamishli, seat of a smaller Jewish community.
- Central Synagogue of AleppoAleppo (Bahsita), Aleppo · Jewish heritage
Central Synagogue of Aleppo, keeper of the Aleppo Codex.
- Sanctuary of Vows (Mashhad al-Du'a), AleppoAleppo (outside the northern gate), Aleppo · Jewish heritage
Sanctuary outside Aleppo shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
- Dura-Europos synagogue paintings and assembly hall (reconstructed, National Museum of Damascus)Damascus, National Museum, Damascus · Jewish heritage
Synagogue wall paintings reassembled in the National Museum of Damascus.
- Elfrange (al-Faranj) SynagogueDamascus old city, Damascus · Jewish heritage
Elfrange synagogue, Jewish Quarter of Damascus.
- Jewish Quarter of Damascus (Harat al-Yahud)Damascus old city, Damascus · Jewish heritage
Historic Jewish Quarter of Damascus.
- Jobar Synagogue (Eliyahu Hanavi)Jobar, Damascus · Jewish heritage
Jobar synagogue, largely destroyed in 2014.
- Menarsha SynagogueDamascus old city, Damascus · Jewish heritage
Menarsha synagogue, Jewish Quarter of Damascus.
- National Museum of DamascusDamascus, Damascus · Museums
Holds the reconstructed Dura-Europos synagogue.
- Old Jewish cemetery of DamascusDamascus (south of the old city wall), Damascus · Jewish heritage
Historic Jewish cemetery of Damascus.
- Racqy SynagogueDamascus old city, Damascus · Jewish heritage
Racqy synagogue, Jewish Quarter of Damascus.
- Dura-Europos synagogue (archaeological site)Dura-Europos, Deir ez-Zor · Jewish heritage
Site of the 3rd-century Dura-Europos synagogue.
Sources (6)
- Minority Rights Group International, Syria (country page)
- Wikipedia, History of the Jews in Syria (secondary pointer)
- Wikipedia, Dura-Europos synagogue (secondary pointer; cites Kraeling 1979, Hachlili 1998)
- Wikipedia, Central Synagogue of Aleppo (secondary pointer; cites Sutton 2005, Zenner 2000)
- Wikipedia, Jobar Synagogue (secondary pointer; cites Times of Israel 2013, 2024, 2025)
- Wikipedia, National Museum of Damascus (secondary pointer)
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.