Rabbi Runs for Syrian Parliament, Ending 58 Year Ban on Jewish Candidates By Rizik Alabi/The Media Line [Damascus] Syrian American Rabbi Henry Yosef Hamra has declared his candidacy for the People’s Assembly in the Damascus district, a landmark move given that Jews have been barred from seeking political office in Syria since the 1967 war. […]
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The Media Line: Rabbi Runs for Syrian Parliament, Ending 58 Year Ban on Jewish Candidates
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Rabbi Runs for Syrian Parliament, Ending 58 Year Ban on Jewish Candidates
By Rizik Alabi/The Media Line
[Damascus] Syrian American Rabbi Henry Yosef Hamra has declared his candidacy for the People’s Assembly in the Damascus district, a landmark move given that Jews have been barred from seeking political office in Syria since the 1967 war.
The move is a step towards reintegrating a long-marginalized religious and cultural group into Syrian public life.
Hamra, 48, is the son of Yosef Hamra, the chief rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community in New York. His father left Damascus in 1992, after Syria lifted restrictions on Jewish travel, by which time fewer than 10 Jews remained in the capital.
Hamra portrays himself as carrying forward the heritage of a once-thriving Syrian Jewish community that has nearly disappeared from the country.
His campaign, characterized by the slogan: “Toward a Prosperous, Tolerant and Just Syria,” Is based on the three pillars of: Justice and citizenship, preserving Syrian heritage and lifting sanctions.
Hamra’s platform rests on three main pillars. The first is justice and citizenship, emphasizing equality for all Syrians and the adoption of a modern constitution that guarantees rights while addressing the plight of victims within a framework of national reconciliation.
The second is the preservation of Syrian heritage, with a focus on safeguarding Islamic, Christian, and Jewish traditions as integral parts of the national identity and strengthening ties between Syrian Jews at home and abroad through cultural and educational programs.
The third is revitalizing the economy by working to lift the Caesar Act sanctions, promoting reconstruction through investment from Jewish business leaders worldwide, and creating funds to support small and medium-sized enterprises that would provide new opportunities for Syrian youth.
In his speech, Hamra highlighted the importance of unity in both geography and identity, declaring, “I believe in a united Syria for all Syrians, from Al-Hasakah to As-Suwayda, from Daraa to Latakia, from Damascus to Aleppo.” He also pledged to continue cooperating with the Syrian community in the United States to press for the unconditional repeal of the Caesar Act.
The nomination of a Jewish candidate for the first time in more than half a century marks a potential step toward reintegrating a long-marginalized religious tradition into public life, rekindling debate over the nature of Syrian identity and its pluralism.
Framing the lifting of sanctions as the key to economic revival, Hamra places the issue at the center of his platform, tying the prospects of reconstruction to creating a favorable investment climate and encouraging the return of segments of the Syrian diaspora — including Syrian Jews — to take part in rebuilding the economy.
At the same time, his focus on heritage protection as a tool for dialogue reflects an effort to elevate Jewish heritage from a niche concern to a matter of national identity, giving his campaign a cultural weight that extends beyond immediate electoral goals.
Bakhour Shmantob, head of the Jewish community in Syria, described Rabbi Hamra’s platform as one that reinforces belonging and national identity through educational and cultural programs designed to strengthen the bond between Syrian Jews and their homeland.
He told The Media Line that Hamra’s campaign also highlights a commitment to reconstruction and development by seeking the repeal of the Caesar Act and fostering investment partnerships with Jewish business leaders worldwide.
He added that the program is significant because it includes a plan to create youth employment by establishing funds to support small and medium-sized enterprises, offering a relatively quick means of generating opportunities in the labor market.
The platform also emphasizes safeguarding national heritage in all its facets, presenting Syria as a country rooted in pluralism and coexistence. In addition, it calls for enshrining the principle of citizenship through a modern constitution that ensures equality, guarantees social justice, and secures the rights of victims within the framework of national reconciliation.
On September 26, Rabbi Yosef Hamra sent a letter to the US Congress urging the full repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 and calling on the Senate to reject proposed amendments to the law.
Writing on behalf of the Syrian Jewish Heritage Foundation, he emphasized that ongoing projects to restore synagogues and artifacts, rehabilitate cemeteries, and strengthen ties with the homeland require a “stable and predictable political environment” that can attract investment and support the return of refugees.
In February, a delegation of Syrian Jews living in the United States visited Damascus for the first time in more than three decades. During the visit, they toured historic and cultural sites and met with Syrian officials, including the deputy foreign minister.
According to accounts from the delegation, officials stressed that all Syrian sects would have a role in shaping the country’s future. Henry Hamra, who participated in the visit, noted that the Syrian Foreign Ministry pledged to safeguard Jewish heritage, adding, “Syrian Jews need the government’s assistance, and we need the government’s security, and this will happen.”
Hamra appears to be betting on transforming heritage into a unifying force, enabling projects for cultural preservation, funding the restoration of historic landmarks, and opening channels of communication with the wider Syrian diaspora.
At the same time, his electoral program places strong emphasis on lifting the Caesar Act sanctions as a prerequisite for reviving the economy and attracting investment partnerships. The viability of this strategy, however, hinges on political and legal developments beyond Syria’s borders, as well as on Hamra’s ability to persuade decision-makers to link heritage preservation and refugee return with a more flexible economic climate.
The campaign’s pledge to establish a modern constitution and guarantee equal rights brings it into direct engagement with the challenges of transitional justice and victims’ rights. Whether this promise can be transformed from a slogan into actionable policies will serve as a key test of its credibility.