Cantor Hamra handed keys to Aleppo’s Jewish sites as restitution begins

Overview

Syrian‑American cantor Henry Hamra traveled to Aleppo after the Syrian government licensed a Jewish heritage foundation he leads and transferred custody of synagogues, schools and other Jewish religious properties to that organization in December. Hamra — whose father Yusuf was the last rabbi to leave Syria — has begun inventorying sites, opening doors to long‑abandoned buildings including the 1,500‑year‑old al‑Bandara (Central) Synagogue, and pledging to help restore privately appropriated Jewish homes to their owners. The Central Synagogue, once home to the famed Aleppo Codex manuscript and a center of a centuries‑old community, remains damaged from years of conflict but intact enough to inspire hopes of visits or eventual returns by descendants of Syrian Jews.

Context and reactions

Most of Syria’s Jewish community left after travel restrictions were eased in the early 1990s; only a handful of elderly Jews remain in the country today. The move to hand properties to a Jewish organization followed a campaign by Syrian‑American activists and the Syrian Emergency Task Force and came as Damascus has sought to signal protections for minorities under the new government. The handover and the US removal of some sanctions have drawn mixed responses among Syrian‑American Jews — some welcome the chance to reclaim roots, others distrust the regime — and officials note significant practical obstacles, including war damage, limited services and security issues on the ground. Hamra says he hopes descendants will at least visit and that the organization can begin returning property and restoring sites. as reported by NPR