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Brutal Assad Regime Destroys 400 Year Old Jobar Synagogue

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The ruins of the Jobar Synagogue after attack by the Syrian government’s forces.
The ruins of the Jobar Synagogue after attack by the Syrian government’s forces.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Arab Army forces have rained destruction across Damascus for months. This past weekend his forces completely demolished the Eliyahu Hanabi Synagogue in Jobar. This site was over 400 years old and the synagogue stored thousands of priceless Jewish artifacts. The artifacts lost in the destruction were irreplaceable treasures of Jewish and Syrian cultural heritage.

The area where the synagogue once stood was said to be one of the area’s few rebel strongholds. The Syrian regime has been bombarding the town for months, as part of what the opposition calls Assad’s “scorched earth” policy. This policy consists of Assad’s forces committing random violent attacks on civilian populations.

Assad’s strategy has targeted various religious and cultural institutions as points for destruction; the Syrian Jewish community is just the latest to fall in the path of Assad’s march of mayhem. The Syrian regime had looted and vandalized the Jobar Synagogue for weeks and this weekend was just the explosive finale.

The Prophet Elisha allegedly built the synagogue to honor the prophet Elijah near 4 centuries ago, during the medieval period. The Eliyahu Hanabi Synagogue is said to be built on top the cave in which Elijah sought refuge from his persecutors. On the steps of the synagogue the Prophet Elisha is said to have anointed King Hazael. The Jobar Synagogue has been a holy site and the destination of Jewish pilgrimages.

During the medieval times the town of Jobar housed a great Jewish population. The synagogue was taken by local Arab leaders in the 19th century, and the Jewish community driven out of Syria. After the State of Israel was established, the Jobar Synagogue became a school for displaced Palestinians.

Prior to the civil war, thousands of priceless religious and cultural treasures resided in the Jobar Synagogue. The collection of irreplaceable artifacts included: hundreds-years-old Torah scrolls, historical texts, precious dining ware, and various sorts of ancient Judaica. Many items were reported as stolen in the early days of the war. Other treasure were said to have been relocated for preservation. A lot of the irreplaceable ancient artifacts still remained in the synagogue up to its destruction. Opposition forces say that the total damages caused by the Jobar Synagogue’s destruction is still being assessed, but unfortunately it appears that all the cultural artifacts remaining in the synagogue are now lost.

Over 100,000 Syrian-Americans are represented by the Syrian American Council, part of the umbrellas organization called the Coalition for a Democratic Syria. The group obtained information and photographs of the shambles that remain of the Jobar Synagogue.

In April 2013, Israeli news reported that the synagogue had been “looted and destroyed”. Then in December 2013, another Israeli news released photos showing the Jobar Synagogue intact with many of its precious artifacts undamaged. The report announced that the majority of the artifacts in the synagogue’s collection were being stored by local leaders for safe keeping.

Despite when it happened, the Jobar Synagogue is now completed demolished along with any historical treasures that remained inside. This destruction goes much deeper than the loss of a cultural and historical landmark, a piece of the Syrian Jewish people’s souls were also taken.

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