This week marks one month since Islamist rebels overthrew the brutal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and took control of the country, forcing the former president to flee for his life to Russia on Dec. 8.
Jews around the world, including in Canada, might breathe a sigh of relief at some of the new regime’s stated attitudes toward Jews and Israel. Their leader has made promising comments about not wanting to continue its war with Israel, and the ruling party has also pledged to allow people of all religions to worship freely in the war-torn country, Jews included. There’s just one problem: there are barely any left.
That’s according to retired human rights advocate Judy Feld Carr. The Canadian activist has spent decades masterminding the secret exodus of Syria’s remaining Jewish population; by 2001, she had successfully smuggled out more than 3,300 Syrian Jews, including many who had been imprisoned, tortured and falsely accused of being Israeli spies.
Unsurprisingly, Feld Carr has been monitoring the recent developments in Damascus, including reports about the condition of the local Jewish community’s historic buildings and the whearabouts of millions of dollars worth of looted Jewish artifacts. She joins The CJN Daily to shed light on what what life was like for Syrian Jews under the Assad regime, and why there are still some parts of her clandestine mission that can never be made public.
Related links
- Read more from Judy Feld Carr about her rescue mission for the Jews of Syria, in The CJN archives from 2017.
- Why growing up Jewish in Sudbury, Ont., helped Judy Feld Carr deal with bullies, in The CJN magazine from 2022.
- Watch the documentary Miss Judy on YouTube.
Credits
- Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
- Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
- Music: Dov Beck-Levine
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