Who is Henry Hamara running for election in Syria parliament election on Sunday
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Who is Henry Hamara running for election in Syria parliament election on Sunday")
Who is Henry Hamara running for election in Syria parliament election on Sunday Photograph: (Credit: AFP)
If selected, Hamara will become the first Jew representative to enter Syrian parliament in more than 75 years.
In a first instance since 1947 a Jew was elected to parliament in Syria, a Syrian-American Jew, Henry Hamra, is running for a seat in Sunday's polls. This is the first election for Syria's legislature since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad's regime was toppled in December last year. In the 210-seat legislature, two-third of the candidates will be selected by local committees, while the rest will be nominated by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. If selected, Hamara will become the first Jewish representative to enter the Syrian parliament in more than 75 years.
Who is Henry Hamara, running for Syrian parliament?
Henry Hamara is an American-Syrian Jew and son of Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, who reportedly was the last Rabbi to leave Syria when the civil war broke out more than a decade ago. Hamara recently visited Damascus from the United States and also took part in a group prayer in Old City's Faranj synagogue - also a first in more than three decades.
His election programme promise is to bring back Syrian Jews as well as to protect Syria's heritage and culture. His election flyer, published on X, reads: "Towards a flourishing, tolerant and just Syria."
What happened to Jews in Syria?
The 5,000-strong community was allowed to practice their faith by Assad's father Hafez, who had maintained cordial relations with the Jews. Later on, their movement was restricted, and the Jews were prevented from travelling abroad until 1992. Their number started going down gradually from there only until only a handful of Jews were left in the country.
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New President Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised to protect the community, along with its property as he met with the Syrian Jews last month during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly.
