Syria
President Asad's autocratic regime, which has dominated Syrian politics
for over two decades, continued to rule with the support of the military
and the secret services, controlled mainly by the president's religious
sect, the Alawites. Limited political openness enabled the regime to contain
demands for political reforms and democracy. Economic liberalization has
led to some improvements in the economy: gross domestic product rose by
about 5 per cent in 1996 and the rate of inflation remained stable at 20
per cent. In the domestic sphere, the regime has benefited from the support
of the urban Sunni commercial élite, who welcome the economic improvements.
Since the end of the Cold War, Syria has attempted to improve relations
with the West, particularly with the USA. Syria supported the anti-Iraq
coalition during the Gulf War, and in October 1991 joined the Middle East
peace process by engaging in peace negotiations with Israel. During the
last five years, some progress has been made in Israeli-Syrian relations
but no breakthrough has been achieved. Following the change of government
in Israel in May, relations between Israel and Syria deteriorated and both
sides faced the threat of an escalation of hostilities along their common
border. Syria remained on the US state department's list of countries sponsoring
terrorism.
Ten Palestinian factions that reject any form of normalization with Israel
maintain offices in Damascus and training bases in Syria and Lebanon. These
include: the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, headed by George
Habash; and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, headed
by Nayef Hawatmeh.
A series of bomb explosions in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia in June was
attributed to increasing tensions between Syria and Turkey over water rights
and Syria's support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (see Turkey).
Following the Ottoman conquest in 1516, the Jewish community, which dates
back to the third century BCE, prospered in cultural, political and economic
terms. In 1840, however, the Jews were accused of murdering a Capuchin friar
and using his blood for the manufacture of Passover bread; this so-called
"Damascus affair" may represent the first use of doctrinaire Christian
European antisemitism in the Muslim Arab world. A series of reforms at the
end of the nineteenth century, known as the Tanzimat, granted legal equality
to Jews; nonetheless, many started to emigrate for economic reasons.
In 1947 there were about 30,000 Jews in Syria. Hostility towards Israel
led to officially orchestrated riots in Aleppo and Damascus, which destroyed
hundreds of Jewish homes and several synagogues. Many Jews were killed and
15,000 fled; a further 10,000 left during periods when emigration restrictions
were temporarily lifted.
During the 1960s the Ba'ath regime subjected Syrian Jews to strict supervision.
Jews were denied most civil rights, economically harassed and often threatened
with violence. Their situation gradually improved after Asad assumed power
in 1970. Nevertheless, Jews were still prevented from emigrating and their
mobility within the country was restricted. Among those attempting to leave
Syria illegally were several Jewish women, some of whom were detained and
killed.
In 1992 the Ba'ath regime announced that Jews could leave Syria provided
their destination was not Israel and that the purpose of their trip was
study, tourism or business. Towards the end of 1992, however, emigration
was halted, apparently owing to the Syrian government's dissatisfaction
with the slow pace of the development of Syrian-US relations. In December
1993, when the US secretary of state, Warren Christopher, visited Damascus,
Syria issued 200 exit visas to Jews and agreed to allow further emigration.
By the end of 1995 virtually all Jews who wished to leave had done so.
Discrimination persists against the Kurdish minority, who constitute
9 per cent of the population. The use and teaching of the Kurdish language
is restricted and about 120,000 Kurds, stripped of their Syrian citizenship
before the 1960s, are prevented from voting, owning land, enrolling children
in school or seeking employment in government jobs. Following the June bombings,
security forces arrested approximately 800 people, many of whom were ethnic
Turks resident in Syria.
There are an estimated 350,000 Palestinian refugees registered in Syria.
Some reportedly encounter difficulties obtaining travel documents and re-entering
Syria after leaving the country. An additional 37,000 refugees of Iraqi,
Libyan, Somali and Sudanese origin are also resident in Syria.
Shifts in Syria's foreign policy have been accompanied by little change
in the regime's attitude towards Israel. Furthermore, the Syrian media continued
to claim that Israel, through Jewish communities worldwide, exercises extensive
and perverse influence over the western media, particularly in the USA.
In 1996, articles in support of Holocaust denial were particularly prominent
in the Syrian media (see HOLOCAUST DENIAL).
A series of antisemitic texts published in Damascus from the late 1980s
onwards accused Jews of using blood for ceremonial purposes and of promoting
hatred towards other religions. Among the most prominent anti-semitic publications
are "The Matza of Zion" by the Syrian minister of defence, Mustafa
Tlass, published by his Dar al-Tlass publishing company, which attempted
to prove the 1840 blood libel against the Jews of Damascus.
Roger Garaudy, the French Holocaust-denier who converted to Islam (see France), visited Damascus in July at the invitation of the Syrian ministry of information. Garaudy was warmly welcomed in Damascus and delivered a number of public lectures in order to promote the Arabic-language edition of his latest book, Les mythes fondateurs de la politique israélienne (Founding Myths of Israeli Politics). His visit was part of a Middle Eastern tour that included Egypt, Jordan and Morocco (see Egypt, Jordan, Morocco). Garaudy's antisemitic views were widely publicized in the Syrian media. To cite just one example, the editorial in the government-owned daily newspaper Tishrin , on 16 July, praised Garaudy for "exposing the lies of the Zionist movement which exaggerated what happened to the Jews during the Second World War for political purposes".
Although Syria has been participating in peace talks with Israel for
almost five years, the regime has yet to change its hostile attitude towards
Israel. Asad occasionally endeavours to stress that he is not an enemy of
Judaism but rather of Israel and the Zionist movement, but the Syrian media
continues to blur the distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
Anti-Zionist sentiment was particularly acute following the Israeli general
elections in May. Throughout the rest of the year, Syrian journalists often
portrayed Israeli soldiers as Nazis and likened Israel's new prime minister,
Binyamin Netanyahu, to Adolf Hitler.
Antisemitic cartoons in government-controlled daily newspapers were commonplace,
often portraying Israeli soldiers as Nazis. Examples include cartoons published
in al-Thawra on 11 March and in al-Ba'ath on 14 August. Other
cartoons portray Israelis or Jews plotting to take over the Arab world,
or killing the dove of peace.
In late September, as tension between Israel and Syria increased over the
opening of the Hasmonean tunnel in Jerusalem, al-Ba'ath published
several articles by Abd al-Karim Mafud about Judaism. One of these described
the Talmud as a book that encouraged Jews to manipulate, cheat and steal
money from non-Jews and even to kill them.
During the last three years, most of the restrictions imposed on Syrian Jews have been lifted but Jews are still barred from any government employment. Jews are the only minority in Syria whose religion is noted on their identity cards. Nonetheless, the special stamp of musawi in the identity card has recently been changed to a small blue sign.
The Jewish community in Syria has virtually ceased to exist since restrictions
on travel were lifted in 1995, but insecurity undoubtedly prevails among
the last remaining Jews. Despite minor shifts in Syrian foreign policy,
Syria's perception of Israel and Zionism remained deeply hostile, and the
tightly controlled media continued to feature antisemitic representations
of Israelis. As in other Middle Eastern countries, officially sanctioned
Holocaust denial was particularly noticeable in 1996.
© JPR 1997