BBC sparks outrage over 'diverse' Syrian Jewish population claim

A BBC report from Wednesday received backlash after their coverage said that Jews are living amongst a diverse population in Damascus, Syria. 

"Jewish, Muslim, Christian, they're all here, they want to believe they have a space now..."Except they're not. In the 1940s, Syria's Jewish community was 40,000 strong. Today just an estimated 3 remain. Good luck finding a Jew in Syria for an interview. pic.twitter.com/v2awkxg5GD

— Orly Goldschmidt ️ (@Orlygoldschmidt) December 11, 2024

The BBC reporter, while covering Damascus, said, "You can see it here in the old city, the different quarters, Jewish, Muslim, Christian they're all here."

"They want to believe they have a space now as Syria embarks on this new chapter."

There were some 30,000 Jews in Syria prior to 1947, according to the World Jewish Congress. They made up three different communities with unique traditions, including the Kurdish-speaking Jews, the Jews of Aleppo, and the eastern Jews of Damascus. 

Only four Jews reported to be living in Syria 

However, today, only a tiny number of Jews remain in Syria. As of 2022, there were reported to be four Jews left in Syria, the Jewish Virtual Library noted. 

After Syrian independence from France in 1944, the new government prohibited Jewish immigration to Palestine and restricted teaching Hebrew and Jewish culture in Jewish schools, the Jewish Virtual Library said. 

In 1947, Arab mobs in Aleppo killed several Jews and destroyed over 200 homes, shops, and synagogues, leading Jews to flee to Israel. 

Alois Brunner, a Nazi war criminal who worked for Adolf Eichmann, was sheltered by the Syrian regime and served as an advisor to former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar al-Assad, Jewish Virtual Library reported.