Lindsey Kerckhoff

Research Report:

 Syrian Jews in America: how they hold their communities together

I stumbled upon an article in the New York Times Magazine about the Syrian Jewish Community in Brooklyn.  This article reminded me so much of the discussions we had in class about the assimilation of later generations that are born in America.  I am amazed that this community has managed to stay unassimilated for the most part for so many generations.  I wanted to find out exactly how and why they manage to keep their culture and beliefs when so many other immigrants cannot.  This proved to be difficult because they do not often speak about community business to people outside the community. 

The Syrian Jews came from Syria and Spain.  The largest community of Syrian Jews today is in Brooklyn, New York.  According to New York Times Magazine there are about 75,000 Syrian Jews currently in Brooklyn and the number is constantly increasing.  They immigrated to America in the early 1900s and were looked down upon by the Eastern European Jews who thought of the Syrian Jews as Arab Jews (Chafets 84).  Syrian Jews are very proud and this caused them to move away from the other Jewish communities and move to Brooklyn where they have now formed their own community.    

 One of the things that surprised me the most about the Syrian Jews was the creation of an Edict by five Syrian rabbis.  It was created to separate the Syrian Jewish community from everyone else.  The Edict was established in 1935 to prevent intermarriage between Jews and people of other descents.  Intermarriage has always been looked upon unfavorably in the Jewish community, however, conversion has been a solution to the problem.  Once the non-Jewish partner converts they are free to marry within the community.  The Edict put a stop to this.  The Edict states, “No male or female member of our community has the right to intermarry with non-Jews; this law covers conversion, which we consider to be fictitious and valueless” (Chafets 84).  This has caused many rifts in families because if one chooses to intermarry then they are excommunicated.  In 1946 there was an addition to the Edict that a rabbi is forbidden to perform the Religious ceremonies for unkosher couples (Chafets 84).  This Edict puts great limitations on the Syrian Jews, but they appear to support it for the most part because they see it as the only way to preserve their close community.  The Brooklyn community and two small Syrian Jewish groups in Mexico and Argentina are the only communities that have a rule this strict.  Although the rule is extreme, it is the reason that the Syrian Jews have managed to keep their culture and beliefs going for so long.  While other immigrants lose much of their culture within a few generations the Syrians have solved this problem.

          The community stays very close together and families tend to not move far from one another.  Family values are often passed on from generation to generation, and people have the same family values throughout the Syrian Community (Cohen 1).  The community can be a very warm and loving place as long as you follow the rules and standards of the community.  Many people in the community feel that there should not be “[…] promiscuous chit-chat with outsiders” (Chafets 86).  Members of the community are also not to speak with reporters about community affairs.  They feel that this helps keep outsiders from knowing their business.  Syrian Jews also allow their children to attend public school only for a short time because they feel that the schools instill outside values that are not favored in the community.  Being on the outside I cannot help but look at this group as being extreme.  However, when I see how long they have managed to keep their values and culture from changing, I am amazed that their numbers are still growing.

I read several stories of people who had been disowned by their families and shunned by the community for intermarriage.  Many of them stand behind their choice of picking a spouse or idea over the community.  Something that surprised me was that many of them also said that at times they miss what the community offered, a sense of belonging and family that is hard to find elsewhere.  It is hard for me to imagine parents that would be willing to pretend their children do not exist for any reason but they feel that they have to be strict.  If they are lenient then the Edict would not mean anything and their community would not be as strong.  Only a small amount of people decide to intermarry and leave the community, which I find amazing.  Shirley Fallas, a member of the community says, “My whole family is Syrian. It’s wonderful, I love it.  Everybody stays very, very close and sort of has their hand behind everybody’s back, watching out for each other” (jewsishaz.com).  She is a perfect example of why this community is so successful at keeping their traditions despite the strict rules. 

Researching this article helped open my eyes to the alternative of assimilating.  I know that arranged marriages and not encouraging intermarriage are common practices by many cultures.  The Syrian Jewish community surprised me in the extremes that they take and that the community continues to grow.  The fact that they are in a city that so many different cultures call home makes their ability to preserve their traditions all the more incredible.  

References

Chafets, Zev. "The SY Empire." New York Times Magazine 14 October 2007: 83-88.

Kornfeld, Alana. "Syrian Jews Mark 100 Years in U.S.." Jewish News of Greater Phoenix Vol.57. 12 Nov. 2004 28 November 2007

        <http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/041112/syrian.shtml>.

Myers, Steven. "Syrian Jews Find Haven in Brooklyn." New York Times 23 May 1992 1-2. 28 Novemeber 2007

<http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6D6163DF930A15756C0A964958260>.

Wikipedia. 04 December 2007. 28 Nov 2007

        <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Jews>.