Avraham Hamra Explained

Avraham Hamra אברהם חמרה
Birth Date:	1943
Death Date:	7 May 2021
Synagogueposition:	Chief Rabbi of Syria
Birth Place:	Damascus, Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
Ended:	1994
Began:	1976
Successor:	Title abolished
Children:	6
Death Place:	Holon, Israel

Rabbi Avraham Hamra (אברהם חמרה)(1943 – 7 May 2021) was a Syrian-Israeli rabbi.^{[1] [2]} He served as chief rabbi of Syrian and Lebanese Jews^{[3] [4]} and was the last chief rabbi of Syria.

Early life

Rabbi Hamra was born in Damascus in 1943. He worked for two years as a teacher at a local Jewish school before assuming the role of principal in 1963. In 1970, he became a member of the community committee serving the local Jewish population. He was Cantor in the local synagogue and had many connections in the Syrian government and would help the community with whatever they needed.

Rabbinical career

In 1972, he was appointed deputy chief rabbi of Damascus. In 1976, Rabbi Hamra was appointed chief rabbi, a position he held until he left Syria after years of aiding the community with financial support and helping thousands of Syrian Jews escape syria with most of the country's remaining Jews in October 1994 when then Syrian President Hafez al-Assad allowed the last Syrian Jews to leave, on condition that they immigrate to the United States rather than Israel. Rabbi Hamra immigrated to Brooklyn, New York before leaving for Israel.^[5]

Upon his arrival in Israel,Rabbi Hamra settled in Holon and was appointed to the religious council. In addition to serving and leading the city's Syrian community, the rabbi frequently visited the Jewish Syrian community in New York.^{[6] [7] [8]} In the 1990s, he worked with Mossad to smuggle Jewish artifacts out of Syria.^{[9] [10]} Hamra also served on the Presidium Council of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.^[11]

In December 2017, Rabbi Hamra's daughter Aliza and three of her children were killed in a house fire in Brooklyn, New York.^{[12] [13]}

Rabbi Hamra Passed Away in May 2021 and is laid to rest in Israel, at the age of 78.^[14] Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent his condolences.^[15]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021-05-10. Remembering Rabbi Avraham Hamra, z"l, a Quiet Jewish Hero JDC. 2021-09-02. JDC JDC is the global Jewish 9-1-1. We put Jewish values into action when the world needs them most.. en.
2. Web site: 2021-05-07. BDE: Harav Avraham Hamra, Chief Rabbi of Syrian Jewry in Israel Hamodia.com. 2021-09-02. Hamodia. en.
3. Web site: Chief rabbi of Syrian Jewish community dies . 2023-07-15 . The Jerusalem Post JPost.com . en-US.
4. Web site: Greenwood . Hanan . May 9, 2021 . Rabbi with ties to late Syrian President Hafez Assad dies . 2023-07-15 . Israel Hayom.
5. News: SYRIAN RABBI REACHES ISRAEL VIA N.Y. . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-07-15 . 0190-8286.
6. Web site: 1994-10-25. The Untold Story of Syrian Jewry; American Jews and Israel Joined in Resettling Syrian Jews #i. 2021-09-02. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. en-US.
7. Web site: October 18, 1994. Chief Rabbi of Syrian Jews Immigrates to Israel. .
8. Web site: Chief rabbi of Syrian Jewish community dies. 2021-09-02. The Jerusalem Post JPost.com. en-US.
9. Web site: Estrin . Daniel . Bibles from Syria could spark ownership dispute . 2023-07-15 . www.timesofisrael.com . en-US.
10. News: Centuries-old Bibles Mossad Smuggled From Syria to Remain in Israel's National Library . en . Haaretz . 2023-07-15.
11. Web site: Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef endorses Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States . 2023-07-15 . The Jerusalem Post JPost.com . en-US.
12. News: 2017-12-18 . Menorah Blamed for Brooklyn Fire That Killed Mother and 3 Children . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-07-15 . 0362-4331.
13. News: Mother and Children Killed in Brooklyn Hanukkah Fire Laid to Rest in Israel . en . Haaretz . 2023-07-15.
14. Web site: Commons. Wikimedia. Rabbi Avraham Hamra, last chief rabbi of Syria, dies at 78. 2021-09-02. The Forward. 7 May 2021 . en-US.
15. News: The Economist. Syria's president wants non-Muslim religions to help end his pariah status. 13 July 2023.