Thousands of Jews left Syria in 1992, when they were allowed to emigrate. The visit by a small delegation of U.S.-based Syrian Jewish religious figures last week was their first time back since then.

After decades of exile, a group of American Jews with deep roots in Damascus has returned to Syria to rediscover their long-lost heritage. Organized by the Syrian Emergency Task Force, the four-day visit took participants on a moving tour of historic synagogues,

Rabbi Joseph Hamra and his son, Henry, returned to Damascus for the first time since the 1990s when they fled Syria. They revisited synagogues and met with officials to ensure the protection of Jewish heritage amidst concerns of religious intolerance.

For the Syrian Jews who toured Damascus with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, the visit brought back memories of thriving Jewish life and hope for a better future. For the first t