9 members of a Jewish family were recently smuggled from Syria into Israel in a very secretive mission, to begin a better life.

By Roi Kais

A Syrian-Jewish family has been secretly smuggled into Israel and out of harms way in a dramatic rescue operation, it was cleared for publication Thursday.

Aleppo, Karm al Jabal neighborhood, in 2013 – Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Wikimedia Commons

This was the first time in over three years of the Syrian civil war that a Jewish family has left the war-torn country for Israel. They made the secretive journey in a number of tranches until they reunited before with the family just before Independence Day at the beginning of May this year.

The story has been known for some time now, but because the operation was still taking place, it was put under censor. Even now, the story’s full details can not be published.

Courtyard of Aleppo’s Central Synagogue – Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Govorkov

In the first stage the mother and the eldest son crossed into with the help of both Israelis and non-Israelis who cannot be identified. After a few weeks additional family members made their way into Israel.

A source closely involved in the issue told Ynet that “what is amazing is that out of nine million Syrians who have been left without a home, these nine have a home and it is the State of Israel. We must understand that if they wouldn’t have made it to Israel, they would have remained homeless.

“When they left they were afraid, but more from the possible ramification it could have on Israel.

According to assessments, only a handful of Syria’s once-thriving Jewish community still lives in the country. Like the holy sites of Christians, those belonging to Jews have also been targeted or at least fallen victim to fighting.

Most notably, the Eliyahu Hanabi Synagogue in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, which was ruined at the end of May when the regime attempted to overcome rebels in the area. It is one of the world’s oldest synagogues and is believed to be on the place Elijah the prophet anointed his student Elisha to be a prophet.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4537614,00.html