Syrian-American Jew Runs in Historic Elections as Kurds and Druze Are Excluded

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Syrian-American Jew Henry Hamra has officially entered the race for a parliamentary seat in Damascus, becoming a focal point of Syria’s first legislative elections since the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. If elected in the indirect polls scheduled for Sunday, Hamra would be the first Jewish representative to serve in the Syrian People’s Assembly since the 1940s, marking a milestone in the reemergence of the country’s Jewish community after decades of decline.

On Friday, an AFP photographer in Damascus’ historic Jewish Quarter documented campaign posters bearing Hamra’s image alongside the Syrian flag, captioned: “Candidate for Damascus for the Syrian People’s Assembly.” The symbolism was striking: a Jewish figure reappearing in the political landscape of a nation where Jews once played a visible role but were later marginalized and forced into exile.

Hamra, whose father Rabbi Yusuf Hamra was reportedly the last rabbi to leave Syria, visited Damascus with him earlier this year. In February, the pair participated in a group prayer at the Old City’s Faranj synagogue — the first such gathering in more than three decades — signaling the community’s slow return under the interim government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Speaking about his campaign, Hamra pledged to work toward “a flourishing, tolerant, and just Syria,” as written in flyers distributed on his official X account. His program emphasizes efforts to reunite Syrian Jews, safeguard the country’s heritage, and preserve its cultural identity. Electoral commission spokesperson Nawar Najmeh confirmed to AFP that Hamra is “an official candidate for the elections and announced his election programme like any other candidate.”

Hamra’s candidacy is being described as a historic development. Historian Sami Moubayed noted that the last time a Jewish figure entered parliament was in 1947. Community leader Bakhour Chamntoub also welcomed the development, stating that “the return of Syrian Jews to parliament is positive, particularly with a new government.”

Syria’s Jewish community, once numbering around 5,000, had been permitted to practise their faith under Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, but lived under tight restrictions. Movement was curtailed, and travel abroad was forbidden until 1992, when some restrictions were lifted, triggering a wave of emigration that left only a handful behind. Chamntoub, who now oversees the community’s affairs, has been working closely with the interim authorities, who have pledged to protect Jewish property and heritage. Al-Sharaa himself met with Syrian Jewish representatives last month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, underscoring his administration’s effort to court inclusivity.

The parliamentary elections themselves are unprecedented in recent Syrian history. This Sunday’s vote will be the first since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024, when his regime collapsed under a swift rebel offensive after nearly 14 years of civil war. For decades, Syrians had formally participated in elections under the Assad dynasty, but the Baath Party monopolized power, and the process was widely dismissed as symbolic. Analysts observed that real competition under Assad took place only inside the Baath Party, when members vied for positions on official lists.

The current polls are seen as a departure from that legacy but fall short of being fully democratic. Out of the 210 seats in the People’s Assembly, two-thirds are to be selected by electoral colleges across 60 districts, while the remaining one-third will be appointed directly by interim President al-Sharaa. Aleppo, the largest district, will see 700 college members select 14 deputies, followed by Damascus with 500 members electing 10.

Yet the system has already sparked controversy. Elections in Sweida province, home to Syria’s Druze community, and in the Kurdish-led northeast under the Syrian Democratic Forces have been indefinitely postponed due to political disputes with Damascus. This leaves only about 6,000 electoral college members voting across 50 districts for roughly 120 seats. All candidates must come from within the electoral colleges, and with all pre-existing parties dissolved following Assad’s ouster, every candidate is technically running as an independent.

The Kurdish-majority city of Afrin in northwestern Syria (Western Kurdistan) is the only Kurdish area participating in this round of elections. On September 28, Afrin’s administration released its candidate list, featuring 25 names: 15 Kurds and 10 Arabs. The Arab representation, at 40 percent, has stirred discontent among locals, given that Arabs accounted for only about 4 percent of Afrin’s population before the area was occupied by Syrian National Army factions in 2018. Women’s representation in Afrin’s candidate list is equally limited, at just 12 percent.

The election process across Syria is scheduled to run from September 29 through October 3, followed by a silence day on October 4, with results expected on October 6.

The interim government has argued that holding a direct national vote is not possible given the scale of displacement, the destruction of civil registries, and the lack of reliable voter lists after 14 years of conflict. Millions of Syrians remain either internally displaced or abroad, making nationwide electoral participation infeasible.

The new parliament will serve a 30-month term, during which authorities are tasked with preparing conditions for a true popular vote in the next cycle. Critics, however, warn that the current arrangements are undemocratic.

Benjamin Feve, a senior research analyst at Karam Shaar Advisory, pointed out that “we don’t even know how many Syrians are in Syria today,” highlighting the logistical impossibility of compiling an accurate voter registry. Haid Haid of the Arab Reform Initiative and Chatham House went further, warning that the process of selecting electoral committees lacks transparency and is “potentially vulnerable to manipulation.”

Concerns have also emerged about inclusivity. Women constitute only 14 percent of the 1,578 candidates nationwide, according to election officials. In some districts, female participation reaches 30 to 40 percent, while in others it is nonexistent. Meanwhile, the absence of Sweida and the northeast from the polls raises further doubts about minority representation. Sectarian violence earlier this year claimed hundreds of Alawite and Druze lives, deepening sensitivities about exclusion from national politics.

Analysts note that al-Sharaa’s constitutional power to appoint one-third of the assembly could serve as a corrective tool, potentially boosting the representation of women and minorities. Still, Haid warned that leaving whole regions outside the process risks entrenching divisions: “Regardless of how many people will be appointed from those areas, the dispute between the de facto authorities and Damascus over their participation will remain a major issue.”

For Syrians and observers abroad, Sunday’s vote is a test of whether the interim government is serious about transitioning to inclusivity or whether it risks replicating the exclusionary patterns of the Assad era. In this fragile context, the candidacy of Henry Hamra carries symbolic weight. It underscores both the possibility of minority reintegration in a new Syria and the unresolved challenges of building a representative system in a nation scarred by war and displacement.