The Menarsha synagogue attack took place on 5 August 1949 in the

Jewish quarter Jewish Quarter may refer to: *Jewish quarter (diaspora), areas of many cities and towns traditionally inhabited by Jews *Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem *Jewish Quarter (), a popular name ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The grenade attack claimed the lives of 12 civilians and injured about 30. Most of the victims were children.

Background

The security situation of the Syrian Jewish community deteriorated in the late 1930s, during a period of increased Arab nationalism, pressure for independence from the French Empire leading to Syrian independence in 1946, following World War II. Anti-Western and Arab nationalist fervour took on an increasingly anti-Jewish tone. Before and after the

establishment of the State of Israel The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

in 1948, the Jews in Syria faced greater discrimination as the government adopted anti-Jewish measures. During this period, Jews and their property became the target of numerous attacks, including the Aleppo pogrom in 1947. Military officer Husni al-Za'im seized power in Syria in a military coup on March 30, 1949. Syria subsequently signed an armistice with Israel, ending its participation in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

Attack

On Friday 5 August 1949, Shabbat eve, several attackers threw hand grenades into the Menarsha Synagogue in Damascus that killed 12 Jews, 8 of them children, and injured about 30. The attack occurred at the time of the Lausanne Conference, when Syria and other frontline Arab states were conducting armistice talks with Israel at Lausanne, Switzerland. The armistice agreement between Israel and Syria had been signed on 20 July 1949. A simultaneous attack was also carried out at the Great Synagogue in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Reactions

Al-Za'im sent his personal representative to visit the carnage area and ordered a legal probe.Joseph B. Schechtman
On wings of eagles: the plight, exodus, and homecoming of oriental Jewry
T. Yoseloff, 1961. pg. 163. Syrian Premier Muhsen Barazi visited the scene of the blast and called the bombing an attack on the government. Israel formally protested to the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine and notified the Syrian government that the attack could impede the ongoing Lausanne Conference talks.

Aftermath

The bombing was one of the worst violent acts against Jews in the Middle East since the end of the war. Syrian authorities attributed the attack to an underground movement called the Arab Redemption Suicide Phalange, or to Communists. According to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, the bombing was thought to be the work of a small group of non-Communist, anti-Jewish Arabs opposed to the Syrian government. The bombing occurring during the Lausanne Conference, when Israel and its four opponents during the 1948 war -- Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt -- reached a crucial stage during final peace talks. The bombing's goal may have been to foment opposition to al-Za'im and sabotage the peace talks. Since taking office, al-Za'im had restored full legal rights to Syrian Jews and placed a number of them in positions of public office. On 9 August, a seventeen-year-old Syrian veteran of the

confessed that he and two friends were behind the attack. By 11 August, Syrian authorities had arrested 11 youths, including several high school students. President al-Za'im ordered the execution of the accused, but a few days later the coup of Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi took place and al-Za'im was executed. On 18 August, more than 200 prisoners in Syrian jails, including three accused of the bombing, were released. Before his execution, Zaim had announced that the three had confessed to the bombing and would be sentenced to death. In 1950, the suspects of the attack were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.The Jewish Agency's digest of press and events, Volume 3
Jewish Agency for Israel, 1950. pg. 1,080. niversity of California, February 1, 2010./ref>

References

1948 Arab–Israeli War 1949 in Judaism 1949 murders in Syria 1949 riots 20th century in Damascus 20th-century attacks on Jewish institutions 20th-century mass murder in Syria Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Middle East Antisemitism in Syria Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Asia Building bombings in Damascus Child murder in Syria Grenade attacks in Syria Jews and Judaism in Damascus Syria in the Arab–Israeli conflict Mass murder in Damascus Massacres in 1949 Massacres in the Arab–Israeli conflict Terrorist incidents in Syria in the 1940s Terrorist incidents in 1949 Terrorist incidents in Damascus {{coord missing, Syria Terrorist incidents by unknown perpetrators Unsolved mass murders Synagogue bombings Attacks on buildings and structures in the 1940s August 1949 in Asia