Some of the world's leading researchers will converge in Mexico City in September for an International Congress on Syrian Jewry in the American Diaspora. The schedule of speakers and topics promises to be one of the most enticing for Syrian history buffs.

Sponsored by Banque Safdie, the Congress is organized by Alianza Monte Sinaí (Damascus and Lebanese Jewish community); Comunidad Maguén David (Aleppan Jewish community); Universidad Hebraica (higher education institution of the Jewish community in Mexico); Jewish Culture Program at the Universidad Iberoamericana (program that fosters the development of Jewish culture at the Iberoamericana University); and the Sephardic Latin American Federation.

The International Congress will be held from September 9-11, 2008 at the Mount Sinai Social Center and the Maguen David Center in Mexico City. Tourist side trips of the community are also being planned.

“The Congress offers a unique academic opportunity to understand the cultural heritage of the Syrian Jews and their descendants in different American settings. The encounter promises to be rich on ideas and will provide a global focus on local experiences,” said Dr. Liz Hamui, conference organizer.

The conference will focus on the history of Syrian Jews in Syria, their emigration and settlement patterns in Mexico, Argentina, the United States and the rest of Latin America, as well as their culture and religion.

While few Jews remain in Syria, their culture is still preserved through the transmission from generation to generation of values, beliefs and traditions that had been remade in Israel and in the century of settlement in the American Diaspora. Syrian Jewish congregations around the world have acquired different modalities according to the culture and social, economic and political conditions in the places they live, endowing each of the communities with differential features.

During the last decades, the study of Judaism has been of great interest for academics and researchers worldwide because of the different characteristics that communities created in other geographical spaces with the arrival of Jewish immigrants from Aleppo and Damascus and their descendants.

This conference is aimed to get to know the history of the Jewish communities from Aleppo and Damascus, as well as the similarities and differences of their associations in America and Israel, with the ultimate purpose of appreciating the processes of social cohesion and integration that has gone on in each country.

For more information about the conference and travel arrangements, visit Judaismosirio.com.
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Sarina Roffe is a community member. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in Jewish studies from Touro College. She is a long time contributor to IMAGE Magazine.