BBC reporter ridiculed for saying Jews form part of Syria’s ‘diverse population’

‘In the 1940s, Syria’s Jewish community was 40,000 strong. Today just an estimated 3 remain.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A BBC reporter was ridiculed after saying that Jews have and will comprise Syria’s “diverse” population, according to The Jewish Chronicle.

Reporting live from Damascus, the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet said Jews will likely be comfortable returning to the Old City  to live among Muslim and Christian neighbors.

Doucet said, “This is one of the most diverse countries in the Middle East with multiple Christian [and] Muslim sects, and you can see it here in the Old City, all the different quarters, Jewish, Muslim, Christian – they’re all here and they want to believe they have a space now as Syria embarks on this new chapter.”

The remarks were greeted with outrage and mockery. Many pointed out that after an ethnic cleansing of Jews from Syria, there were just three remaining when Bashar Al-Assad was deposed.

Orly Goldschmidt, the official spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy to the UK, wrote on X: “Jewish, Muslim, Christian, they’re all here, they want to believe they have a space now…

“Except they’re not. In the 1940s, Syria’s Jewish community was 40,000 strong. Today just an estimated 3 remain.

“Good luck finding a Jew in Syria for an interview.”

Daniel Sugarman, the Board of Deputies’ director of Public Affairs, wrote, “You may find a ‘Jewish Quarter’ in Damascus. You won’t find Jews to interview, though.”

“The ethnic cleansing of Jews from Arab lands is something that all post-colonial theorists across the world will ignore, deny or downplay,” Sugarman posted on X.

Many commenters said Doucet was misleading the public about the history of antisemitism in Syria.

Her remarks follow a statement by BBC’s international editor, Jeremy Bowen, that Israel preferred a “weak dictator” like Assad to a “self-confident Islamist militia.” He also said that Israeli strikes against chemical weapons sites and other military targets in Syria may have prevented a peaceful transition of power.

“Israeli troops and tanks have moved into Syria to create what Israel calls a buffer zone to protect its borders. It has alarmed the UN [United Nations] and others who believe a political process is better for the Syrians and their neighbours than a preemptive military offensive,” Bowen said.