Jewish family ‘relieved’ after Assad regime’s downfall

Woman whose grandfather was tortured by Hafez al-Assad’s regime said her family is “very happy” to see the dynasty toppled.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli woman whose grandfather was imprisoned and tortured by the Syrian regime during the 1970s said she is celebrating the downfall of the Assad dynasty.

Yaffa Levy, the daughter of a Syrian-born immigrant to Israel, shared her family’s personal story of suffering under Hafez al-Assad with Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.

Levy’s father, Marco (Mordechai) Khalifa, was born in Syria to a wealthy family. As a teenager, he became a staunch Zionist and helped smuggle Syrian Jews – who were banned from leaving the country – to Israel via the Golan Heights.

He spent the majority of his time in Israel, with occasional missions to Lebanon and Syria to aid local Jewish communities immigrating to Israel.

Khalifa was unable to maintain consistent contact with his parents and siblings, who had remained in Syria.

At some point in the 1970s, Hafez al-Assad’s regime learned of Khalifa’s operations and brutally punished the family in order to discourage other Syrian Jews from participating in Zionist missions.

Despite having no involvement with his son’s activities, Khalifa’s father was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.

According to Levy, Khalifa only learned of his father’s fate after a clandestine visit to his family’s home.

Levy said that her grandmother relayed that Khalifa needed to leave Syria and return to Israel as soon as possible, telling him that his father was incarcerated and had his “eyes gouged out” by his Syrian captors.

Khalifa obeyed his mother, never again seeing his family or returning to Syria.

“Dad was a Zionist. He returned to Israel, fought in all the wars, both in mandatory service and in the reserves, participated in the liberation of the Western Wall, and started a family. He always felt responsible for what happened to his father,” Levy told Ynet.

“It really stayed with him. Along with the longing for his mother and his family who remained in Syria, [the guilt remained] with him until his last day.”

Levy said it was a “shame” that her father, who died more than 30 years ago, had not lived to see the regime toppled.

Still, the ouster of Bashar al-Assad does provide a sense of justice to the family, she said. “We are very happy. We saw how much pain Dad was in. [The end of the Assad dynasty] is a great relief for us.”