Syria's parliamentary elections: First Jewish candidate in 58 years enters race
Syria is holding its first parliamentary elections since the fall of the Assad regime, with a Jewish candidate running for the first time in decades in a vote conducted largely through indirect selection rather than a direct public ballot.
As Syria gears up for its first parliamentary elections since the fall of the Assad regime, Rabbi Henry Hamra, a Syrian-born Jew residing in the United States, announced on Thursday his candidacy for a seat representing Damascus, becoming the first Jewish candidate to participate in the elections since 1967.
Hamra, 48, made the announcement on social media, stressing his belief in a united Syria while vowing to work toward a prosperous and just Syria.
He also pledged to work with the Syrian American community and lobby US lawmakers to repeal the 2019 Caesar Act, which imposed unconditional economic sanctions on the former Assad regime over atrocities committed during the civil war.
لمحة عن برنامجي الانتخابي pic.twitter.com/fe8CKG7TtC
— الحملة الانتخابية لهنري حمره مرشح مجلس الشعب (@henryhamrasy) October 2, 2025
In another post on Thursday, Hamra detailed his political program, which is built around six key points: promoting a unified Syrian national identity by reconnecting the Jewish diaspora with their Syrian homeland, contributing to reconstruction and economic development, consolidating the image of the new Syria as a tolerant country, protecting heritage and cultural identity, supporting Syrian communities abroad, and achieving social justice and equal citizenship.
