SHMLearn: The Syrian Jewish Community (Sephardic Heritage Museum)
Middle School (Grades 6-8)
High School (Grades 9-12)
Lessons from the Sephardic Heritage Museum built around a seven part documentary on the Syrian Jewish community, from Aleppo and Damascus to Brooklyn and the rescue of Syria’s last Jews.
Overview
The Sephardic Heritage Museum in New York documents the Jewish communities of Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, with hundreds of interviews and thousands of photographs. Its education program, SHMLearn, is built around a seven part documentary, The Syrian Jewish Community: Our Journey Through History, cut into short clips with lessons and primary source activities. Students follow the community from ancient Aleppo and Damascus through immigration to New York, the war years, and the decades when Syria’s remaining Jews were trapped until their rescue in the 1990s.
Questions Students Explore
- How did the Syrian Jewish community preserve its identity across centuries and continents?
- What pushed Syrian Jews to leave, and what did they build in America?
- How were the last Jews of Syria rescued?
What Students Do
- Watch short documentary clips from each episode.
- Analyze photographs and objects from the museum’s archive.
- Discuss and write about themes of migration, community, and rescue.
At a Glance
Grade level: Grades 6 to 12; written for Jewish schools
Time: Seven episodes, each with short clips and activities
Source: Sephardic Heritage Museum, SHMLearn
About this resource
SHMLearn was created by the Sephardic Heritage Museum. It is not a JIMENA lesson. The lessons are free, but teachers must register and be approved by the museum before they can access them.
Request free educator access from the Sephardic Heritage Museum Opens on sephardicheritagemuseum.com
Procedures
Before You Teach
- Register early. Request access on the museum’s registration page; approval can take two working days.
- Build background. JIMENA’s Cultural Heritage: Syria page gives a short history of the community.
Body of Lesson
The Seven Episodes
- The Beginning
- Coming to America, 1900 to 1919
- Life in Bensonhurst, 1920 to 1939
- The War Years, 1939 to 1945
- A Community Grows in Brooklyn, 1945 to 1965
- The Jews of Syria, 1930 to 1967
- The Rescue of the Jews of Syria, 1970 to 1994
Conclusion
Reflection
Students choose one photograph or object from the museum’s archive and write the story it tells about the community.
Extension Activities
- Hear Syrian Jewish voices. Explore JIMENA’s Oral History collection.
- Why did families leave? Teach JIMENA’s Forgotten Refugees lesson.
- Food and memory. Claudia Roden’s family came from Aleppo; see JIMENA’s Jewish Cuisine lesson.