To our friends, partners, and community around the world,
🇸🇾✨️ The first time I traveled to Syria, one person opened his door to me. His name is Bachur "Eid" Simantov.
He welcomed me into his family's home in the Jewish Quarter of Old Damascus the house he was born in treated me like family from day one, and invited me to his home for dinner every Shabbat.
Since then, I have returned to Syria dozens of times, and every single time, Eid was there. When I needed help, he helped. When I needed to understand something, he knew it. When I needed someone I could trust completely, it was him.
Over the years, I have made sure to get him kosher food, especially before the holidays, so he could continue observing them properly in Damascus. It was a small gesture. What he gave back was everything.
Eid was born in the Jewish Quarter and never left. Not through the war, and not when almost the entire Jewish community departed Syria. He stayed because he loves Damascus and its people, and they love him back.
Walk with him through the neighborhood and you'll see it. Children, parents, shopkeepers, and neighbors all stop to greet him. His door has always been open to all.
For years, that same home became my home in Damascus. It became a place where people could sit together, break bread, and reconnect. Syrians from all backgrounds, visitors from abroad, members of the Jewish diaspora returning to their roots, scholars, and religious leaders all found a place at Eid's table.
Everything I've been able to accomplish in Syria started at his door.
Long before the Syrian Mosaic Foundation
@SyrianMosaicFDN existed, there was Eid. He was there helping me navigate Damascus, reconnect people with their heritage, protect what remained of our community, and open doors that otherwise would have stayed closed.
Today, through SMF, we work side by side. Eid leads on the ground in Damascus, and the Foundation stands behind him completely with institutional capacity, legal support, and a bridge to the outside world. When international guests arrive, Eid hosts them. When the remaining elderly residents need something, Eid answers. When communal properties need care, Eid stays and does the work.
To me, Eid is much more than a partner. He is family.
He is a living chapter in the story of Syrian Jewry, a man who stayed when almost everyone else had gone, who cared for what generations left behind, and who never stopped believing that Jews still have a place in Syria's story.
There are buildings that can be restored, documents that can be preserved, and artifacts that can be recovered. But living heritage is different.
Eid is living heritage.
As we work to protect Syria's Jewish history, it is just as vital to honor the people who kept that history alive when no one was watching. For decades, Eid kept the door open for all of us. Now, it is our turn to stand beside him.
The future of this community belongs to those who stayed, served, and earned its trust. Eid is one of those people, and the Syrian Mosaic Foundation is honored to stand with him, today and for generations to come.
Just as Eid's door in Damascus has always been open, our door remains open to everyone from the diaspora abroad to partners around the world who wants to join us in protecting this irreplaceable heritage.
To all who have stood with us on this journey: thank you. And to those hearing Eid's story for the first time: help us help him. Stand with us, support this work, and make sure that door in Damascus stays open. 🇸🇾🕊🕎