"Born in 1936 to a #Syrian- #Jewish family in #Cairo, #ClaudiaRoden studied in #London to become a painter before becoming engrossed by the stories and #recipes of #Britain’s expatriate #Egyptian community. She began teaching #MiddleEastern #cooking from her home, hosting the #BBC series “Claudia Roden’s #Mediterranean #Cookery” and becoming a prolific #food #journalist and #cookbook #author. She is best known for two #publications: A #Book of Middle Eastern Food, a cookbook first published in 1968 that remains an important influence on top #chefs around the world, and The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from #Samarkand to #NewYork, an opus on Jewish #cooking that provides a detailed history of Jewish holidays and recipes from the #diaspora."

https://mirrorspectator.com/2026/02/12/claudia-rodens-armenian-kofta-with-mashed-potato-pine-nuts-and-raisins/

"Born in 1936 to a #Syrian- #Jewish family in #Cairo, #ClaudiaRoden studied in #London to become a painter before becoming engrossed by the stories and #recipes of #Britain’s expatriate #Egyptian community. She began teaching #MiddleEastern #cooking from her home, hosting the #BBC series “Claudia Roden’s #Mediterranean #Cookery” and becoming a prolific #food #journalist and #cookbook #author. She is best known for two #publications: A #Book of Middle Eastern Food, a cookbook first published in 1968 that remains an important influence on top #chefs around the world, and The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from #Samarkand to #NewYork, an opus on Jewish #cooking that provides a detailed history of Jewish holidays and recipes from the #diaspora."

https://mirrorspectator.com/2026/02/12/claudia-rodens-armenian-kofta-with-mashed-potato-pine-nuts-and-raisins/

"Decades after almost the entire #Syrian #Jewish community left the country, Henry Hamra of #Brooklyn, #NY, stands at the metal door of a small #synagogue in this ancient Syrian city, literally holding the keys to a possible return of Jewish citizens.

Hamra was 15 years old when his family left #Damascus in the early 1990s after the #Assad regime lifted a ban on travel. Many of the Syrian #Jews were unable to sell their homes before they left. Some of the homes ended up occupied by other Syrians while the government took charge of the #synagogues and #schools.

In December, just days before Hamra's visit to #Aleppo, the Syrian government licensed a Jewish heritage foundation he leads, transferring control of Jewish #religious properties from the government to the organization.

The organization will also help restore private property appropriated when the Jewish community left to its Jewish owners."

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/03/nx-s1-5674746/syria-jewish-syrians-jews

"Decades after almost the entire #Syrian #Jewish community left the country, Henry Hamra of #Brooklyn, #NY, stands at the metal door of a small #synagogue in this ancient Syrian city, literally holding the keys to a possible return of Jewish citizens.

Hamra was 15 years old when his family left #Damascus in the early 1990s after the #Assad regime lifted a ban on travel. Many of the Syrian #Jews were unable to sell their homes before they left. Some of the homes ended up occupied by other Syrians while the government took charge of the #synagogues and #schools.

In December, just days before Hamra's visit to #Aleppo, the Syrian government licensed a Jewish heritage foundation he leads, transferring control of Jewish #religious properties from the government to the organization.

The organization will also help restore private property appropriated when the Jewish community left to its Jewish owners."

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/03/nx-s1-5674746/syria-jewish-syrians-jews