Rabbi’s grave dug up at Damascus Jewish cemetery

Unidentified individuals broke into Damascus’s Jewish cemetery in recent days and dug a pit near the grave of Rabbi Chaim Vital, possibly searching for remains, Kan news reports.

The motive behind the desecration is unclear. The Union of Rabbis in Islamic Countries, which condemned the “shocking and repugnant” act, posited that it could be an attempt to relocate remains to Israel, though the basis for that assertion was unclear.

Syrian officials assured the small Jewish community in the city that they would seek to identify those responsible and pursue the matter seriously, the report says.

Grave of 17th century Rabbi Hayyim ben Joseph Vital in Damascus was vandalized on Wednesday by an unknown group who dug under his resting place to rob it for artefacts.

Syrian Jews living in the US visited it earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/r5GYLjW35u

— Hassan Ridha (@sayed_ridha) April 25, 2025