Turkish rabbi helps Jews in Iran, Syria hold a kosher Sukkot
Avraham Chaim transfers citrons to Tehran and 'four species' sets to Damascus
Illustrative: An ultra-Orthodox man examines a citron (etrog) in Jerusalem (photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Rabbi Avraham Chaim, head of the Jewish community in Istanbul, Turkey, said he has managed to transfer more than 100 citrons (etrogim), ritually used in the Jewish festival of Sukkot, to the Jewish community in Iran.
Chaim told Israel Radio that he had also managed to send a few dozen sets of the four species, used in holiday prayers, to the Jewish community of Syria. He said that to the best of his knowledge, the Jewish community in the war-torn country is safe and synagogues remain unharmed despite heavy fighting between government and rebel forces.
According to a recent Iranian census, 8,756 Jews currently live in Iran. Fewer than 100 Jews reside in Syria.
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