Last year, community seniors were invited to Ohel Yaacob Synagogue (The Lawrence Avenue Shul) in Deal, New Jersey, to see The Syrian Jewish Community: Our Journey Through History, Episode 2, Coming to America, which was the first documentary film tracing the history of our community.
While they watched, there was a palpable excitement in the air. They sat in rapt attention and remained transfixed as they enjoyed the poignant stories of their relatives, and other Syrian Jews, discussing their childhood experiences and those of their parents and grandparents.
As they left, everyone said they couldnt wait to see the next installment in the documentary series. On April 24, 2012, their wait ended. They were invited back to Ohel Yaacob to see Episode 3: Life in Bensonhurst 1920-1937.
Caroll Maleh put the event together and was very happy with the result, which she described as even better than the first one.
It was a fabulous occasion, she began. While the seniors watched the movie, you could hear a pin drop. They are the pioneers of this community; its their lives that they were watching. They brought us into this world.
The event was sponsored by Allen Brown in memory of his late mother, Jean Brown AH, and the food was delicious.
After the movie, no one wanted to leave. They sat and talked for as long as they could. Many of them called me the next day to tell me that they had a wonderful time, Caroll concluded, with a huge thank you to Joe Sitt for making the documentaries and a wish to be present next year to do it again with the next documentary in the film series.
