Syrian Americans
Syrian Americans are Americans of Syrian descent or background. The first significant wave of Syrian immigrants to arrive in the United States began in the 1880s.[10] Many of the earliest Syrian Americans settled in New York City, Boston, and Detroit. Immigration from Syria to the United States suffered a long hiatus after the United States Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which restricted immigration. More than 40 years later, the Immigration Act of 1965, abolished the quotas and immigration from Syria to the United States saw a surge. An estimated 64,600 Syrians immigrated to the United States between 1961 and 2000.[11]
The overwhelming majority of Syrian immigrants to the U.S. from 1880 to 1960 were Christian, a minority were Jewish, whereas Muslim Syrians arrived in the United States chiefly after 1965.[12] According to the 2016 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, there were 187,331 Americans who claimed Syrian ancestry, about 12% of the Arab population in the United States. There are also sizeable minority populations from Syria in the U.S. including Jews, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, and Circassians.[13][14]
Demography[edit]
According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are 142,897 Americans of Syrian ancestry living in the United States.[14] New York City has the highest concentration of Syrian Americans in the United States. Other urban areas, including Paterson, New Jersey, Allentown, Boston, Cleveland, Dearborn, New Orleans, Toledo, Cedar Rapids, and Houston have large Syrian populations.[19] Syrian Americans are also numerous in Southern California (i.e. the Los Angeles and San Diego areas) and Arizona, many are descendants of farm laborers invited with their farm skills to irrigate the deserts in the early 20th century. Many recent Syrian immigrants are medical doctors who studied at Damascus and Aleppo Universities and pursued their residencies and fellowships in the United States.
Politics[edit]
Early Syrian Americans were not involved politically.[23] Business owners were usually Republican, meanwhile labor workers were usually Democrats. Second generation Syrian Americans were the first to be elected for political roles. In light of the Arab–Israeli conflict, many Syrian Americans tried to affect American foreign policy by joining Arab political groups in the United States.[48] In the early 1970s, the National Association of Arab-Americans was formed to negate the stereotypes commonly associated with Arabs in American media.[48] Syrian Americans were also part of the Arab American Institute, established in 1985, which supports and promotes Arab American candidates, or candidates commiserative with Arabs and Arab Americans, for office.[23] Mitch Daniels, who served as Governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013, is a descendant of Syrian immigrants with relatives in Homs.[49]
co-founder and former CEO of Apple, the largest Disney shareholder,[59] and a member of Disney's Board of Directors. Jobs is considered a leading figure in both the computer and entertainment industries.[60]
Steve Jobs
television personality, jewelry designer, multi-platinum Grammy-winning singer, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer of Jewish descent[61] According to Abdul, she has sold over 53 million records to date.[62] Abdul found renewed fame as a judge on the highly rated television series American Idol.
Paula Abdul
billionaire comedian, actor, and writer, best known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the long-running sitcom Seinfeld, which he co-created and executively produced. His mother was of Syrian Jewish descent, his grandparents emigrating from Aleppo.[63]
Jerry Seinfeld
widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, he holds 56 Championship Tour victories.
Kelly Slater
actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in the 1984 film Amadeus. His career after Amadeus inspired the name of the phenomenon dubbed "F. Murray Abraham syndrome", attributed to Oscar winners who have difficulty obtaining comparable success and recognition despite having recognizable talent
F. Murray Abraham
film director and producer originally from Aleppo; Akkad is best known for producing the series of Halloween films, and for directing the Lion of the Desert and Mohammad, Messenger of God films.[64]
Moustapha Akkad
Emmy-nominated character actor who was best known for his role as "Captain Adam Greer" on the television series The Mod Squad.[65]
Tige Andrews
actress known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Hatcher is Syrian from her mother's side
Teri Hatcher
former Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana (2005–2013) and the current President of Purdue University.
Mitch Daniels
former head of Federal Aviation Administration and CEO of Pan-American Airlines, and father of Queen Noor of Jordan.[66]
Najeeb Halaby
widely recognized as the father of modern graph theory
Frank Harary
billionaire real estate developer.
Stanley Chera
billionaire real estate developer.
Jeff Sutton
billionaire businessman.
Joseph Cayre
32nd Governor of Oregon from 1979 to 1987, American politician and member of the Republican Party.
Victor George "Vic" Atiyeh
first woman to serve on the Florida Supreme Court, and the first woman Chief Justice of that court. She subsequently served as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and currently serves as a judge on the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal. The Barkett family originated in the village of Zaidal on the outskirts of Homs.
Rosemary Barkett
composer and pianist.
Malek Jandali
member of the House of Representatives from Michigan from 2011–2021 (Republican from 2011–2019, Independent from 2019–2021), mother is Syrian.
Justin Amash
cookbook author who introduced American audiences to Syrian food beginning with her book, The Art of Syrian Cookery (1962).[56]
Helen Corey
neuroscientist and medical researcher.
Huda Akil
former Republican Mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Elected in 1979, he was the first elected Mayor of the history of Colorado Springs, serving through 1997.
Robert M. Isaac
folklorist and musician.
Alan Jabbour
(born 1967), physician, Muslim reformer, and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
Zuhdi Jasser
UFC fighter.
Alan Jouban
(born 1967), poet and author.
Mohja Kahf
(born 1971), Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and the director of the MIT Wireless Center.
Dina Katabi
hip-hop, electro funk, and dance music artist, DJ, remixer, and producer. Mantronik was the leader of the old-school band Mantronix.
Kurtis Mantronik
author and poet.
Jack Marshall
(born July 17, 1986), professional wrestler signed with the WWE under the name "Mojo Rawley".
Dean Muhtadi
(born October 27, 1992), professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks. Saad was a finalist in the 2012–13 season for the Calder Memorial Trophy, along with winning the Stanley Cup in 2013, and 2015 with the Blackhawks.
Brandon Saad
(born September 15, 1955), scholar and Human Rights activist, and a vocal critic of the Far Right. Author of numerous books and articles, Safi is active in the debate on nuclear race, social and political development, and Islam-West issues. He is the chairman of the Syrian American Congress.
Louay M. Safi
chess grandmaster and 4-time US-champion.[74] Seirawan is the 69th best chess player in the world and the 2nd in the United States.[74]
Yasser Seirawan
writer
Lisa Brennan-Jobs
R. Jamieson and Betty Williams Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, and the former vice president for research.
Fawwaz Ulaby
American entrepreneur and business executive, co-founder of SparkNotes, eDonkey, OkCupid, and Techstars Chicago, also CEO of Match Group, including Tinder.
Sam Yagan
neurologist and psychologist whose story with Susannah Cahalan turned into an American Drama Film. He studied medicine in the University of Damascus and in Albany Medical College
Souhel Najjar
Eddie Antar, founder of , of Syrian Jewish descent.
Crazy Eddie
orthopaedic surgeon.
Riad Barmada
Syrian American Council
Syrian Jewish communities of the United States
Syria–United States relations
Syrian Americans in New York City
Syrian Jews
(nonprofit NGO)