They settled first in Bensonhurst, then in the more upscale homes along Ocean Parkway. They tried, through their synagogues and schools, shops and restaurants, to hold on to their past. Since my parents died, I have been increasingly drawn to Ocean Parkway. I suppose I am trying in some way to repair the sundered photograph by immersing myself in the world of my parents. Here, life carries on as if it were still the Levant of the 1920s.
Sons go into business with their fathers.
The area has produced jeans kings like Jordache and electronics czars like Crazy Eddie Antar, as well as the designer Isaac Mizrahi, and, of course, Fred Harari, owner of the store that was torched in the 125 th Street massacre. Harari is both an exception and the rule. As the middle class fled New York and department stores shut down, Syrian Jews stayed put, set up family businesses, and prospered by opening bargain stores that appealed to the city s new working class. The Wiz, Century 21, Conway, and Strawberry are all owned by Syrian Jewish families. These are adept businessmen who mastered the art of sales in the souks of Damascus and Aleppo.