As Syrian Jews migrated to the New World and established themselves, a divide frequently persisted between those with roots in Aleppo (the Halabi Jews, alternately spelled Halebi or Chalabi) and Damascus (the Shami Jews), which had been the two main centers of Jewish life in Syria.[24][25] This split persists to the present day, with each community maintaining some separate cultural institutions and organizations, and to a lesser-extent, a preference for in-group marriage.[24][25]