Video summary
The speaker, an American rabbi and leader of delegations, discusses his recent missions to Syria aimed at helping Jewish communities reestablish their historical roots in the region. He emphasizes that these visits were conducted as goodwill efforts rather than political interventions, noting a significant shift in the local atmosphere just months after the revolution. A key observation from his trips was that the Syrian people did not obsess over Israel or the Gaza conflict; instead, they were focused on rebuilding their own nation and were surprisingly warm and welcoming to Jewish visitors. This positive reception extended across various sectors of society, including meetings with government officials in the foreign office and ministries, as well as cultural figures like the director of the National Museum of Damascus, where significant restoration work is being done on ancient frescoes.
The speaker argues that Israel played a crucial role in enabling the success of the Syrian revolution by weakening Hezbollah and Iran, which are deeply unpopular among Syrians. He believes that Syria should be viewed as a potential natural ally for Israel to help prevent Iran from supplying weapons to Hezbollah and to stop the illegal trade of Captagon drugs. While acknowledging existing internal divisions within Syria involving Druze, Alawites, and Kurds, he advocates for a unified Syria that is not beholden to Turkey or Iran. He expresses hope that these Jewish delegations can foster a more positive perception of Jews in Syria, distinguishing between the people of Syria and the policies of the Israeli government, thereby creating opportunities for peace with all neighbors while addressing necessary issues like the Golan Heights through trust but verification.
Regarding the physical infrastructure for returning Jews, the speaker confirms that there are still synagogues and a cemetery in Damascus, indicating that there is indeed something tangible for Jewish communities to return to. He describes Damascus as a beautiful city reminiscent of Israel sixty years ago and notes that while the process of obtaining visas and navigating bureaucracy has made travel difficult, the genuine interest from locals—evidenced by requests for photographs and warm interactions—suggests the effort is not merely a show. Ultimately, he remains optimistic about the future, stating that he falls in love with the Syrian people every time he visits and believes that with continued engagement, Syria could become a great ally for Israel and a welcoming home for those seeking to reconnect with their heritage.
Read the full video transcript
You know, I've got the Israeli elections
getting prepared in the back of my mind
and when I heard you say, "I'm a rabbi,
not an insider." I I I chuckled under
under my breath there cuz no no rabbi in
Israel, especially now, would say I'm a
rabbi, not an Everybody is an insider if
you're a rabbi right now heading into
election time. I wanted to ask you
though,
uh segwaying to the Middle East here,
you have led delegations of American
Jews,
Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Syrian Jews
specifically, back to Syria over the
last year or so as the community there,
what's left of it, not much at this
point, tries to reestablish some roots
and for
Syrian Jews that have left that
community over the years to kind of
return to some extent, figure out what's
left there and try to
establish ties once again and and and
possibly build for the future. Although
that's a long way off. Can you give us a
little bit of a, you know, an insider,
I'm going to get back to the insider
insider's point of view on what those
missions, those delegations have been
like and what you you expect down the
road?
>> Yeah, thanks. They were all goodwill
missions and I have to say that I have
some relative insider information about
Syria and some of it comes from an
amazing doctor
in in Michigan who's done Jewish-Muslim
relations for decades with the American
Jewish Committee.
He's the one who told me this a year and
a half in February, "Asher, you need to
go." I'm an Ashkenazi, too. I'm not
Syrian, but he said, "Asher, you need to
go to Syria." And so I went. This was,
you know, February, just 3 months after
the revolution
and I was very impressed. And, you know,
the number one thing that impressed me
was that people did not obsess about
Israel or Gaza. That's a really good
sign. Like we care I care about
Palestinians, I care about Uyghurs, I
care about Darfur. There are so many
people that I care about, but there's a
time to to talk about different things
and they were worried about Syria. They
were just beginning to rebuild Syria.
And when people found out I was Jewish,
they were very warm. I went back two
more times. I led some missions with an
incredible Joe Jaajaaati, uh who's
Syrian himself, who leads the Syrian
Mosaic Foundation. And we had some great
times with uh government insiders, with
maybe maybe the mainly the foreign
office, but uh minister of
social and labor affairs, economic
minister. Uh we met with the uh director
of the National Museum of Damascus,
which has the incredible Dura Europos
frescoes. There's a lot of work actually
being done on that by the Aliph
Foundation, not a Jewish foundation.
Aliph French Foundation. There's a lot
of amazing work done. So, um I trusted
Dr. Basha. He knew people. His family
was killed to great reason by uh Assad.
And his view, and this is where I'm I
have a soapbox on this, that I stand on
a soapbox, that there need to be that
Israel is the reason why there is the
new Syria, because Israel punched
Hezbollah, Israel weakened Iran, and
therefore Sharaa, formerly Julani, was
able to uh head the revolution be
successful. Um Israel would be a natural
ally of Syria. And I know there issues
with the Druze and the Alawites,
Kurds. I love the Kurds, but Syria needs
to be whole and unified. And it was such
an opportunity for Israel, um and and a
year and a half ago. And everyone is
questioning. And then people said
Sharaa, he's not going to be around very
long. And then they're going to call him
Julani. He's he's an Islamist and all
these things. It was a great opportunity
for Israel. They Syria reached out.
Said, "We want peace with all our
neighbors." Of course, you have to
discuss the Golan. And of course, I
wouldn't advocate for removal of the
tanks in the Golan, woo, peace. No, no.
You know, in Hebrew, kavdehu ve
chashtehu, trust but verify. Be careful
about it, but it was such an opportunity
and it was an opportunity to pull Syria
a little bit away from Turkey.
Um, they don't want to be beholden to
anyone to Turkey. They know that Turkey
actually wants to take them over as part
of the Ottoman Empire. So, it was a
great opportunity and I was hoping
that these Jewish goodwill missions,
because I think people conflate Jews and
Israel and all that, um, uh, would, uh,
really, hopefully, uh, lead to, uh,
people have a more positive feeling in
Syria. So, I did and as I mentioned, the
last two trips, uh, was, uh, September
and December,
uh, Mike, I'd love to get you to go to
Syria. I'd love it and when so,
uh, but the last two trips, I wore my
kippah everywhere in Damascus,
um, and you know, people, some people
asked about us, they wanted to take
pictures with us.
Uh, you know, I I'm, look, I don't know
the in I'm not an insider in defense and
all that, but my Syrian friends and Arab
friends said this was such an
opportunity for Israel cuz Syria knew
that it was Israel that hit Hezbollah
and Iran and Syrians hate Hezbollah and
they don't like Iran. Like, that's all
we need. Druze, we have to work on that
that issue. The Druze versus the
Bedouins, this one fighting that one.
It's a tough place, the Middle East and
I feel bad for the Kurds. You know, I
visited Kurdistan also with my Chaldean
friends from Michigan. We, uh, uh, we we
went to Kurdistan. I visited Alqosh
where the prophet Nahum's grave is. So,
um, you know, uh, I want a Kurdistan.
I'm on record. I'm endorsing Kurdistan
in Iraq. And let's let Syria be full and
let's, I hope Israel can wise up and can
really say that that still Syria could
be a great ally and we need it because
we need it to prevent Iran from sending
all these weapons to Hezbollah in
Lebanon. So,
uh we needed to stop the uh illegal drug
trade, Captagon, Captagon. So, uh I'm
I'm very bullish I'm still bullish on
Syria. And even though there's like been
some internal changes in the foreign
office and I'm not as connected to them,
uh I think doc my doctor friends uh
connections are not as good anymore. Um
I still uh
I still have I might get back to Syria
again. And uh
I I I fall in love with the Syrian
people. You know, again, in Israel
they're saying, "Is it a hatsaga?" Is it
all a show? Well, it's an incredible
show. In one end it's an incredible
show, on the other hand, it hasn't been
so easy to get there. You have to fill
out forms and visas and all that. Um so,
I think it's not all show. And I think
that um there's been enough work uh
Shahraz has shown himself over a year
and a half that it's not Iran. It's not
Khomeini. You know, when Khomeini went
in right away, it became an Islamic
Republic. And you saw the evidence uh uh
where it was going. This is totally
different.
>> Well, we'll say next year in Jerusalem.
We'll also say next year in Damascus.
And hopefully, we can make it work in
like 20 seconds or so.
What Do Do Jews have something to go
back to in Syria?
>> Oh, yes. There's incredible There's
synagogues. There's a cemetery next to
it. I don't know if Jews have to move
there to live. That's their decision. Uh
though it's a pretty city. You know,
it's sort of like Israel looked 60 years
ago uh Damascus. But it's great to go
back and meet the Syrian people. And
they will welcome Jews [music] back.