View source for Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Syria

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{{short description|'''The Syrian Jewish community and its emigration, the occupation and annexation of the Golan Heights, the spy Eli Cohen, Israeli strikes and the buffer-zone incursion after the fall of Assad, the Druze, and the 2025–26 security talks'''}}

'''Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Syria''' centre on the occupied Golan Heights and on war. "Israel" seized the Golan in 1967 and annexed it in 1981, a move not recognised internationally except by the United States in 2019.<ref name="BBC2024a">Jon Donnison, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77jrrxxn07o Israel seizes Golan buffer zone after Syrian troops leave posts] ''BBC News'', 8 December 2024.</ref> Syria once had about 30,000 Jews. Almost all had left by 1994.<ref name="WJCSY">World Jewish Congress, [https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/SY Community in Syrian Arab Republic] ''World Jewish Congress'', accessed 20 October 2026.</ref> After [[Bashar al-Assad]] fell in December 2024, "Israel" destroyed much of Syria's military and moved troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone and beyond.<ref name="BBC2024b">Yolande Knell, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx921zreweo Israel seizing on Syria chaos to strike military assets] ''BBC News'', 11 December 2024.</ref> Talks on a security agreement with the government of [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] were continuing in 2026.<ref name="AJ2026">Al Jazeera Staff, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/24/syria-israel-hold-us-mediated-talks-in-jordan-to-de-escalate-tensions Syria, Israel hold US-mediated talks in Jordan to de-escalate tensions] ''Al Jazeera'', 24 August 2026.</ref>

==Jewish community and religious life==
===History and emigration===
According to the [[World Jewish Congress]], before 1947 there were about 30,000 Jews in Syria, in three communities: the Kurdish-speaking Jews of Kamishli, the Jews of Aleppo with roots in Spain, and the Must'arab Jews of Damascus. The WJC says Syrian Jews "supported the aspirations of Arab nationalists and Zionism". After independence in 1946 attacks increased, and the pogroms of 1947 left all the shops and synagogues in Aleppo in ruins. For two decades Syrian Jews were "in effect, hostages", and could leave only if they left family members behind. The WJC writes that "The Madrid Conference in 1992 was the turning point for the Jewish community, when American and Israeli pressure succeeded in convincing the Syrian government to declare that Jews could leave freely." The last Jews who wanted to leave departed with the chief rabbi in October 1994.<ref name="WJCSY" />

===Under Assad===
The US State Department reports that ''The Jewish Chronicle'' found in 2020 that there were no known Jews still living in Syria. Jews are the only religious group whose passports and identity cards record their religion. Before the civil war the regime "encouraged Jews of Syrian origin to visit Damascus". In a speech on 18 December 2023 [[Bashar al-Assad|Assad]] said there was no evidence that six million Jews died in the Holocaust.<ref name="IRFSY">US Department of State, [https://2021-2025.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/syria/ 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Syria] ''US Department of State'', 2024.</ref>

===The 2025 return visit===
In February 2025 Rabbi Yusuf Hamra and his son Henry, a cantor, led a delegation of Syrian Jews from the United States to Damascus, the first such visit in more than 30 years. They prayed in the Franj synagogue and visited the Jewish cemetery. NPR reported that Jewish officials said only seven Jews remained in Syria. The delegation called on the United States to lift sanctions. NPR said the visit was controversial in the US, even among Syrian Jews, mainly because [[Ahmed al-Sharaa|al-Sharaa]] was once a member of [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name="NPR2025">Jane Arraf, [https://www.npr.org/2025/02/25/nx-s1-5304226/syrian-jews-return-to-damascus-hoping-to-rebuild-a-community Syrian Jews return to Damascus hoping to rebuild a community] ''NPR'', 25 February 2025.</ref>

'''How far is it Zionist?''' No organised Jewish community body inside Syria was found. The WJC says the old community supported both Arab nationalism and Zionism, and that Israeli pressure helped open emigration in 1992.<ref name="WJCSY" /> The 2025 delegation came from the United States and pressed for sanctions relief. No source reviewed links it to a Zionist organisation.<ref name="NPR2025" />

===Chabad===
No Chabad emissary or centre was found in Syria.
:''Main article: [[Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia]]''
The [[Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States]] lists no rabbi in Syria. It lists "Rabbi Avraham Hamra, Chief Rabbi of Syrian Expatriates Community" in memoriam.<ref name="ARIS">Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, [https://www.rabbisalliance.org/about/the-rabbis/ The Rabbis] ''rabbisalliance.org'', accessed 20 October 2026 (Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States-side).</ref>

==Zionist movement and advocacy==
No Zionist organisation operating in Syria was found. The WJC says Syrian Jews before 1946 supported both Arab nationalism and Zionism and hoped the two could be reconciled.<ref name="WJCSY" />

==Israeli state and commercial ties==
===Golan Heights===
"Israel" seized the Golan Heights in the closing stages of the 1967 war and annexed it unilaterally in 1981. The annexation was not recognised internationally. About 20,000 Syrians, most of them Druze, stayed on and now live alongside thousands of Israeli settlers.<ref name="BBC2024a" /> On 25 March 2019 [[Donald Trump]] proclaimed that "the United States recognizes that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel".<ref name="Golan2019">The White House, [https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-recognizing-golan-heights-part-state-israel/ Proclamation on Recognizing the Golan Heights as Part of the State of Israel] ''The White House'', 25 March 2019 (US government-side).</ref>

===Eli Cohen===
The Israeli spy [[Eli Cohen (born 1924)|Eli Cohen]] was arrested in January 1965 and publicly hanged in Damascus on 18 May 1965. In May 2025 the [[Mossad]] said it had brought "The official Syrian archive on Eli Cohen" to "Israel": about 2,500 items, including his handwritten will, forged passports and Syrian intelligence files. It said the items were obtained in a covert operation with "a strategic partner intelligence agency". [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] and the Mossad director, [[David Barnea]], attended a ceremony with Cohen's widow, Nadia Cohen.<ref name="Ynet2025">Itamar Eichner, [https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1gt7vvzel Mossad retrieves thousands of personal items, documents belonging to spy Eli Cohen from Syria] ''Ynet'', 18 May 2025.</ref>

===Strikes and the buffer zone after Assad===
On 8 December 2024, after rebels led by [[Hayat Tahrir al-Sham]] took Damascus, Netanyahu said the 1974 disengagement agreement had "collapsed". He ordered the [[Israel Defense Forces]] to enter the demilitarised buffer zone and "commanding positions nearby". The BBC reported that "Israel" had "temporarily" seized the zone.<ref name="BBC2024a" /> By 11 December the IDF said it had carried out more than 350 air and naval strikes, destroying an estimated 70–80% of Syria's strategic military assets. Troops moved into the buffer zone and, the IDF admitted, "just beyond", and, according to Israeli media, took the summit of Mount Hermon. The defence minister, [[Israel Katz]], said he had ordered a "sterile defence zone" in southern Syria "without a permanent Israeli presence".<ref name="BBC2024b" /> No source reviewed for this page gives figures for Israeli strikes on Syria during the civil war before December 2024.

===The Druze and the 2025 Damascus strikes===
In July 2025 fighting broke out in Sweida between government forces, Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. "Israel" said it would protect the Druze community and would not let the Syrian army deploy in the south. On 16 July 2025 it struck the defence ministry in Damascus twice. Syrian officials said one person was killed and 18 injured. ''The Guardian'' reported that many Druze rejected the Israeli claim of patronage, for fear of being seen as a foreign proxy.<ref name="Guardian2025">William Christou, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/16/israel-strikes-syria-defence-ministry-in-third-day-of-attacks-on-the-country Israel strikes Syria's defence ministry in third day of attacks] ''The Guardian'', 16 July 2025.</ref> ''Al Jazeera'' reported a strike near the presidential palace the same day. It cited the state news agency SANA as saying at least three people were killed and 34 wounded. Katz wrote that the "warnings in Damascus have ended – now painful blows will come".<ref name="AJ2025">''Al Jazeera'', [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/16/ceasefire-collapses-in-syrias-suwayda-as-israel-threatens-escalation Israel hits Syrian army HQ, near Damascus palace as Suwayda fighting rages] ''Al Jazeera'', 16 July 2025.</ref>

===Security talks, 2025–26===
''Al Jazeera'' reports that the United States has sought for more than a year to broker a security agreement between "Israel" and [[Ahmed al-Sharaa|al-Sharaa]]'s government. In earlier rounds the two sides agreed a joint mechanism to share intelligence. The foreign minister, [[Asaad al-Shaibani]], said they had agreed on paper to "almost everything" around the start of 2026, including security zones in southern Syria and a buffer zone where only UN forces would be present. The talks froze at the end of February 2026, when the United States and "Israel" went to war with Iran. On 23 August 2026 al-Shaibani met Israeli officials in Jordan, after an Israeli strike on the Abu Duhur airbase. According to SANA, Syria's priorities were an Israeli withdrawal to the positions held before [[Bashar al-Assad|Assad]]'s fall and the full restoration of the 1974 agreement. ''Al Jazeera'' cited Israeli media as saying that Israeli officials' red lines included keeping the Syrian side of the Golan demilitarised and preventing Turkish military activity in Syria.<ref name="AJ2026" /> In September 2026 Israeli media, quoted by the [[Anadolu Agency]], reported that the bid for a deal had failed because "Israel" refused to withdraw from the buffer zone, which an official called a "security asset".<ref name="AA2026">Tarek Chouiref, [https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-bid-for-security-deal-with-syria-failed-on-buffer-zone-dispute-report/4045855 Israeli bid for security deal with Syria failed on buffer zone dispute: Report] ''Anadolu Agency'', 3 September 2026.</ref>

===Arms, trade and intelligence===
The SIPRI register records no arms transfers from "Israel" to Syria.<ref name="SIPRISY">Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, [https://armstransfers.sipri.org SIPRI Arms Transfers Database], trade registers, Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, generated 20 October 2026 (library copy).</ref> The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics country trade table does not list Syria.<ref name="CBS">Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), [https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2026/fr_trade12_2025/td1.pdf Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports] ''CBS'', December 2025 issue (library copy) (Israeli government-side).</ref> [[Citizen Lab]]'s 2018 survey of [[NSO Group]]'s Pegasus spyware found only "interesting DNS cache hits" in Syria, which it said were not enough to identify infections.<ref name="CLHide">Citizen Lab, [https://citizenlab.ca/research/hide-and-seek-tracking-nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-to-operations-in-45-countries/ Hide and Seek: Tracking NSO Group's Pegasus Spyware to Operations in 45 Countries] ''The Citizen Lab'', 18 September 2018 (critical).</ref>

==Migration and aliyah==
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics records Syrian-born immigrants to "Israel" as 2,678 in 1948–51, 1,870 in 1952–60, 2,138 in 1961–71, 842 in 1972–79, 995 in 1980–89, 1,646 in 1990–99 and 87 in 2000–2020.<ref name="CBSAliyah">Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), [https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2024/2.ShnatonPopulation/st02_55.pdf Statistical Abstract of Israel 2024, Table 2.55: Immigrants, by period of immigration, country of birth and last country of residence] ''CBS'', 2024 (Israeli government-side).</ref> Many went to the United States instead. NPR said the Hamra family left with "tens of thousands of others" when the regime finally allowed Jews to emigrate.<ref name="NPR2025" />

==Political interference==
"Israel" has claimed a protective role over Syria's Druze and has demanded a demilitarised south.<ref name="Guardian2025" /><ref name="AJ2026" /> According to Israeli media cited by ''Al Jazeera'', "Israel" made any withdrawal from Syrian territory it occupies conditional on "diplomatic achievements".<ref name="AJ2026" />

===Jeffrey Epstein===
*In a thread on 31 July 2010 about investment in Middle Eastern banks, [[Jeffrey Epstein]] described Lebanon and Syria as "the next two hot spots".<ref name="EpNA">''The New Arab'', [https://www.newarab.com/news/peter-mandelson-epstein-discussed-lebanese-bank-investments Peter Mandelson, Epstein discussed Lebanese bank investments amid fresh scrutiny] ''The New Arab'', 4 February 2026.</ref>
*Epstein's papers included a "strictly confidential" UN record of a 16 August 2011 call in which the Turkish foreign minister, [[Ahmet Davutoglu|Ahmet Davutoğlu]], briefed the UN secretary-general, [[Ban Ki-moon]], on his talks with Bashar al-Assad about the crackdown in Hama. It is not clear how Epstein obtained it. ''Middle East Eye'' reports that other correspondence shows him regularly receiving reports on Syria.<ref name="EpMEET">Ragip Soylu, [https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/epstein-files-reveal-turkey-final-ultimatum-assad-syrian-war Epstein files reveal Turkey's final ultimatum to Assad before Syrian war] ''Middle East Eye'', 4 February 2026.</ref>
*On 21 October 2015 the venture capitalist [[Joi Ito]] asked Epstein whether he had "anyone with influence over Assad" to help free a friend from prison in Syria. Epstein replied: "Not for email."<ref name="EpMEET" />

==See also==
*[[Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia]]
*[[Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States]]
*[[Zionist Movement|Zionist movement]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lebanon]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Turkey]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Iran]]

==External links==
*[https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-recognizing-golan-heights-part-state-israel/ US proclamation on the Golan Heights, 25 March 2019]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Zionist movement|Syria]]
[[Category:Syria]]