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The Future of Syria Is Uncertain; Here’s What Israel Should Be Doing (PART TWO)
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, waits to welcome the senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Part One of this article appeared here.
Former UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sachs referred in one of his articles to the book Radical Uncertainty by British economists John Kay and Mervin King. The book makes a distinction between risk and uncertainty. Risk can be calculated, but uncertainty cannot. Therefore, in situations of uncertainty, the authors recommend focusing on understanding the situation. This should be accomplished not by calculating probabilities but by observing what is actually happening on the ground with eyes that are open to new perspectives and new threats.
This approach should apply to the current shake-up of the regional system in the Middle East.
The Turkish orientation towards the leadership of al-Julani, leader of the rebels, warrants great concern. Turkish President Erdogan has never hid his ambition to renew the Ottoman Empire. The prospect of an occupation of Damascus by Sunni Muslim forces has an exciting power that could reunify radical Islamic forces to the point of reestablishing an al-Qaeda state in Syria. The third purpose of the IDF’s operations in the region is to focus on these concerns.
Meanwhile, under Erdogan’s leadership, the Kurdish region east of the Euphrates River is under threat of a military attack meant to eliminate it. This will test the ability of the American administration to stand up for its Kurdish allies.
With the collapse of the state order built with the Sykes-Picot Agreements at the end of World War I, an opportunity has arisen to correct an injustice. The international community’s concern for the right to self-determination of minorities has focused over the past century mainly on the Palestinians — but some 30 million Kurds have been trapped for a century without any possibility of a state.
The United States, as a superpower, is facing an unprecedented challenge to its ability to influence emerging trends in the regional chaos that has arisen in Syria.
In all of Israel’s past wars, including the War of Independence, the end of the war was determined by agreements with countries with a recognized identity that existed before the war and continued to exist after it. Now, for the first time, the State of Israel is facing an unknown reality.
Israeli disillusionment in Syria
The collapse of the Assad regime and the trends emerging in Syria in recent weeks required the State of Israel to respond immediately, which entailed abandoning its longstanding security perception of the “villa in the jungle.” In addition to needing to defensively penetrate the expanses of the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, Israel had to assign a special strategic purpose to the effort to maintain Israeli control of the Syrian space in front of the border: to project Israeli military power onto the trends developing in Syria.
This expressed the understanding that if Israel were to take a passive position of simple observation in defending the Golan Heights border line without daring to go beyond the “walls of the villa,” it would not have the appropriate levers to create a position of influence and bargaining to secure Israeli security interests in the emerging system in Syria and Lebanon. Miraculously, the developments in Syria forced Israeli security policy to shatter the barriers of the “villa” perception that had bound it.
A controversy from the beginning
From the beginning of the Zionist enterprise, the Jewish community both openly and covertly struggled with the tension between the two trends — convergence to the borders of the “villa” or integration into the Arab space. This tension was also expressed architecturally. While the settlements of the first aliyah were built along a main axis, such as Kfar Tavor and Yavne’al, in a way that allowed the movement of Arabs and Jews through the colony, the settlements built in the third aliyah and onwards were built off the main road in the form of a closed camp. As a result, with the confrontation of events (especially those of 1936-39, and the activity of Yitzhak Sadeh and Orde Wingate’s field companies), a dispute arose over the question of exiting the fence into the space.
In her book The Sword of the Dove, Anita Shapira describes the way in which Wingate tried to lead his men into active defense activities outside the fence. Wingate’s approach provoked resistance among the kibbutzim of the Jezreel Valley, stemming from this question: where is the line along which it is clear to everyone that they are defending their existence? Is it the fence line or is it beyond it? This debate was not only conducted in the moral dimension. It began as an operational issue. Sadeh’s and Wingate’s concept of defense required engaging in friction in the space outside the fences of the settlements. This was the concept of the guards at the beginning of the formation of the Hebrew defense force. For them, free movement in the space outside the settlements was not only a necessity to fulfill the defense mission but an expression of their desire to integrate into the space in the cultural dimension as well.
Recognizing the need for active regional integration, the State of Israel, under Ben-Gurion’s leadership, turned to proactive activity in areas outside the country’s borders in its early years. While Israel was still under a regime of economic austerity, Israeli delegations operated in African countries in the fields of agriculture and security. In the 1960s, Israeli paratroopers assisted the Iraqi Kurds in fighting against the Iraqi army.
The essence of the perceptual gap
Between the approach that confines itself within the borders of the “villa” and the approach that requires active involvement in the space beyond the borders, there is a deep gap in the perception of reality. The aspiration for confinement is based on the assumption that a country’s security situation can be stabilized by creating a status quo of borders, with each country limiting itself to activity within those borders. Switzerland, for example, succeeded in maintaining a status quo that is perceived as final and permanent within European historical circumstances.
The second approach does not hold with the assumption of the ability to preserve one’s existence in a stable and final status quo. Human reality, certainly in terms of the system of ties between countries, is subject to change and unexpected upheaval. The strategic position of a country is examined in this approach not only by what it manages to stabilize within its sovereign territory, but also by the alliances it maintains with entities in the space and its ability to actively engage in spheres of influence that shape regional trends. This is how Turkey operates in Libya and the Horn of Africa and is the thinking behind its current moves to establish military bases in the heart of Syria. Egypt has recently been involved militarily in Somalia, and Qatar, through its financial capabilities, is operating both in the region and far across the ocean.
The Mossad and its agents have operated and continue to operate with distinction in both close and distant circles outside the State of Israel. However, an overt presence is also required. The trend of Israeli confinement within the borders of the “villa” — with its security and cultural implication — has been revealed as a failure. In this dimension as in others, the Israeli national security concept requires a fundamental update.
Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen is a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He served in the IDF for 42 years. He commanded troops in battles with Egypt and Syria. He was formerly a corps commander and commander of the IDF Military Colleges. A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
The post The Future of Syria Is Uncertain; Here’s What Israel Should Be Doing (PART TWO) first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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World’s Jewish Communities Condemn Antisemitic Shooting Outside DC Museum, Urge Swift Action Amid Rising Threats
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim who were shot and killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, pose for a picture at an unknown location, in this handout image released by Embassy of Israel to the US on May 22, 2025. Photo: Embassy of Israel to the USA via X/Handout via REUTERS
Jewish communities worldwide have strongly condemned the antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, calling for stronger government action as fears mount over a potential rise in violence following the deadly assault on two Israeli embassy staffers in the US capital.
The victims were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington while leaving an event for young professionals and diplomatic staff hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, chanted “Free Palestine, Free Palestine” after being taken into custody. He also reportedly said, “I did it for Gaza.”
Leading Jewish groups and figures around the world quickly decried the act of violence, expressing alarm about the global surge in antisemitism and noting the connection between anti-Israel animus and antisemitic hate crimes.
In France, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF) condemned the shooting, calling it a “hateful crime” and emphasizing that “no political cause can ever legitimize antisemitism.”
“Make no mistake: targeting a Jewish museum and murdering two people while shouting ‘Free Palestine’ is not an act of solidarity — it is a hateful crime, a continuation of the antisemitic violence seen on Oct. 7, now echoed on other shores,” Yonathan Arfi, president of the CRIF, wrote in a statement on X, referring to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. Antisemitic incidents have spiked worldwide in the aftermath of the onslaught, the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
“What happened in Washington is a grim reminder that hatred of Jews, disguised as anti-Israel sentiment, is a global menace that knows no borders,” Arfi continued.
Sadness and outrage after the attack carried out last night in Washington
Make no mistake: targeting a Jewish museum and murdering two people while shouting “Free Palestine” is not an act of solidarity—it is a hateful crime, a continuation of the antisemitic violence seen on… https://t.co/cUrVqLE4dK
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) May 22, 2025
According to local authorities, the victims were Yaron Lischinsky, a 30-year-old research assistant in the political department at the Israeli embassy in Washington, and Sarah Milgrim, a 26-year-old embassy staffer who organized trips to Israel. The young couple was soon to be engaged.
Ted Deutch, CEO of the AJC, denounced the attack, saying the organization stands with the victims’ families and the broader Jewish community as they grieve the tragic loss.
“These are the worst fears of the Jewish community coming true. This was an act of pure evil, and what it did was send shockwaves through the Jewish community around the world,” Deutch said during an interview on Fox News.
“These are the worst fears of the Jewish community coming true. This was an act of pure evil, & what it did was send shockwaves through the Jewish community around the world.”
On @foxandfriends I explained how Jews are feeling about the violence that took place outside an… pic.twitter.com/PkXvucVB9k
— Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee (@AJCCEO) May 22, 2025
Amid a sharp rise in antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate crimes since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, the shooting on Wednesday night has ignited widespread condemnation from leaders and Jewish communities worldwide, while intensifying fears of further attacks.
In the UK, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Community Security Trust (CST) — the latter of which is a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters — also denounced the attack, calling for the suspect to face “the full force of the law.”
“This kind of terrorism is a global threat to all Jewish communities that has risen significantly since Oct. 7, and it is the reason why there is so much security across the Jewish community in the UK,” CST wrote in a statement on X.
CST condemns the terrorist murder of two Israel Embassy staff outside the Jewish Museum in Washington DC. Our thoughts are with their family and colleagues at this awful time. This kind of terrorism is a global threat to all Jewish communities that has risen significantly since 7… pic.twitter.com/Qo2VNe33ka
— CST (@CST_UK) May 22, 2025
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced heightened security at Israeli embassies worldwide as a preventive measure following the deadly attack on US soil.
“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and the wild incitement against the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “The blood libels against Israel are costing us blood and must be fought relentlessly.”
“My heart aches with the families of the young couple, whose lives were cut short by a despicable antisemitic murderer,” the Israeli leader continued. “I have ordered security arrangements to be boosted in Israeli diplomatic missions around the world and around representatives of the state.”
In a statement on X, Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), denounced the attack as “a devastating reminder that the danger facing Jewish communities is not history.”
Lauder called on US President Donald Trump and global leaders to act swiftly to bolster security at Jewish institutions around the world.
“Though this brazen act of violence occurred on American soil, its message was meant to cause Jews everywhere to tremble with fear,” he wrote. “But let there be no mistake — this act of terror will not drive us into the shadows. We will not hide our faces or our symbols. We will live openly and proudly, as a courageous people.”
Last night’s attack outside the Jewish Museum, which claimed the lives of Yaron Lishinsky z’’l and Sarah Milgram z’’l, is a devastating reminder that the danger facing Jewish communities is not history—it is real and everpresent.
These were two individuals who dedicated their…
— Ronald S. Lauder (@lauder_ronald) May 22, 2025
In Argentina, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA) voiced strong condemnation of the attack and stood in solidarity with the victims’ families, while warning about “the alarming rise in antisemitic acts fueled by fierce demonization and delegitimization of the State of Israel.”
In a show of support, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) also condemned the “cold-blooded crime,” emphasizing that it was “premeditated and did not happen in a vacuum.”
“This attack underscores the ongoing vulnerability of Jewish communities around the world,” the statement read. “Antisemitism across the world has increased, including in South Africa, where we are seeing more attacks on our community members, including physical assault.”
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Pope Leo XIV’s First Message to Jewish Community Was ‘Extraordinary,’ American Rabbi Says
Pope Leo XIV holds an audience with representatives of the media in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, May 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), spoke with The Algemeiner this week about being among a number of faith leaders to meet with newly elected Pope Leo XIV, and why he has optimism for Catholic-Jewish relations.
“In his remarks [to a couple hundred faith leaders this month], he [Leo] had a few minutes directly speaking to the Jewish people. And those words were extremely important at a time of challenge in Catholic-Jewish relations,” Marans said. “His remarks to the Jewish people have actually been extraordinary.”
Leo — who was elected to become the next bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church earlier this month following the death of Pope Francis in late April, becoming the first American to hold the position — reportedly said, “Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours.”
“This is an extraordinary sentence to be saying on his first message to the Jewish people,” Marans explained. “I mean, he’s referring to now, not the history of the relationship. Why is this important? Because the pope is demonstrating, is recognizing that there have been challenges in recent months. During the waning days of Pope Francis’ tenure.”
Francis, Leo’s predecessor, had become an increasingly vocal critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in the months before his death.
During his pontificate, Francis strongly condemned antisemitism and promoted interfaith dialogue between Jewish and Catholic communities. However, he also drew the ire of pro-Israel supporters and Jewish leaders, including the chief rabbi of Rome, for his sharp words against the Jewish state.
This is not the first time in Leo’s new role that he has reached out to the Jewish community. On May 8, he sent a letter to Marans that emphasized his commitment to strengthening the Catholic Church’s “dialogue and cooperation” with the world’s Jewish communities.
“Trusting in the assistance of the Almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the Church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate,” he wrote.
The Nostra Aetate was a declaration from the Second Vatican Council and promulgated in 1965 by Pope Paul VI that called for dialogue and respect between Christianity and other religions.
“I left that meeting and my entire visit here with optimism. But since I’m a Jewish leader, I tend towards guarded optimism,” Marans said of his meeting with Leo.
In some ways, Marans continued, he expects Leo to be a continuation of Francis. “That means that he will be condemning antisemitism. Using his bully pulpit in a very productive way. The way that Francis did. Describing it as sin against God and un-Christian.”
However, despite the fact that he expects there also to be criticism of Israel, Marans said that he thinks “it will probably be delivered less extemporaneously and more diplomatically” than it was by Francis.
In his first Sunday blessing, Leo took time to comment on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. He called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas took during its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“I am deeply saddened by what is happening in Gaza,” Leo said. “May a ceasefire immediately come into effect … Let humanitarian aid be given to the exhausted civilian population, and let all hostages be freed.”
And in a post on X on Wednesday, Leo wrote, “The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful. I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to bring an end to the hostilities, whose heart-rending price is borne by children, the elderly, and the sick.”
When asked what particularly stuck out to him about the meeting with Leo, Marans said that “the letter to me, and in the speech, he reaffirmed his commitment to Nostra Aetate. And that is the central pillar. The rest is commentary.”
He continued, explaining, “It was a warm environment,” and that “He was very welcoming of the Jewish community. We sense that he understands the relationship that he’s prioritizing.”
Underscoring the strong Jewish-Catholic relationship, Marans said, “Imagine a world in which we’re dealing with the pain of antisemitism that we’ve had in Europe for many years, and now in America, and not having people like Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archbishop of New York speaking out all the time. Not having the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops working with us on an amazing project … to work together collaboratively to counter antisemitism.”
Having the strong relationship that the two communities have today, despite the challenges, Marans said, would be “unimaginable 15 years ago, let alone 100 years ago.”
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Irish Rap Group Kneecap Vows to Fight Terrorism Charge Over Band Member’s Alleged Hezbollah Support
Members of Kneecap pose on the red carpet at the Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A member of Irish hip hop trio Kneecap has been charged with a terrorism offense in the United Kingdom for displaying a flag in support of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.
Liam O’Hanna, 27, of Belfast has been charged with displaying a flag “in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organization” following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
The charge is related to a flag that O’Hanna displayed during a Kneecap concert in November 2024 at the O2 Forum in London. The Metropolitan Police said the musician displayed the flag “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organization, namely Hezbollah,” in violation of the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2000.
“Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command were made aware on Tuesday, April 22 of an online video from the event. An investigation was carried out, which led to the Crown Prosecution Service authorizing the above charge,” police said in a statement. O’Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18.
Kneecap said in a statement on X they believe the terrorism charge is an effort “to prosecute artists who dare speak out.” The trio claimed O’Hanna displayed a flag that had been thrown on stage, and did not mention Hezbollah by name even once in their lengthy statement.
“We deny this ‘offense’ and will vehemently defend ourselves,” Kneecap said. “This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story. Genocide is. … We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win. Free Palestine.”
In their statement, the group also condemned the British government for supporting Israel and claimed British leaders “have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries.”
“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] units they arm and fly spy plane missions for are the real terrorists,” they claimed.
The Algemeiner previously reported that counter-terrorism police in the UK were investigating the band from Northern Ireland after videos emerged online that showed a Kneecap member shout “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” while having a Hezbollah flag draped over his shoulder during the 2024 concert in London. Hezbollah and Hamas are designated by the UK as terrorist organizations, and it is illegal in the country to express support for the two Iran-backed Islamist groups.
Counter-terrorism police were also investigating footage from a 2023 Kneecap concert in which a band member called for the killing of British Members of Parliament [MPs]. A Kneecap member had shouted on stage: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Two British MPs, Jo Cox and David Amess, have been murdered in the last 10 years.
In April, Kneecap apologized to the families of Cox and Amess in a released statement and said they have never supported Hamas or Hezbollah. The trio claimed videos from their concerts in 2023 and 2024 have been “deliberately taken out of all context” as part of a “smear campaign” against the group because of its criticism of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war. Kneecap has been publicly critical of Israel on social media and on stage during their concerts.
During the band’s set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, Kneecap projected on the backdrop of their stage messages that said “F–k Israel, Free Palestine” and “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.” They also led the crowd at Coachella to chant “Free, Free Palestine.”
A number of their scheduled performances at music festivals this summer have been canceled by organizers because of the band’s controversial comments. Organizers of the Glastonbury Festival scheduled for June are also facing increasing pressure from British politicians and members of the entertainment industry to remove Kneecap from its lineup of performers. The UK’s Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said on Monday he thinks the UK and Irish governments should “consider their actions” in relation to providing any funding to Kneecap.
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