New York, NY, December 9, 2024 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today issued the following statement:
As the situation in Syria continues to evolve, it is crucial that the international community works to ensure that Syria emerges as a stable and inclusive nation committed to peaceful coexistence with its neighbors.
While the end of the Assad family’s brutal dictatorship is a welcome development for the Syrian people and the region, we are very concerned about the role of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - a jihadist, US and UN designated terrorist group that traffics in overt antisemitism - will play in Syria moving forward. Despite HTS’s recent efforts to rebrand their organization as a moderate force, its ideology remains steeped in extremism and anti-Israel sentiment.
The safety and security of Israel and others in the region remain an ongoing concern amid these uncertain developments. Israel’s efforts to secure its national borders and mitigate the risk of Syrian weapons—particularly chemical and biological—falling into the hands of terrorist entities, should be roundly supported. The involvement of Turkey and Qatar, who have backed terrorist organizations like Hamas, as well as Islamist factions in Syria, raise serious concerns about how their dangerous ideology will impact Syria and the broader region.
Finally, the international community must ensure the country’s diverse ethnic and religious minority communities, including the secular Muslims, Druze, Christians, Kurds, Yazidis and others, are fully protected against violent attacks and other forms of persecution.