In this week’s edition of the Action Update we discuss the demise of the Assad family’s half-century rule of Syria, and the current state of affairs in our nation’s capital. But first, the situation in Gaza demands our attention.

96 Human Beings

Despite having been militarily defeated and seeing most of its leadership wiped out, Hamas is still holding onto 96 hostages the terror group snatched from the arms of their loved ones during the 10/7 Massacre. In addition to those released during the initial period of the conflict following a brief ceasefire, the IDF has rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of an additional 38.

Ninety-six people sit in darkness, in hell on earth, in a dungeon created by an organization so vile, that there is no known limit to the brutality in which these terrorists revel. And every day, IDF soldiers continue to encounter Hamas terrorists hiding amongst civilians and rubble.

President-elect Donald Trump and President Biden are currently approaching this in the correct manner. A change in leadership in Washington presents a real opportunity to make it clear to Hamas that if they do not release the hostages, when President Trump takes office, the Palestinian terrorists and their sponsors in Doha and Ankara will be very sorry for their obstinacy.

A Half-Century of Horror

In 1970, Hafez al-Assad seized control of Syria in a coup d’etat. For the next 30 years he would brutally repress any dissent against his leadership.  Upon his death in 2000, his son Bashar took power.

Having learned at the foot of his wicked father, Bashar butchered his people with equal disregard for their humanity. Likewise, though his father had been defeated by IDF, Bashar continued his father’s vile and venomous policy towards the Jewish state.

In recent years, when Syria was in the throes of the current civil war, it was Iran, Russia and, in particular, Hezbollah that ensured the Assad dictatorship would remain. Israel’s part in the war was limited to interdicting Iranian arms shipments and treating wounded civilians who managed to reach the Israeli border in the Golan Heights.

Nonetheless, Israel’s recent defeat of Hezbollah changed the military calculous in Syria.

Eleven days after launching a surprise attack, a conglomeration of opposition forces, including radical Sunni Islamist forces (backed by Turkey at times, albeit not their main proxy), managed a rapid defeat of Assad’s spent military force with little to no resistance. But as we see unfolding this conflict has not only been with the Syrian military but amongst the groups as well.

Broadly speaking, there are four primary powers presently in Syria: the aforementioned radical Islamists known as HTS – with its roots in Al-Qaeda and ISIS, Turkey’s wholly owned proxy known as the “Syrian National Army,” Kurdish forces supported by the West and largely Druze led forces known as the “Southern Operations Room,” which was actually first to reach Damascus.

Bashar has run away with his family to Moscow, now ironically becoming a Syrian refugee (with millions in stolen assets). We cannot be sure what comes next in Syria. However, the U.S. and Israel are taking steps to ensure Syrian weapons do not end up in the hands of ISIS and their ilk, by bombing various weapons caches and the like. In addition, Israel has had its troops enter the buffer zone on the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon in the Golan Heights, to ensure no Syrian guns – regardless of who may be holding them – are fired at Israel.

Next Up in Washington

During his 2016 campaign for Congress, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) said, “If anyone was lobbing rockets into the US, guys like me would be sent to kill them, and Americans would applaud us." Likewise, in the wake of the 10/7 Massacre, Rep. Mast made headlines when he showed up to his office in the IDF uniform he earned while volunteering in Israel after his American military service in Afghanistan where he was seriously injured.

Needless to say, Rep. Mast doesn’t mess around when it comes to his support for Israel. As such, we warmly welcome his election to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee when the new Congress is sworn in.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Washington has Rep. Mast’s approach to governance. In recent days it was reported that Speaker Johnson had rejected an overture by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wherein the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA) would be included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). That’s quite far from the full story.

At CUFI we would prefer the AAA get an up or down vote in the Senate, and Speaker Johnson, it seems, was not thrilled with Leader Schumer’s approach either. Nonetheless, we support the AAA’s inclusion in the NDAA or the forthcoming Continuing Resolution, and Speaker Johnson was open to doing so, but requested that another bill also be included: legislation that would sanction the International Criminal (Kangaroo) Court for issuing its absurd warrants against Israeli leaders. A bill which already passed the House in a strong bipartisan manner.

Seems like for those of us who love Israel and the Jewish people, Speaker Johnson was strengthening America’s approach to antisemitism at home and abroad and protecting both American and Israeli troops from the ICC’s absurd approach to justice (if we can so defile the word).

Unfortunately, it is Majority Leader Schumer who rejected Speaker Johnson’s offer (not the other way around). And Sen. Schumer has made no counteroffer whatsoever as of this writing. It’s almost as if he has no interest in seeing the Antisemitism Awareness Act actually make it to the President’s desk.

All of this said, given that Sen. Schumer is soon publishing a book detailing “A warning” about “Antisemitism in America,” we’re holding out hope that we’re wrong, and that the Senior Senator from New York and sitting Majority Leader of the Senate can see a bill advance to the President’s desk that the overwhelming majority of both Chambers of Congress support.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund