To read a pdf of the article, click here; To dig deeper into the topic, click here

“Israel must remain clear-eyed and recognize that Syria remains unstable, the Syrian regime does not exercise full control over its territory, and it does not enjoy full legitimacy. Accordingly, Israel must be strategically and operationally prepared for a scenario in which the current regime may fail to meet its commitments.” — Carmit Valensi
     
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This week’s Communiqué Isranet is Communiqué: Enfin!

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SHABBAT READING

Balaam Sets His Face Towards the Calf—A Targum Tradition:  Dr. Shlomi Efrati, The Torah.com, no date   — The Jewish Aramaic renderings of the Hebrew Bible, collectively known as “Targum”—the Hebrew/Aramaic word for both “interpretation” and “translation”—were composed over several centuries, in various places and for different purposes. While the earliest Targums for the Pentateuch and the Prophets, known as Onqelos and Jonathan respectively, were presumably composed during the first centuries of the common era in an Aramaic speaking environment,^[1] the latest Targums—for (most of) the books of the Writings—were probably composed sometime towards the end of the first millennium C.E., in a place and time where Aramaic was no longer a spoken language.^[2]

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From a “Jihadist in a Suit” to Hummus in Damascus? Shifts in Israeli Policy Toward Syria:  Carmit Valensi, INSS Insight No. 2010, July 10, 2025
After Decades as Enemies, Syria and Israel Now Share a Common Foe:  Christina Goldbaum, Adam Rasgon and Aaron Boxerman, NY Times, July 9, 2025
Exclusive-UN Report Sees No Active Syrian State Links to Al Qaeda: Michelle Nichols, Yahoo News, July 10, 2025
Turkey and Syria Engage in Secret Talks on Maritime Border Agreement:  Abdullah Bozkurt, Nordic Monitor, July 3, 2025

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From a “Jihadist in a Suit” to Hummus in Damascus? Shifts in Israeli Policy Toward Syria
Carmit Valensi
INSS Insight No. 2010, July 10, 2025

“… under the auspices of American and international support, it is appropriate to give a security arrangement with the Syrian regime a responsible and fair chance.”

Reports of talks between Syria and Israel reflect a drastic shift in Israeli policy toward Syria and mark a new phase in Israel’s approach to the new regime there. During the seven months since the rise of the new regime in Damascus, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, Israeli policy has evolved through a process comprising roughly three stages:

In the first stage, Israel adopted an aggressive military policy. This included the takeover of territories in southern Syria, a massive airstrike campaign aimed at destroying the country’s strategic weaponry, and overt, active support for minority groups, particularly the Druze. The military campaign was accompanied by suspicious and threatening statements by senior Israeli officials directed at the new president, whom they accused of being a jihadist who had not abandoned his extremist views. For example, in January 2025, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declared that, “This is a group of extreme jihadists who simply moved from Idlib to Damascus.” In March, Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed that that the new government in Syria was led by “a jihadist terrorist from the Al-Qaeda school.”

During this period, Israel entrenched itself in the buffer zone and the Syrian Golan Heights, carried out raids in southern Syria intended to degrade Syrian military capabilities, although these sometimes led to clashes with armed groups and the local population. Israel continued to operate in areas that had previously been considered demilitarized, demanded the complete demilitarization of southern Damascus, and conducted strikes within Syria, including near the presidential palace in Damascus, in response to clashes between the regime and the Druze population. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also struck deep inside Syria, including at the T4 and Palmyra air bases, after Turkey expressed intentions to establish a military foothold there, using these strikes to signal that Israel would not tolerate Turkish actions that could threaten its aerial freedom of operation. … [To read the full article, click here]

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After Decades as Enemies, Syria and Israel Now Share a Common Foe
Christina Goldbaum, Adam Rasgon and Aaron Boxerman
NY Times, July 9, 2025

“Based on what I absorbed and heard from the president, we’re less likely to hear about Abraham Accords in the short term and more likely to hear about de-conflicting and making sure Israel and Syria are not enemies.”

Syria and Israel have been locked in a state of hostility for decades, but the new authorities in Damascus are taking a different tack with their neighbor to the south.

Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Shara, is using diplomatic channels and engaging in indirect discussions with Israel, which the United States has helped mediate, to resolve problems along the border, according to Syrian, Israeli and American officials. The two countries have kept up contact even as the Israeli military has carried out incursions into southern Syria that raised fears of a prolonged occupation.

While the goals appear modest, these are the most serious talks between them in more than a decade and a departure from the former government’s animosity toward Israel. The negotiations reflect a power shift across the Middle East, where Israel and Syria now find they have common ground.

Both share an antipathy toward Iran, which was a close ally of the deposed Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, during his 13-year civil war against an array of Syrian rebel groups. Mr. al-Shara led an alliance of some of those rebel groups that overthrew Mr. al-Assad in December.

Israel and the new Syrian leadership also share security concerns about Iran-backed proxy groups, which they want to prevent from infiltrating Syria. And both Mr. al-Shara and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have found an ally in President Trump.

The United States has helped broker the back-channel discussions between the two countries, according to Thomas J. Barrack Jr., Mr. Trump’s envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey. He has called for Israel and Syria to begin repairing their relations by signing a nonaggression pact. … [To read the full article, click here]

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Exclusive-UN Report Sees No Active Syrian State Links to Al Qaeda
Michelle Nichols
Yahoo News,  July 10, 2025

“The status of foreign fighters has been one of the most fraught issues hindering Syria’s rapprochement with the West. But the U.S. has given its blessing to a plan by Syria’s new leaders to integrate foreign fighters into the army.”

United Nations sanctions monitors have seen no „active ties” this year between Al Qaeda and the Islamist group leading Syria’s interim government, an unpublished U.N. report said, a finding that could strengthen an expected U.S. push for removing U.N. sanctions on Syria.

The report, seen by Reuters on Thursday, is likely to be published this month.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham is Al Qaeda’s former branch in Syria but broke ties in 2016. The group, previously known as al-Nusra Front, led the rebellion that toppled President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive in December, and HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria’s interim president.

The report comes as diplomats expect the United States to seek the removal of U.N. sanctions on HTS and Sharaa, who has said he wants to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

„Many tactical-level individuals hold more extreme views than … Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, who are generally regarded as more pragmatic than ideological,” the U.N. report said. It covered the six months to June 22 and relied on contributions and assessments from U.N. member states.

Since May 2014, HTS has been subject to U.N. sanctions including a global assets freeze and arms embargo. A number of HTS members also face sanctions like a travel ban and asset freeze – including Sharaa, who has been listed since July 2013.

The U.N. monitors wrote in their report to the Security Council: „Some member states raised concerns that several HTS and aligned members, especially those in tactical roles or integrated into the new Syrian army, remained ideologically tied to Al Qaeda.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major U.S. policy shift in May when he said he would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria. He signed an executive order enacting this at the end of June, and Washington revoked its foreign terrorist organization designation of HTS this week.

The U.S. said then that revoking the designation was a step towards Trump’s vision of a peaceful and unified Syria…. [To read the full article, click here]

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Turkey and Syria Engage in Secret Talks on Maritime Border Agreement
Abdullah Bozkurt
Nordic Monitor, July 3, 2025

“… the proposed agreement is expected to further complicate Turkey’s relationships with third-party countries such as Cyprus, Israel and Lebanon — each with their own stakes in the Mediterranean’s contested waters and wary of any moves that might shift the balance of maritime claims.”

A letter signed by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirms for the first time that secret negotiations have been ongoing to delineate maritime boundaries between Turkey and Syria after the Assad regime was overthrown by Turkish-backed jihadist groups last year.

The letter, obtained by Nordic Monitor, reveals that multiple Turkish institutions have been instructed to draft an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) agreement with Syria. The aim is to safeguard the interests of both Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), a breakaway state on the Mediterranean island recognized only by Ankara .

“With the overthrow of the Baath regime and the transfer of power to a transitional government, efforts are being carried out in coordination with our relevant institutions to determine the maritime boundary with Syria and to delimit maritime jurisdiction areas beyond territorial waters, in a way that protects our country’s rights and interests,” Fidan wrote in the letter, dated June 16 and addressed to the Speaker’s Office in the Turkish Parliament.

Fidan also emphasized that Turkey is committed to defending the rights and interests of the KKTC in any future maritime delimitation agreement with Damascus.

The letter is the first official confirmation that preparations for such a maritime agreement are already underway — despite earlier public remarks by Turkey’s transportation minister indicating Ankara was only considering such a deal as a future possibility.

Fidan also rejected claims that Turkey had pledged not to pursue a maritime agreement with Syria during his January 12, 2025 meeting in Riyadh with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission.

The letter is the first official confirmation that preparations for such a maritime agreement are already underway — despite earlier public remarks by Turkey’s transportation minister indicating Ankara was only considering such a deal as a future possibility. … [To read the full article, click here]

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For Further Reference:

Israel in ‘Advanced Talks’ for Deal to End Hostilities with Syria, Says Senior Official:  Lazar Berman, Times of Israel, June 30, 2025 — Israel and Syria are holding “advanced talks” on a bilateral agreement halting hostilities between the countries, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday.

Syria Signals Readiness to Resume 1974 Pact with Israel:  Israel National News, July 5, 2025 — Syria has signaled its readiness to cooperate with the United States in reimplementing the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, a pact that established a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating the two nations’ forces, AFP reported on Friday.

Netanyahu, Sharaa, Plan to Meet in Washington in September – Report:  JP Staff, Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2025 —  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa are expected to meet at the White House ahead of the UN General Assembly in September, i24NEWS reported on Tuesday, citing a Syrian source close to Sharaa.

Syria May Join Abraham Accords: Why Ahmed Al-Sharaa is Moving Close to Israel:  Ajish P. Joy, The Week, June 27, 2025 — The Trump administration has expressed optimism that Syria may soon join the Abraham Accords, marking a potential expansion of the landmark regional normalisation initiative.

       CIJR wishes our friends and supporters Shabbat Shalom!

On the night of February 6 to 7, 1945, a train with 1,210 inmates from the Theresienstadt concentration camp crossed the Swiss border at Kreuzlingen to freedom. On the train were 663 Jews from Germany, 434 from Holland, and 104 from the Czech Protectorate.

Unlike the only other, well-known and fully documented “rescue train” of Jews permitted by the Nazis to leave German-occupied Europe with a relatively large number (1,684 Hungarian Jews), though only 320 reached freedom in Switzerland (the others were incarcerated, initially in Bergen-Belsen), hardly anyone is aware of the train that brought 1,210 inmates of the Czech concentration camp to Switzerland.

The reason for the different treatment of these two trains is apparently linked to the identity of their organizers.

The Kastner train was organized by Hungarian Zionist leader Reszo Kastner, working with Saly Mayer, the Swiss representative of the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC, known as “the Joint”), the Jewish relief and rescue organization which strictly observed the regulations authorized by the American government’s War Refugee Board, prohibiting paying the Nazis ransom.

The train from Theresienstadt, on the other hand, was organized by the American Vaad Ha-Hatzala, an ad hoc rescue organization, established in November 1939, by prominent ultra-Orthodox European-born-and-educated rabbis (such as Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the rosh yeshiva of Kletzk, who established the famous Lakewood Yeshiva in New Jersey; Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz, the president of the Mir Yeshiva; and anti-Zionist Jacob Rosenheim, a prominent leader of Agudat Yisrael in Germany) initially for the sole purpose of helping save the rabbis and students of the Lithuanian yeshivas, who had fled Eastern Poland, occupied by the Soviets in September 1939.

From the establishment of the Vaad Ha-Hatzala in mid-November 1939, the rabbis refused to join ranks with the three major American Jewish philanthropic organizations that had united in the wake of Kristallnacht to assist German Jewry.

These were the JDC (the most important US relief agency established to aid Jews overseas, responsible for the relief and rescue of Jews in distress outside the US); the United Palestine Appeal (for aiding Jewish resettlement in the Land of Israel); and the National Refugee Service (which assisted newcomers to the US).

They banded together under the umbrella of the US-created United Jewish Appeal (UJA) – a major Jewish philanthropic organization still in existence, that had great success during its initial campaign in 1939.

The rabbis of the Vaad refused to join them, even though another of the groups that made up the JDC was the Orthodox Central Relief Committee since the majority of the rabbis making the decisions there were Reform and Conservative, a situation the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbis of the Vaad could never accept.

When the rabbis were criticized for refusing to join the other American Jewish aid agencies, the Vaad claimed that they would only solicit contributions from Jews who prayed in shtiblach (small, privately-owned synagogues), therefore, they were not in competition with the UJA.

It did not take long, however, for the leaders of the Vaad to realize that they could not raise sufficient funds if they only solicited worshipers in small synagogues. They then approached local Jewish federations throughout the United States, threatening to conduct fundraising campaigns in the middle of the local UJA campaigns – unless they would contribute a large sum to the Vaad.

Needless to say, most federations had no idea whether the Vaad was a genuine charity, worthy of their support, and they were afraid that they could not even reach their own targets – since the local Orthodox Jews would prefer to contribute to the Vaad.

There’s something unique about Passover. Jews everywhere, no matter their background, seem to feel a need to celebrate it. Many Jews with only minimal connection to Jewish observance or tradition will often recognize the holiday in some way. When Jewish identity disappears, Passover is the last thing to go.

Take Soviet Jews. Under the thumb of communism, many knew little about Judaism, yet they went to great lengths to get matzah for the holiday, despite serious threats of persecution for purchasing or consuming it. As Dovid Margolin recounts, Soviet Jews of every stripe sought out and ate matzah on Passover.

Why? What is it about matzah that compelled these largely assimilated Jews to risk their safety to obtain it? That’s just one question that Margolin addresses in his essay on the underground Soviet matzah network. You can read his piece in Mosaic‘s Passover e-book:​The Exodus, the Seder, and the People-Forming Passover.

Along with Margolin’s essay, you’ll find pieces by Leon Kass, Joshua Berman, Meir Soloveichik, Elli Fischer, and others that explore the ceremony of the seder, the text of the Hebrew Bible, the archaeology of the Exodus, and much else.

Now’s a great time to download and print your book for