American rabbi visits Syrian president, says 'Al-Sharaa and Netanyahu could meet'

Abraham Cooper, an American rabbi who met with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, did not rule out the possibility of a future meeting between al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. According to Cooper, the path to such a meeting has not yet been paved and depends largely on U.S President Donald Trump.

Just before Israel launched Operation “Am K’Lavie” in Iran, Cooper managed to visit Syria’s capital, Damascus, along with Reverend Johnnie Moore, who is considered to be close to Trump. Cooper and Moore, who do not officially represent any particular country, had previously met in New York with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani – a trip that opened the door to their trip to Damascus.

Rabbi Cooper, who served as chairman of the U.S. government’s International Commission on Religious Freedom, has an extensive record of visits to Arab countries as part of his unofficial efforts to promote the Abraham Accords.

He described his two-hour meeting in Damascus with Syrian President al-Sharaa as an encounter with “an interesting leader you can argue with – and that’s unique.” “It’s true, he’s an Islamist,” Cooper told us, “but al-Sharaa speaks about a vision for his country that includes a united Syria, one army, and equal rights. If he can achieve that, it would be a game-changer.”

Regarding relations with Israel, Cooper outlines two possible paths for warming ties, based on his meeting with al-Sharaa. The first is a local track, focused on de-escalation and avoiding conflict, where diplomats and military officials sit down in hopes of reaching a point that could serve as a basis for progress.

“If Trump invites Netanyahu and al-Sharaa to Washington to sit for a few hours – that could change everything”

“I think the only way this can move quickly is if someone named Donald Trump calls the two of them – Israel’s Prime Minister and Syria’s President – to Washington and gets them to sit for a few hours. That could change the whole picture.”

Cooper was asked whether a meeting between Netanyahu and al-Sharaa is realistic. “If Trump signals that he intends to stay involved and tells al-Sharaa, ‘I’m going to help you rebuild your country,’ then everything is possible. Without that, things will move slowly – step by step.” Cooper also responded to those in Israel who are skeptical of al-Sharaa and believe that even if his intentions are suspect, that doesn’t mean nothing should be done.

“He did say he wants peace”

Coming from a humanitarian background, Rabbi Cooper told us that he suggested al-Sharaa start from the ground up – with cooperation with Israel in areas such as identifying missing persons, water, and agriculture, to help his own people. He said he thanked al-Sharaa for helping transfer Eli Cohen’s archive to his family and asked for help in retrieving his remains.

According to Cooper, al-Sharaa’s message was that resolving the conflict with Israel is a top priority: “We intend to keep advancing this. He did say he’s interested in peace.”

“Do you know how many Jews will want to visit Syria when the time is right?”

So on one hand, it depends on Trump, but on the other hand, also on President al-Sharaa. Until that happens, Cooper told us that in his meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister al-Shaibani, they proposed restoring synagogues across Syria. They cited the many Jewish visits to the United Arab Emirates as an example.

“Do you know how many Jews will want to come to Syria when the time is right?”