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Extremist Ambitions of Syria’s New Rulers:
On November 27, 2024, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) led Syrian rebel groups in a swift offensive, capturing Aleppo, Hama, and Damascus, which forced Bashar Al-Assad to flee. HTS, designated as a terrorist organization by major nations and the UN, assumed control of Syria amid the group’s history of extremism and human rights abuses. Despite claims of distancing from Al-Qaeda, HTS maintains extremist views and regional ambitions, including anti-Israel rhetoric, and frequently traffics in overt antisemitism. Their leader, Abu Muhammad Al-Jolani, has voiced support for violence against Israel many times and envisions a “Greater Syria.”
Learn more about HTS here.
More Needed from NAIS: In last week’s Briefing, we reported on the overt antisemitism that was spread by several speakers at the recent National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference and
the resulting Jewish communal letter to the head of NAIS. Subsequently, NAIS President, Debra Wilson, reached out to “express my profound remorse over the divisive and hurtful rhetoric expressed on stage at last week’s NAIS People of Color Conference in Denver. There is no place for antisemitism at NAIS events, in our member schools, or in society.”
ADL appreciates both the expressions of remorse from Wilson and the outline of new steps being instituted to avoid future incidents involving speakers at NAIS events. While these actions are welcome, in a follow-up letter from Jonathan Greenblatt,
ADL urged NAIS to do more outreach to internal stakeholders and the public, and we remain hopeful NAIS will continue to educate its member schools on this type of rhetoric. Join our demand here.
Congress Prioritizes Antisemitism Probe:
ADL welcomes the House Republican leadership’s report concluding their investigation into the alarming surge of antisemitism since Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.The committee’s investigation found that several universities failed to stop antisemitism on their campuses, likely violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Additionally, the report found that several American-based tax-exempt organizations may have funneled American taxpayer dollars to designated terrorist organizations.
Jonathan Greenblatt issued the following statement in response: “We applaud Congress for continuing to exercise its oversight authority to investigate antisemitism on college campuses and whether American taxpayer funding is supporting terrorist organizations.”
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