Syrian dissidents talk ‘Abrahamic peace’ with Israeli rabbi

‘There is no historic struggle between Arabs and Israelites,’ says head of Syrian opposition in exile.

By World Israel News Staff

Syrian dissidents held a virtual meeting recently with an Israeli rabbi to discuss peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East.

The Zoom meeting was held between Rabbi Oury Cherki, head of the “Brit Olam” institution that spreads Jewish values in the Diaspora, and leaders of the Syrian government in exile who oppose Assad’s regime in Syria.

The meeting between was scheduled after the head of the Syrian government in exile, Jamal Sabbagh, read Rabbi Cherki’s letter to Islamic scholars, which was intended to create understanding between believers of Judaism and Islam.

Sabbagh told Rabbi Cherki during the meeting that he looked forward to achieving peaceful coexistence between Jews and Sunni Muslim Arabs.

“It’s a great joy and honor to create a meeting between peoples. Historically, there is no struggle between Arabs and the Israelites. We must seek truth and peace in the Middle East.”

“Sunni Arabs have no dispute with the Israelites, and that’s the truth. The ideologies of Nasser and Saddam are inventions foreign to the region, secular nationalist ideologies created this conflict. There was a military alliance between Prophet Muhammad and the Israelites, and the Abrahamic peace is the only hope. After what we saw on October 7th, there must be peace between the cousins from both nations.”

“The children of Ishmael and the children of Isaac lived together in Andalusia, this should also be in the Middle East. We need complete normalization, economic and security cooperation, absolute peace, true solidarity and a relationship of trust, because no one can separate between cousins.”

“The Palestinian issue is an artificial issue that dictators in the region use to strengthen their position against their people. We have real hope for regime change in Syria and cleansing it from the rule of the mullahs of Tehran, the Iranian nuclear project threatens the entire region and the world but together we have a chance to deal with it. We need a summit meeting of Islamic and Jewish scholars.”

Rabbi Cherki responded by emphasizing the need for a historic rapprochement between Jews and Islam.

“These important words need to find their anchor in Islam, and in the ancient sources of Islam there is certainly room for recognition that we are brother nations, and that the State of Israel is the fulfillment of the divine promise given to the people of Israel for their state.”

A Sunni imam linked to the Syrian government in exile who was present at the meeting but who requested that his name be redacted argued that Islam and the Quran recognize Jewish claims to Israel. “We want an ongoing and healthy discussion between Sunni Arabs and Jews. In the Quran there is a promise and recognition that the land belongs to the people of Israel. Original Sunni Islam is Talmudic Islam, not the extreme versions of the last 150 years, of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian regime.”

“I am an expert in Islamic law, in Islamic law there are very precise instructions for peace and war, and they are: If there is a war with a non-Muslim nation, and we conquered land, it is ours, and if we lost land, it is theirs.”

“We can make peace on the condition that the other nation does not attack us and allows the teaching of Islam in its land, as in Israel. We are not allowed to invade Israel, even if it was an Islamic land and was taken in war. We are not allowed to invade Greece, even though it was Islamic.”

This is not my opinion; this is the command of Allah! I challenge the Muslim Brotherhood people to debate me, my words can be proven from the Islamic sources. As long as Israeli democracy allows us to lecture on Islam and pray freely, we are not allowed to fight Israel, in any way!”

“According to the rules of Islam, if we have an internal enemy, we are allowed to ask for help from non-Muslim allies. The Alawites and Wahhabis and Shiites are rebels, they are not Sunnis, and we are allowed to form an alliance with allies against them, and the best ally for us is Israel. This way we will provide security for Israel and the entire region.”

Interfaith Dialoguerabbi oury cherkiSyriaSyrian Civil War