Time for Daring Diplomacy – Israel Should Open Dialogue with New Syria

The dramatic events unfolding in Syria in the last few weeks are too fast to grasp, but this is a very important time for the country’s future. Western democracies cannot sit back and watch quietly. What the new Syrian leadership decides now will affect not only the future of Syria but the future of the entire Middle East.

After fifty-four years of Assad family dictatorship collapsed in a few days, a new Syria is going to be born. Every decent human being had teary eyes seeing the liberation of the notorious Sednaya Prison, nicknamed the “Human Slaughterhouse.” The killing and torture machine that was operated there was among the worst in human history.

The new governor of Damascus, Maher Marwan, said in an interview with American Public Radio that “we want peace; we don’t want to be rivals of Israel or anyone else.” He also called on the US to facilitate a better relationship between them and Israel. In the interview, Marwan added that “Israel may have felt fear and therefore made some progress in the buffer zone.

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With all our reservations about Al Golani Ahmed al-Sharaa and his ISIS roots, we need to listen to what they are saying now. Al-Sharaa is going out of his way to send positive messages to the USA, Israel, and the Arab Gulf states. Their reaction might determine the course of the Syrian revolution.

Two missed opportunities in the 20th century could have changed the game in their region. Both Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh and Egypt’s Nasser knocked on Western doors, asking for help. When they were refused, they turned to the Soviets. It is true that these were different times, but still, the passive Western reactions to these historical events left the arena open for interventions of other actors.

If we judge the new government in Syria based on sporadic events, their record is very mixed. One day, we see a Christmas tree celebrated in Damascus, and another day, we see Jihadists destroying a Christmas tree in Aleppo. We hear Al Golani and his ministers and governors saying all the right moderate things. On the other hand, we see videos of Jehadis promising to continue the march into Jerusalem, Mekka, and Medina.

Our natural reaction is to keep some distance and see which direction the new leaders of Damascus are going to take. This is, however, a gigantic mistake. Revolutions in their first stage are always flexible and choose their course based on the opportunities they get. Therefore, the right reaction should be engaging the Syrians in a serious dialogue.

In this dialogue, they need to get the support they need when they do the right things. Simultaneously, any negative steps they take need to be immediately reacted to.

Most of the international community justifiably identified the status of minorities in Syria as one of the most important tasks of the new government. Preventing violence against minorities should be the first priority. Allawi’s, Christians, Kurds, Druze, and many others should be protected and given a role in the new Syria.

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Israel has an essential role to play in this process. After it proved it can be very daring and effective in the military arena, it has to do the same in the diplomatic sphere. However, this is not the time for small operations to win tactical gains. Israel extended its hand to Syrian governments in the fifties, and there is no reason we can’t do the same today.

It is my hope that Israeli representatives arrive secretly in Damascus and start talking to the new Syrian government. I know it sounds like an impossible mission, but if we listen to Ahmed al-Sharaa’s interview on CNN and the governor of Damascus, Maher Marwan’s interview on NPR. Anything is possible in Syria right now.