I Met the Syrian President, and Here’s What I Learned | Rabbi Abraham Cooper

American Thought Leaders

The Epoch Times

Government, News, Politics

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

A few weeks ago, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, a prominent advocate for religious freedom and human rights, was invited to the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, alongside fellow religious freedom advocate Johnnie Moore.

They had an intimate meeting with the new president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

In this episode, the rabbi shares what he learned about al-Sharaa and whether he believes a peace between Syria and Israel is possible in the near future.

“There’s a term in Hebrew: It’s called Kabdehu ve Hashdehu, [which] means show respect and verify,“ he says. ”So, this is not a ‘kumbaya’ moment. This is a moment where there’s great leverage.”

Cooper previously chaired the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom and also serves as associate dean and director of global social action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Transcript

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0:00.0	How do we know he can trust you and how do we know that you can deliver?
0:04.0	That was and is and should be in the front of our minds.
0:09.0	Recently, Rabbi Abraham Cooper was invited to the presidential palace in Damascus,
0:15.0	alongside fellow religious freedom advocate Johnny Moore,
0:18.0	where they had an intimate meeting with the controversial new president
0:21.6	of Syria, Ahmed al-Shera.
0:24.1	Of the two hours that we spent together, a full 40 minutes dealt with Israel.
0:29.2	And I thought that his main message was, we're not enemies.
0:33.5	Cooper was chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and is currently director of Global Social Action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
0:41.3	How might Syria's relationship with the U.S. evolve
0:45.3	is peace between Syria and Israel attainable in the near future?
0:49.3	There's a term in Hebrew.
0:51.3	Kabdehu, Thichashdehah, show respect and verify. This is not a kumbaya moment.
0:58.9	This is a moment where there's great leverage created by a president who thinks out of the
1:04.2	box in many ways is a contrarian. This is American Thought Leaders, and I'm Yanja Kellick.
1:11.4	Rabbi Abraham Cooper, such a pleasure to have you back on American Thought Leaders.
1:16.2	Great to see you again.
1:17.5	Dear friend and being out here in California, it's always refreshing to be with people who are promoting thought.
1:26.2	Thank you for that.
1:27.3	Well, you know, you just had a truly incredible meeting.
1:31.3	You met the president of Syria, Ahmed al-Shara.
1:35.3	I mean, this is someone who's a former official of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
	...

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