SYRIAN ATTITUDES TOWARDS JEWS AND ISRAEL

The JTA was able to send a reporter to Syria recently, where local attitudes towards Jews and Israel seem quite odd. On the one hand, they actually respect the very few Jews left living there, ditto their religion (or so it would seem). On the other hand, their opinions on Israel are more revealingly hostile.

Residents of Aleppo, asked for directions to the Harat al-Yahud, the former Jewish quarter, pointed the way without a hint of hostility. In fact, a sign in Arabic at the entrance to the abandoned Joab Ben Zeruiah synagogue warns against dumping trash "in front of this holy place of worship."

But the attitude changes on Israel.

"Israel is one thing, and Jews are something else,” Mahmoud Sharif, an English-speaking tour guide, told JTA in Aleppo. "We respect the Jewish religion and consider it one of God's religions, but we don't accept Israel."

So he says. The impression one gets from this is that Syrians ostensibly respect Jews/Israelis and their religion, but hate the Israel. But, that all seems to have what to do with taqqiya, and the view that the Jews still left in Syria are dhimmified and cowed enough to not bother about.

Sharif suggested that the Jews left "because Syria wasn't a good country to live in, and because there were more opportunities in other countries."

As to Israel, the 31-year-old college graduate said the problem is not with its people but its government.

“Israel uses heavy weapons against children," said Sharif, who did his army service on Syria's border with the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the Six-Day War of 1967. "They've forced Palestinians from their land. The Palestinians have a miserable life, and many [refugee] families in Syria still think of their villages. If you ask them about Palestine, they will cry."

Sob stories, sob stories and more sob stories, not to mention how the inteviewee invokes the stereotype of Israelis as child-killing savages.

"People here don't like Israel," Sharif said. "They think about this situation every day. It's our daily problem. They think Israel won't last forever."

Asked what it would take to change people's attitudes, Sharif thought for a moment.

"If Israel gave us back the Golan, it would be a good sign they really want peace," he suggested. "[But] whether the government makes peace with Israel or not, the people will not agree. And if they agree, it's because they'll be forced to agree. They hate Israel."

In that case, I'd see no reason for any decent person to have anything to do with Syria. They are indoctrinated to hatred, and until they're willing to reeducate, they're asking for isolation. This also contradicts the earlier claim that the only problem they have is with the Israeli government. It's not just them that they hate. It's the citizenry of Israel as well.