US pastor, pro-Israel rabbi hail Syria’s openness to peace

Peace between Syria and Israel is “very possible,” said Rev. Johnnie Moore, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, following a high-level meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus this week.

Moore, an evangelical pastor, was joined by Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center during the visit, which centered on interfaith dialogue and regional stability, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The two American religious figures met with Sharaa on June 9 at the presidential palace in the Syrian capital. While the visit was not explicitly intended to discuss Syrian-Israeli relations, the topic surfaced during the conversation.

“I think peace is very possible, if not probable, but the first priority has to be Syria focusing on Syria,” Moore said after their trip concluded. Sharaa, he said, “articulated issues of concern he has, but also the potential for a very positive future.”

No official comment has yet been issued by the Syrian presidency.

Since the ousting of former president Bashar al-Assad last year, Syria’s new Sunni Islamist-led government under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has shown interest in international diplomacy. While tensions persist with minority groups and neighboring Israel, Sharaa's administration has signaled openness to regional calm and eventual normalization.

Cooper, known for his previous visits to Arab states prior to their normalization with Israel, including Bahrain and the UAE, said: “What’s clear is there is now a window of opportunity to bring about a more positive state of affairs... [though] that doesn’t minimize the scale of the task ahead.”

Moore, recently appointed executive chairman of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, did not discuss his Gaza-related work with Sharaa. However, he and Cooper proposed joint humanitarian initiatives with Syria “to tear down stereotypes and create an unofficial army of goodwill ambassadors,” though details were not disclosed.

The pair also met with Syrian Christian leaders and walked openly in Damascus, with Cooper noting he wore his yarmulke without issue — a sharp contrast to his 2024 Saudi Arabia visit, where he was asked to remove it.

Moore called Sharaa “what in Silicon Valley is called a unicorn; he's one of a kind.”

By Vafa Guliyeva