With this statement Syrian national Ghassan Aboud summarized the situation in our region. I often hear exactly the same sentiment from my Palestinian friends in Jerusalem. My colleague Amar from Wadi Joz in eastern Jerusalem once told me: “I prefer to live among my enemies, the Israelis, than with my Arab friends.”
In a TV interview, Aboud drew a comparison between Syria and Israel: “I sensed more sympathy among my Jewish neighbors in Antwerp than from many Syrians whom we regarded in the past as our brothers, and who are now bombarding us with planes, rockets and tanks.” Aboud has for the past eight years lived in Europe, where he founded the Syrian opposition TV station Orient. “An enemy like Israel is better than a friend who wants to wipe us out,” he added.
While Israel might still officially be an enemy, it’s definitely no longer at the top of the list for most Syrians. “We are enemies,...
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