Rabbi Jacob Herzog announced he was flying to Syria to meet with new government officials in Damascus on Thursday.
سأكون في دمشق قريبا للقاء مسؤولين سوريين و لابارك للشعب السوري حريته وخلاصه من الحكم الاسدي الطائفي. من حق الشعب السوري ان يتحرر ويختار حكومته. أنا هناك لأمد يد الأخوة والتعاون والتسامح مع شعب عانا ٥٤ عاما من الاضطهاد. ندعم السوريين ونرفض مؤامرات الثورة المضادة. ويكفي السعودية… pic.twitter.com/7B32nhv9CD
— Rabbi Jacob Y. Herzog الحاخام يعقوب يسرائيل هرتسوغ (@RabbiHerzog) December 22, 2024
Rabbi Herzog has been present in Saudi Arabia, servicing the small expat Jewish community, which is mostly American.
He said he was flying to Damascus in order to congratulate the Syrian officials and people on their "freedom and deliverance from the sectarian Assad regime."
"I am here to extend a hand of brotherhood, cooperation, and tolerance to a people who have suffered 54 years of oppression," he wrote.
He said that he supports the Syrian right to choose their own government an rejected counter-revolutionary conspiracies.
Saudi Arabia's chief rabbi?
Rabbi Herzog is Saudi Arabia's self-proclaimed chief rabbi, and he has been splitting his time with Israel.
Saudi Arabia does not recognize non-Islamic religious titles, but Rabbi Herzog has managed to make inroads with Kingdom officials.
He has been present in the country for about two years but first traveled there four years ago as a tourist.
Over time, he developed an interest in helping support the Jews living in the Kingdom, all of whom were ex-pats, mostly from the United States but also from the UK, France, and South Africa.
He said that the main motivator when he first arrived was to show the world that the Saudis don't have any problems with Jewish people.
Zvika Klein contributed to this report.