Hazem Alghabra’s childhood, a former senior adviser to the US State Department, was far from typical for a young Syrian boy. Born in the early 1980s to an educated, urban, and relatively secular family, Alghabra’s early years were shaped by an environment that encouraged intellectual curiosity.
This was a rarity in pre-internet Syria, where most people were allowed to be exposed only to ideologies originating either from the government or the mosque.
“My mother ran a small publishing house in Damascus and would occasionally stir trouble with the government by publishing unconventional books,” Alghabra said.
“This early exposure to questioning authority and exploring different perspectives definitely shaped my career,” he said, adding that the family business also provided unique opportunities for cross-cultural understanding.
One particularly formative experience came through his family’s textile business, where they had significant interactions with local Jewish merchants.
“They had what we called ‘the big warehouse,’” Alghabra said. “They were always professional. They always paid on time – they left a significant impression on me.”
Life in dictatorial Syria, under its Emergency Law, meant severe restrictions on civil society.
“The law prohibited gatherings of five or more people,” he said. “You needed special government permission for anything more, which was never granted. Your only options were government activities or religious ones.”
In his overcrowded classroom of 52 students, even education felt constrained by the system’s limitations.
New country, new challenges
In 1999, at age 17, Alghabra moved to the United States. The transition from Damascus to Washington proved transformative, but the past would soon catch up with him in unexpected ways.
He was living in Arlington, near the Pentagon, when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred.
“I had just left the extremist Middle East, and suddenly it followed me home,” he said. “It was mind-boggling.”
His mother’s influence continued to shape his career path in America. She hosted a groundbreaking television show in Syria called Transatlantic, which eventually led to controversy when she interviewed the US ambassador without prior censorship approval.
“Fifteen minutes into the prerecorded interview, the screen went black, and there was no broadcast for three hours,” Alghabra said.
“The next day, my mother received a call – the show was canceled, and everyone was fired. Later, the Al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported it as a massacre of Syrian television: Fifteen senior officials were dismissed.”
This experience helped shape his worldview on combating extremism.
“You don’t fight extremist ideologies by trying to convince their followers that they’re wrong,” Alghabra said.
“You fight ideology by putting forth your own ideology and showing its advantages. Humans are social creatures meant to build things, not destroy them en masse.”
Following the September 11 attacks, Alghabra became involved in America’s public diplomacy efforts in the Middle East.
From 2004 to 2006, he worked as a producer at Al-Hurra, a US-based Arabic language channel that initially broadcasted from AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes over Iraqi airspace.
“There was no internet there yet. People only had TVs, and this was the US’s way of communicating its messages to them,” he continued.
Alghabra’s success in the US’s media efforts led him to occupy a position in public diplomacy at the State Department under then-presidents George W. Bush’s and Barack Obama’s administrations, where he would spend the next decade.
During this time, he worked closely with numerous Jewish American activists who he described as close friends, including Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, who led the Israel Project (TIP).
“She always knew how to use the right messages and convey them properly,” he said. “It wasn’t propaganda, but rather things people wouldn’t otherwise hear from the media. The media always focuses on wars and rarely on people, and this was news to me.”
Alghabra said that he felt a significant difference between the Bush and Obama administrations. “Neither of them was malicious – maybe just misguided sometimes, either in their ideas or their approach to problems.”
He pointed to the Obama administration’s approach to regional entrepreneurship as an example of well-intentioned but oversimplified solutions.
“You can’t ‘export’ entrepreneurship,” he said, referring to Obama’s preference for trying to do so.
“It’s an organic feature, and it’s found aplenty in our region, which pretty much invented the bazaar. But the failing governments are holding it back, and that was something he was missing.”
The Arab Spring brought hope and lessons about the nature of change in the region.
“It reminded us that change doesn’t happen overnight,” Alghabra said.“Changes can be good but are never easy. The Arab Spring period reminded us that when something doesn’t work, people willing to put in much effort will see the change they want. Otherwise, it will not work.”
Alghabra maintained his connection to Middle East affairs through media appearances and consulting work even after leaving government service.The October 7 massacre and its aftermath brought new challenges, including personal ones.
“I lost many friends after October 7 because of my television appearances,” he said.
“Voicing your opinions in coffee shops might cost you a friend or two, but appearing on national television... you find yourself in the center of it, and the scales are in accordance.”
A Syrian walking in the streets of Jerusalem
His recent visit to Israel, his first ever, left him with strong impressions about the country’s future role in the region.
“Israel has become a regional superpower,” Alghabra said.
“The challenge now is to shift from being a successful force to being a regional player. Welcome to the superpower club – you now have the ability and power to specify exactly what you want from the region.”
Walking through Jerusalem’s streets, which reminded him of his native Damascus, Alghabra was struck by the contrast he said he saw between propaganda and reality.
“The people here are curious; they want to talk,” he said. “My trip has caused a chain reaction – always meeting people who introduced me to more people, and the journey continues.”
“I could stay another year and keep meeting new and interesting people. I hope I have the right message, but people want to talk, to discuss, and even to disagree,” he added.
Alghabra also referred to the propaganda warfare launched by Israel’s adversaries as part of the delegitimization efforts against the Jewish state.
“It is true that the war is no longer only in the tunnels of Gaza or the caves of Yemen. It’s on X/Twitter, TV stations – even within political institutions in the US,” he said.
According to Alghabra, “This is an even more dangerous warfare, with different tools and mechanisms.”
In this context, Alghabra retold a personal anecdote to showcase the power of misinformation. While preparing to visit Jerusalem’s Old City, he was getting ready to go through “walls and checkpoints,” as he put it, but was surprised to see that they were simply not there.
“We were given the impression, even in Washington, that there’s a wall running smack in the middle of the city separating the eastern and western parts of Jerusalem. It was a shock to discover that it’s just not there, and one can pass freely between the sides.”
Regarding Syria, Alghabra maintains a vision of potential reconciliation. “My goal is to explore possibilities for peace with Syria,” he said.
“Bashar al-Assad’s regime tried to convince all Syrians to hate Israel and Jews, and that needs to change. Peace with Syria would help bring about peace with the Palestinians and the entire region. Conflict brings conflict, and peace brings peace,” Alghabra added.
For Alghabra, this period also emphasized the broader implications of antisemitism. “Antisemitism is much bigger than just hatred toward Jews,” he said.
“The tools and lies used by antisemites are themselves a crime. Antisemites use deception to defraud you of the truth, and fraud is inarguably a crime.”
Despite current tensions, Alghabra believes that there is still hope for the region’s future.
“There’s new hope in the region,” he said.
“The events of the past year could become a preview for peace. Despite everything that’s happened. It wasn’t good for anyone, but it surely has the potential to change things for the better.”