Nadene Goldfoot
In biblical days, King David’s geographic footprint spanned the territories of ancient Israel (Eretz Yisrael) and Syria (Aram). He traversed these lands in two very distinct phases of his life: first as a wandering fugitive fleeing King Saul, and later as a victorious military ruler. He was the youngest son of Jesse who was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz so was of the tribe of Judah, born in Bethlehem, became king of Israel ruling from 1010-970 BCE. It was in the 8th century BCE when Aram (Syria) was overrun by Assyria.
Born 11 September 1965, in 2018, age 53. Bashar Hafez al-Assad of Syria a country of many peoples: Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans, Arameans, Armenians, and Alawites of which Assad belongs and once even some Jews who lived basically on Jew Street in Damascus or in Aleppo. Chemicals were used by President Assad in September 2013 that were causing people to die, and the UN was in an uproar. An airline who usually landed there was to not to fly there because of that. Assad was later called by some citizens of Syria as "the master of torture.' It was too bad, too as he was also a doctor. Bashar al-Assad graduated as a general practitioner from Damascus University in 1988. He then trained as an ophthalmologist (an eye doctor), completing postgraduate work at the Western Eye Hospital in London in the early 1990s. His father had also been president.
It was confirmed on the 16th of September that Sarin, a nerve gas, had been used on a large scale. Sarin had been found in the environment that was tested and also found in the bodies of the dead.
Assad's government had resorted to chemical warfare on August 21st, and September 21st of 2013. Although this was not new for Syria to do such a thing, the last time was in 1988 in Halabja. The devastating chemical attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja on March 16, 1988, was perpetrated by the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein. Directed by Iraqi commander Ali Hassan al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq War, aircraft dropped a lethal mix of mustard gas, sarin, tabun, and VX. The massacre killed between 3,200 and 5,000 civilians and injured thousands more.
(As an aside, is this what Iran was referring to when he just threatened the Trump regime in being able to kill off so many of our American soldiers or sailors if they attacked anymore? )
The attack was the deadliest single incident in the Syrian conflict so far in the Ghoua region. On August 21st or September 16, 2013, 18 rockets had struck Ein Tarma, Suburb and town, which was only 2.7 miles east of Old Damascus and the Zamalka District right next to it. A team of UN chemical weapons inspectors have confirmed that the nerve agent sarin was used in an attack on the Ghouta agricultural belt around Damascus on the morning of 21 August, 1988. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the UN Security Council that he believed the attack constituted a war crime. The UN report, he said, detailed the "most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used them" in Halabja in 1988.
The 1988 Halabja tragedy is historically and unequivocally attributed to the Iraqi Ba'athist regime. The Halabja massacre (Kurdish: took place in Iraqi Kurdistan on 16 March 1988, when thousands of Kurds were killed by a large-scale Iraqi chemical attack. A targeted attack in Halabja, it was carried out during the Anfal campaign, which was led by Iraqi military officer Ali Hassan al-Majid. Two days before the attack, the city had been captured by Iran as part of Operation Zafar 7 of the Iran–Iraq War.
Back in 2013, Syria had also hit Myadhamiya, which was 12 miles west of Zamalka. There, 7 rockets had done the dastardly deed with 1,300 people who died horrile deaths from this exposure of chemical warfare. Of course, Assad was blaming the rebels and was saying that he had not ordered such a thing.
Just who were the rebels? Several terrorist organizations were his rebels: like Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Assad was acting like them, too.
The death count was reported to have risen to 120,000 by September in Syria alone. These reports were coming out of widespread torture and terror in state prisons, verified by people known. They all were accused of severe human rights violations.
Amnesty International said that in 2012 and 2013 the majority of abuses were done by the Syrian government. By now, more than 4 million Syrians had been displaced and another 2 million had fled the country and had become refugees. Chemical weapons had been used on more than one occasion which triggered immediate international reactions but not action itself about stopping it.
By the 27th of 2013 the Executive Council of the OPCS (The Executive Council (EC) is the governing and executive organ of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The Council oversees the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, manages the organisation's budget, and monitors compliance with the global ban on chemical weapons.)
adopted a time line to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. Then the UN Security Council unanimously voted to destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. They planned to impose measures under Chapter VII of their charter if Syria didn't comply with the resolution.
Bashar al-Assad was not assassinated by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Instead, following a rapid military offensive in December 2024 by rebel groups led by Jolani's faction, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Assad's regime collapsed and he fled the country with his family to seek refuge in Russia. While HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham) and Al Qaeda share a common lineage, HTS formally cut ties with the global Al Qaeda network. However, the U.S. and the U.N. still consider HTS a terrorist organization due to its historical roots and ongoing extremist practices. Now this is important: HTS was originally founded in 2012 as Jabhat al-Nusra, which served as Al Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria. Assad used chemicals by 2013.
Syrian Civil War (2013-2017): Russia provided direct military backing to the Syrian regime, which was confirmed by the UN to have launched devastating sarin attacks. The most notable of these was the Ghouta chemical attack on August 21, 2013. Senior US military officials also investigated evidence that the Russian military either had prior knowledge of or assisted in subsequent Sarin nerve-gas strikes, such as the Khan al-Assal strike. This happened to Aleppo, Syria on March 19, 2013 with 26 fatalities including 16 government soldiers and 10 civilians, and more than 86 injuries. UN investigators finally arrived on the ground in Syria in August (with a mandate excluding the evaluation of culpability for the chemical weapons attacks, but their arrival coincided with the much larger-scale 2013 Ghouta attacks which took place on 21 August, 2013. The UN report, which was completed on 12 December, 2013, found "likely use of chemical weapons in Khan al-Assal" and assessed that organophosphate poisoning was the cause of the "mass intoxication. " Some help they were.
Chemicals were used by President Assad in September 2013 that were causing people to die, and the UN was in an uproar. An airline who usually landed there was to not to fly there because of that. Assad was later called by some citizens of Syria as "the master of torture.' It was too bad, too as he was also a doctor. Bashar al-Assad graduated as a general practitioner from Damascus University in 1988. He then trained as an ophthalmologist (an eye doctor), completing postgraduate work at the Western Eye Hospital in London in the early 1990s. His father had also been president.
It was confirmed on the 16th of September that Sarin, a nerve gas, had been used on a large scale. Sarin had been found in the environment that was tested and also found in the bodies of the dead.
Assad's government had resorted to chemical warfare on August 21st, and September 21st of 2013. Although this was not new for Syria to do such a thing, the last time was in 1988 in Halabja. The devastating chemical attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja on March 16, 1988, was perpetrated by the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein. Directed by Iraqi commander Ali Hassan al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq War, aircraft dropped a lethal mix of mustard gas, sarin, tabun, and VX. The massacre killed between 3,200 and 5,000 civilians and injured thousands more.
(As an aside, is this what Iran was referring to when he just threatened the Trump regime in being able to kill off so many of our American soldiers or sailors if they attacked anymore? )
On August 21st or September 16, 2013, 18 rockets had struck Ein Tarma, Suburb and town, which was only 2.7 miles east of Old Damascus and the Zamalka District right next to it. A team of UN chemical weapons inspectors have confirmed that the nerve agent sarin was used in an attack on the Ghouta agricultural belt around Damascus on the morning of 21 August, 1988. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the UN Security Council that he believed the attack constituted a war crime. The UN report, he said, detailed the "most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used them" in Halabja in 1988.
The 1988 Halabja tragedy is historically and unequivocally attributed to the Iraqi Ba'athist regime. The Halabja massacre (Kurdish: took place in Iraqi Kurdistan on 16 March 1988, when thousands of Kurds were killed by a large-scale Iraqi chemical attack. A targeted attack in Halabja, it was carried out during the Anfal campaign, which was led by Iraqi military officer Ali Hassan al-Majid. Two days before the attack, the city had been captured by Iran as part of Operation Zafar 7 of the Iran–Iraq War.
Back in 2013, Syria had also hit Myadhamiya, which was 12 miles west of Zamalka. There, 7 rockets had done the dastardly deed with 1,300 people who died horrible deaths from this exposure of chemical warfare. Of course, Assad was blaming the rebels and was saying that he had not ordered such a thing.
Just who were the rebels? Several terrorist organizations were his rebels: like Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Assad was acting like them, too.
The death count was reported to have risen to 120,000 by September in Syria alone. These reports were coming out of widespread torture and terror in state prisons, verified by people known. They all were accused of severe human rights violations.
Amnesty International said that in 2012 and 2013 the majority of abuses were done by the Syrian government. By now, more than 4 million Syrians had been displaced and another 2 million had fled the country and had become refugees. Chemical weapons had been used on more than one occasion which triggered immediate international reactions but not action itself about stopping it.
By the 27th of 2013 the Executive Council of the OPCS (The Executive Council (EC) is the governing and executive organ of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The Council oversees the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, manages the organisation's budget, and monitors compliance with the global ban on chemical weapons.)
adopted a time line to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. Then the UN Security Council unanimously voted to destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. They planned to impose measures under Chapter VII of their charter if Syria didn't comply with the resolution.
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, AKA real name of Ahmed al-Sharaa (also spelled Ahmed al-Shar'a or Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa). (I keep getting it mixed up with Assad. (Assad-Sharaa) Bashar al-Assad was not assassinated by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, he says. Instead, following a rapid military offensive in December 2024 by rebel groups led by Jolani's faction, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Assad's regime collapsed and he fled the country with his family to seek refuge in Russia. While HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham) and Al Qaeda share a common lineage, HTS formally cut ties with the global Al Qaeda network. Jolani was a member of both. However, the U.S. and the U.N. still consider HTS a terrorist organization due to its historical roots and ongoing extremist practices. Now this is important: HTS was originally founded in 2012 as Jabhat al-Nusra, which served as Al Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria. Assad used chemicals by 2013.
Syrian Civil War (2013-2017): Russia provided direct military backing to the Syrian regime, which was confirmed by the UN to have launched devastating sarin attacks. The most notable of these was the Ghouta chemical attack on August 21, 2013. Senior US military officials also investigated evidence that the Russian military either had prior knowledge of or assisted in subsequent Sarin nerve-gas strikes, such as the Khan al-Assal strike.
The recent July 8, 2026 picture in Ankara, Turkey; President Trump praised Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Jolani) because of his authoritarian control and strong ability to maintain order. Trump described Jolani as a "great leader" who successfully unified the fractured country and noted that he can effectively get people to follow orders. Harumph !!!So let's get this straight, Jolani-Sharaa, Trump's bosom buddy of Syria, was a joiner. He belonged to many terrorist groups:
Ahmed al-Sharaa, widely known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, belonged to several militant and political groups throughout his career:
- 1. Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI): Traveled to Iraq in 2003 and fought American forces before being incarcerated in US detention facilities.
- 2. The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI): Served as an early commander/emir in Iraq for the precursor to ISIS following his release from prison.
- 3. Jabhat al-Nusra (The Nusra Front): Sent to Syria in 2011 to establish and lead this group, which served as the official Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda.
- 4. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham: Formed in 2016 after the group publicly broke ties with al-Qaeda.
- 5. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS): Established in 2017 as a broad rebel coalition when Jabhat Fatah al-Sham merged with other armed groups.
- 6. Syrian Interim Government: Following HTS's overthrow of the Assad regime in 2024, Jolani transitioned into politics and became president of Syria's interim government.
- Now, I believe I know of a great replacement for Jolani that the people should like. Just ask me:
- Resource:
- My book: Messages from a Syrian Jewish trapped in Egypt
- by Nadene Goldfoot and Jack Huffman, storyteller
- The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
- Facebook
- ABC News
- Wikipedia
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