# The synagogue in Damascus

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The synagogue in Damascus," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-synagogue-in-damascus/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account of visiting an operating, practising Jewish synagogue in Damascus, and the forecast he attaches to it — that he would not bet money on the safety of Christians, Jews, Alawites or any other religious minority in Syria under the present government or any other, whatever else is said of Bashar al-Assad.*

- **Visited:** An operating, practising synagogue in Damascus
- **On the Christian population:** Some estimates put it above 5 percent
- **On Assad:** "A monster" who nonetheless protected religious minorities
- **Forecast:** Would not bet on any minority's safety under this government or any other

**The synagogue in Damascus** is a detail [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) offers as first-hand evidence for a claim about religious minorities in Syria, and as the ground for a forecast he states in the language of betting.

## What he saw

Discussing the fate of Syria's minority communities after the fall of [Bashar al-Assad](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bashar-al-assad), Kiriakou corrected an interlocutor on the Alawites — *"actually Bashar al-Assad was an Alawite Muslim"* — and gave a figure for the Christian population: *"there are some estimates that put the Christian community in Syria at more than 5%."*[1]

The synagogue is introduced as personal knowledge rather than reporting: *"I've been to Syria. I went to a to an operating practicing Jewish synagogue in Damascus. There's still a Jewish community in Damascus."*[1]

## The forecast

What follows is stated as a wager he would decline. *"if I were a betting man, I would not bet money on the safety of Christians or Jews or Alawites or any other religious minority in Syria. Not under this government or any other government."*[2]

Kiriakou keeps the judgement on Assad and the judgement on minority protection separate, and refuses to let either soften the other. *"For for all of his faults, and Bashar al-Assad was a monster"* — and then, after his interlocutor agreed that Assad was a monster — *"But for all of his faults, he at least protected religious minorities. And that's that's all out the window now."*[2]

Damascus recurs in Kiriakou's own account of his travels: he has also described viewing what is venerated as the head of John the Baptist, held in a silver coffin at the Umayyad Mosque, during his [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) career.[1]

## See also

- [Bashar al-Assad](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bashar-al-assad)
- [Al-Julani](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/al-julani)
- [The Greek Orthodox Church](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/greek-orthodox-church)
- [Kiriakou on travel](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/kiriakou-on-travel)

## Sources

1. Taxpayers Against Genocide w/ Seth Donnelly (2025-11-14), at 36:31. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHevWAzEsic&t=2191s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-14-the-deep-focus-show-taxpayers-against-genocide-w-seth-donnelly/
2. Taxpayers Against Genocide w/ Seth Donnelly (2025-11-14), at 37:03. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHevWAzEsic&t=2223s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-14-the-deep-focus-show-taxpayers-against-genocide-w-seth-donnelly/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-synagogue-in-damascus/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt