Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 9 of last year, the government of Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara, has been consolidating its rule. The new regime has gained international recognition, culminating in a meeting between al-Shara and U.S. President Donald Trump in Riyadh.
To assess the new regime’s orientation toward Israel, researchers at JPPI’s Glazer Center conducted an in-depth analysis of hundreds of opinion columns and commentary pieces in Syria’s key state-run newspapers - Al-Hurriya (formerly Tishreen) and Al-Thawra - both of which were formerly affiliated with the Assad regime and now serve as official platforms of the new government.
The researchers used advanced AI-based tools to evaluate the tone and sentiment toward Israel in these publications. In addition, they measured the overall volume of Israel-related coverage before and after the regime change, using publications by the official Syrian state news agency, SANA, which continues to operate under the new government.
The comparison focused on the periods between January and May of this year (under al-Shara) and the same months last year (under al-Assad).
Key finding: Under al-Shara, Israel-related coverage dropped significantly.
Whereas under al-Assad, Israel was featured in up to 43% of SANA reports, this figure fell to just 7% under al-Shara.
The researchers also analyzed the tone of coverage by comparing opinion pieces across the two periods. Using AI classification, they examined articles in Al-Thawra. In Assad’s last year in power, nearly 25% of opinion articles (147 out of 595) dealt with Israel, with over 95% rated as “highly negative,” another 4% as “negative,” and only 0.7% as “somewhat negative.”
By contrast, under al-Shara, only 5% of opinion columns dealt with Israel. For comparison, a recent JPPI analysis of Egyptian media found that 30% of opinion articles focused on Israe - six times more than in Syria under al-Shara.
Beyond the change in volume, there appears to have been a modest shift in tone. In the Julani-era Al-Thawra, 65% of articles were classified as “highly negative,” 12% as “negative,” and 6% as “somewhat negative,” while 18% were labeled “neutral” - a non-existent characterization in the previous year under al-Assad.
Researchers also assessed sentiment in Al-Hurriya (formerly Tishreen), another key government outlet. Like Al-Thawra, the tone toward Israel was overwhelmingly negative: 78% of articles were “highly negative,” 11% “negative,” and 11% “somewhat negative.” These articles were all written and published after the regime change.
Despite the significant drop in the volume of coverage, the tone remains deeply hostile. In “highly negative” articles, Israel is portrayed as a colonial and aggressive entity aiming to take over Syria, sow chaos, and expand at the expense of regional nations.
The research was conducted by JPPI’s Diane and Guilford Glazer Information and Consulting Center researchers Shlomi Bereznik and Eli Kannai.
Yaakov Katz, Director of JPPI’s Glazer Information Center, commented:
“The new Syrian government is shifting closer to the West, as reflected in Al-Shara’s recent meeting with President Trump and the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Syria. Al-Shara has hinted at openness to relations with Israel, and his steps to tone down media hostility toward Israel reinforce that message with real policy. The sharp decline in media focus on Israel - and to some extent, even in hostility - marks a noticeable departure from former President Assad’s approach.”