Syria’s freedom reveals the depth of activist double standards - opinion

On Sunday, the streets of Damascus erupted in chaos and triumph as Syrian rebel fighters stormed the capital, bringing an end to the Assad family’s regime, after 53 years of repression and brutality. 

Just a week earlier, the rebels, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), had recaptured Aleppo, breaking a years-long stalemate in Syria’s civil war. This decisive breakthrough, supported by defected Assad officers and opposition fighters, dealt a critical blow to the Iranian-backed regime after over a decade of war. 

The regime’s fall offers hope for Syria, but we must confront the persistent whitewashing and complicity that prolonged Bashar Assad’s reign of terror.

HTS claims it has no intention of permanently holding power, instead committing to establishing a transitional government that respects the rights of all Syrians – including minorities such as Christians, Druze, Jews, and Alawites. Despite past links to al-Qaeda, which raise understandable concerns, HTS asserts it has severed these ties. Only time will tell if this promise holds, but one thing is clear: The collapse of Assad’s regime has created a rare opportunity for meaningful change.

The civil war, which began in 2011, unleashed one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, destroying the country Assad claimed to protect. 

The fall of his regime should not erase the memory of the horrors inflicted on Syrians: more than 600,000 dead, thousands of them children. Barrel bombs, chemical weapons, and airstrikes decimated ancient cities – all carefully documented by Syrian rights groups. Sarin and chlorine gas, used repeatedly by Assad’s forces, stand among the most heinous war crimes. 

Yet, even as these atrocities unfolded, they failed to evoke the same mass protests seen in other conflicts – notably those involving Israel.

Consider Yarmouk, once a thriving Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus, now reduced to rubble by Assad’s relentless siege and bombardment. Thousands were killed, but where were the protests and the impassioned campus rallies demanding justice for Syria’s Palestinians? The same voices that have been quick to unjustly condemn Israel remained conspicuously silent when Palestinians suffered under Assad.

A personal tale

For me, this is deeply personal. 

In 2011, Assad’s forces seized my grandfather’s home in Damascus, forcing my grandparents to flee for their lives. Their story is just one of millions of families forced to leave everything behind. Yet their struggle is often dismissed, overshadowed by narratives that fit certain political agendas.

This indifference insults not only my family but every Syrian who has been dehumanized, displaced, or killed in this conflict. Assad’s regime committed crimes indiscriminately. Entire cities lie in ruins, and thousands disappeared into secret prisons where torture was routine. This was not heroic resistance against imperialism but the calculated actions of a dictator desperate to maintain power at any cost.

Why did Gaza inspire mass protests and social media campaigns while Syria’s suffering was largely ignored – or worse, excused? For years, pro-Palestinian Instagram accounts and Assadist sympathizers have portrayed the Assad regime as an essential pillar of Iran’s axis of resistance, long before its eventual overthrow.

On December 8, following the regime’s collapse, one of the largest pro-Palestinian Instagram accounts with 1.2 million followers, @landpalestine, posted a slide claiming the IDF had invaded Syria immediately after Assad’s fall, captioned: “Coincidence? Definitely not.” 

This post, which garnered thousands of likes, is just one example of how anti-Israel social media accounts have perpetuated a false narrative framing Assad’s opposition as part of a Zionist expansionist agenda. These claims discredit the Syrian revolution, erase the sacrifices of those fighting for freedom, and use Israel as a scapegoat to deflect from Assad’s atrocities.

Figures such as Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of Within Our Lifetime, a New York-based organization leading the city’s largest anti-Israel protests, have amplified these narratives. Kiswani reposted claims on X that the fall of Assad’s regime would serve the “Zionist project.” 

Similarly, right-wing commentator Candace Owens spread the conspiracy theory that Syria’s revolution was a Zionist CIA plot. This pattern of misinformation, sold as anti-imperialist critique, has ironically defended the imperialist ambitions of Iran and Russia as they seek to expand their spheres of control and dominate the region.

Moreover, this selective outrage has revealed a deeply flawed view of human rights – acknowledging suffering only when it aligns with certain political narratives. 

Assad’s reentry into the Arab League in 2023 and Italy’s renewed ties with Syria in 2024 starkly highlighted this double standard: normalizing relations with a brutal dictator while disproportionately condemning Israel. The lack of scrutiny for regimes such as Syria, Iran, and Russia compared to Israel underscored this bias and fed into broader antisemitism, framing Israel as “the Jew among the nations.”

Social justice requires informed and proportionate action: Syrians deserved the same solidarity and outcry that was so fervently given to Gaza. Anything less is a betrayal – not only of Syria’s people but of the very principles of justice and equality that these movements claim to uphold. 

Activists must now hold HTS accountable to its commitments under UN Resolution 2254, conducting free elections and further establishing peaceful relations with all neighbors, including Israel.

Rather than mischaracterizing Israel’s temporary security reinforcement as an invasion, activists should support Netanyahu’s statement of outreach: “We extend a hand of peace to all in Syria: Druze, Kurds, Christians, and Muslims who seek peace with Israel.” 

Progressives must demand accountability for Assad’s crimes – even posthumously if necessary – and advocate for justice for his victims. Without this, their activism remains performative, a hollow expression of principles not honestly held.

The writer is an undergraduate student of Syrian descent at the University of Rochester.