Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa's White House meeting with Donald Trump followed the removal of his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the list of designated "terrorist organizations" both at the State Department and at the UN. It also coincided with raids against ISIS by his security forces, raising the prospect of his government being invited to join the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. The Washington visit also came just a month after al-Sharaa's similar trip to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where a deal was brokered allowing Russia to keep its military bases in Syria. Amid all this, Syria continues to see forced disappearances and other abuses targetting Druze, Alawites and Kurds—pointing to the looming threat of an ethnic or sectarian internal war. The US troop presence in Syria is largely embedded among the Kurdish forces in the east. As al-Sharaa becomes a new "anti-terrorist" partner (or proxy) for the Great Powers, will these troops be withdrawn—providing a "green light" for the Damascus government to attack the Kurdish autonomous zone? In Episode 305 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg weighs the risks at this critical moment in Syria's transition process, nearly one year after the fall of the Assad dictatorship.

The recent political reversal in Bolivia raises the question of whether the advances of nearly 20 years of rule by the indigenist left will survive—including a constitution that refounded the state as a "plurinational" republic. In Episode 299 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg explores how the lessons of the Bolivian experience can be applied to Syria, where the new revolutionary government faces a challenge in Kurdish and Druze demands for regional autonomy.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sept. 3 condemned the ongoing crackdown on civil opposition by the Iranian authorities following the conflict with Israel. According to the rights groups, the Iranian government is using national security as an excuse to target dissidents and minorities.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, warned April 25 of grave consequences for the country's future without genuine political inclusion and urgent economic support for a successful political transition. During a briefing to the Security Council, Pedersen noted the legacies of misrule, conflict and exclusion in Syria, stating:

This means that the situation is inherently still extremely fragile. The vital ingredients to address this fragility are clear: we need genuine political inclusion so that all Syrians can participate meaningfully in shaping their country's political future, along with countering extremism and terrorism; and real support from the international community to give this transition a chance to succeed against great odds.

In a video published on social media Jan. 2, a representative of the new transitional government in Syria spoke with Bakhour Chamntoub, head of Damascus' small remnant Jewish community, promising "peace and security" and even calling on Syrian Jews abroad to return to the country. Said the representative, Mohammad Badarieh: "Good evening everyone... from the home of the head of the Jewish community in Damascus, Bakhour. Reassure us that you're alright." Replied Chamntoub: "Thank God, all is well."  Referring to Syrian Jews outside the country, Chamntoub acknowledged: "They don't believe there will be peace, and that they can return home." But, addressing the diaspora, he echoed the pledge of the transition government: "You will be safe, there will be peace and quiet, and God willing, you'll return, everyone to his house, to his neighborhood, and to his people..."

On Oct. 18, unknown assailants targeted a Berlin synagogue with Molotov cocktails, while rioters in Tunisia burned down the historic El Hamma synagogue. Berlin police reported that two unidentified persons threw the Molotov cocktails at the Kahal Adass Jisroel synagogue in the center of the city. No casualties or significant property damage were reported. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attack and promised to protect the country's Jewish communities, saying, "Anti-Semitism has no place in Germany." He also noted in later comments that the legacy of the Holocaust means Germany must be extra vigilant. The Kahal Adass Jisroel community was resolute, with the synagogue's chairperson saying, "We will live on, we will be strong, we will stay."

At least 43 people were killed Aug. 30 as government troops fired on protesters in Goma, capital of conflicted North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The protest against the the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) was organized by a religious sect, the Natural Judaic & Messianic Faith Towards the Nations, also known as Wazalendo. MONUSCO "peacekeepers" have faced repeated protests from local residents over their failure to protect civilians amid ongoing inter-factional fighting. The UN is demanding an investigation into the Goma incident, which Human Rights Watch called an "apparent massacre." In addition to the slain, 56 were reported injured and at least 222 arrested. (Jurist, AP, France24)

In Episode 179 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg compares the military and settler attacks on Palestinian towns in the West Bank with the eruption of ethnic violence in Northeast India's state of Manipur—and uncovers the unlikely connection between the two. The Kuki indigenous people now targeted in Manipur includes a sub-group called the Bnei Menashe, who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, and practice an ancient form of Judaism. Israeli NGOs are raising the alarm about the violence in Manipur, but also exploiting it, luring Bnei Menashe to emigrate to Israel—with some of them settled on the West Bank, serving as demographic cannon fodder for the Zionist project. The Kuki and Palestinians, both land-rooted peoples usurped of their traditional territory, are pitted against each other—despite the convergence of their enemies in a Hindutva-Zionist alliance.