Washington’s decision on Monday to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism has dealt American victims of Syrian-sponsored terrorism “a heavy blow,” Aryeh Portnoy, a lawyer from Crowell & Moring representing American victims against state sponsors of terrorism, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
The removal, posted on the US Treasury's website, took effect after a 45-day congressional review period triggered when Trump formally notified Congress on July 8 of his intention to rescind the designation.
“These actions were all taken in recognition of the positive actions taken and further commitments by the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully distance Syria from acts of international terrorism,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
American victims of Syrian terror feel move diminishes their experience
Though some have argued that the move will allow Damascus the financial recovery needed to bring stability for a country that has suffered more than a decade of civil war and a dictatorship responsible for multiple crimes against its own people, Portnoy said that declaring Syria “open for business without accounting for the Americans whose lives were destroyed by Syrian state-sponsored terrorism” was devastating to its victims.
American victims and their families who have obtained a final judgment in a US district court against a designated state sponsor of terrorism are meant to be compensated through the US Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSST Fund), using seized and forfeited assets and settlements from companies that have violated US sanctions, but it remains unclear whether Syria will be required to pay any amount toward outstanding judgments or future lawsuits.
Notably, the Anti-Defamation League is still in the process of suing Syria on behalf of 130 US citizens who were killed or injured on October 7 and family members of American victims. Launched in July 2024, less than half a year before Ahmed al-Sharaa’s HTS forces seized control from Bashar al-Assad, the lawsuit alleges that Syria, along with North Korea and Iran, “provided material support to Hamas that enabled it to commit atrocities in Israel on October 7, 2023.”
For example, in Colvin v. Syrian Arab Republic, a US court ruled that the Syrian regime must pay out $302.5 million in damages to the family of Marie Colvin, a war correspondent killed in a targeted attack in Homs in 2012.
Other countries who were removed from list had to compensate US victims
Though now under a different leadership, other countries have been expected to pay out millions to victims as part of an agreement to be taken off the list of state sponsors of terrorism. In 2008, for example, Libya compensated families of US victims of Libyan terror attacks, including the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, two years after it was removed from the list as part of a $1.8 billion deal.
“[American] victims now can only hope their government will not forget them, and that it intends to address the claims and judgments Congress allowed them to pursue in US courts, and not render that commitment to help them seek justice an empty promise,” Portnoy said, adding that “‘it also is unclear how Syria and its new business partners will be protected from the claims of hundreds, if not thousands, of judgment creditors who will need to identify other ways to enforce their judgments if left unaddressed.”
Dr. Tamim Khromachou, the Syrian-Alawite president of the Levant Council of the United States and the Americans for Levant Foundation, told The Post that delisting Syria does not address the sectarian violence in Syria, and could inadvertently strengthen actors responsible for abuses seen in recent years, though it would undoubtedly be beneficial for Syria’s economy and diplomatic efforts.
“It is also important to remember that Syria moved from the political dictatorship of the Assad regime into a period of civil and sectarian violence while Syria was under the same terrorism-related designations. So, ultimately, the designation itself does not determine which direction Syria takes,” Khromachou said. “The will of the new authorities, the nature of the institutions they build, and the commitment of those supporting Syria’s transition will be far more consequential.”
“Removing the designation could provide an important opportunity for Syria, but that opportunity needs to be accompanied by meaningful safeguards, accountability, and guarantees that the emerging state will protect all Syrians regardless of their sect or identity,” he shared.
Israeli expert sees move as positive to tackle Syrian sectarian violence
Though minorities in Syria may waver in how they view this latest move, Dr. Ely Karmon, a senior researcher at The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University, told The Post that Washington’s decision could only help tackle the bad actors involved in the sectarian attacks.
Explaining that the Islamist groups operating in Syria hadn’t been taken as quickly by the “charismatic” Sharaa as European and American leadership, Karmon made clear he didn’t believe that Sharaa’s government had been responsible for the sectarian violence but said that Washington’s decision to delist Syria would likely encourage him to act more strongly against it.
“The Syrian army was not yet really under control, and still is not completely under control,” he said.
The European Union has been slower than the US to remove sanctions, and Sharaa will need to prove he can provide a stable future for Syria in order to see the country freed from the financial restraints, he explained. With the removal of US sanctions, Damascus will have more breathing room to create that stability, he argued.