Published on 21 February 2013, by M. Tomazy.
"In 1936, as talks took place between the French and Sunni leaders about the termination of the French Mandate and the granting of Syrian independence, five Alawite leaders sent a letter of protest to the French authorities. In that document, they actually mentioned the Jews of Palestine as one of the peoples suffering from Sunni-Arab attempts at domination. Among the five was Sulayman Assad, the father of Hafez and grandfather of the current ruler, Bashar."
Josef Olmert, adjunct professorof Middle East politics at the University of South Carolina.
