Accounts on social media circulated a photo claimed to be recent, documenting an "Israeli" rabbi blessing Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with the Israeli flag appearing behind them.
The Kashaf team verified the photo through digital tracing that included a reverse search using Google Lens, along with a review of its publication date and original context, and found that it was cropped from a video dating back to 16 November 2025, documenting the blessing given by Yusuf Hamra, the rabbi of the Syrian Jews in the United States, to President Ahmed al-Sharaa during his meeting with the Syrian community in the US capital, Washington.
The verification also showed that the Israeli flag appearing in the circulated version was added to the image after it was cropped and digitally edited.
Why is this claim misleading?
Digitally altered content: An incorrect description was attributed to the rabbi appearing in the video, and the Israeli flag was added to the image digitally.
