Golan and Turkey: Barak's Positions Spark Anger in Israel and Trump Allies

Escalating tensions have emerged between Israel and U.S. envoy to Syria and Washington’s ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barak, over his positions on the Golan Heights and Israeli military operations in Syria.

Barak’s statements provoked strong criticism from Israeli officials and individuals close to President Donald Trump, with accusations that he has adopted stances closer to Ankara and contradicted Trump’s own policy toward Israel.

The rift deepened after Barak stated in a television interview that Israel "still occupies the Golan," a remark contradicting Trump’s March 2019 decision formally recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar strongly attacked Barak, calling his statements "filled with fallacies" and inconsistent with Trump’s own position on the Golan.

Conservative activist Laura Loomer, a close ally of Trump, also joined the criticism, referencing the 2019 declaration and urging Barak to resign, citing his "lack of understanding of U.S. foreign policy."

Loomer had previously criticized him this week following his condemnation of the Israeli strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria, writing: "There is no doubt that Tom Barak is one of the worst appointments in the Trump administration—he always sides with the villains."

Regarding allegations that Turkey attempted to deploy advanced Russian air defense systems at bases inside Syria in preparation for potential deployment of Turkish aircraft there, a source told WaLa that Ankara is indeed seeking to install a radar system at the site, with later deployment of air defense systems operated by Turkish soldiers.

However, Barak presented a completely different narrative, describing the Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa’s government as not adopting an adversarial approach, stating that Turkey does not seek military confrontation with Israel, and characterizing the Israeli strike on the Syrian base as an "unjustified escalation."

He added that Ankara received no prior warning about the attack and that its aircraft could have been launched toward Israeli planes, a scenario that could have led to a direct confrontation between Israel and a NATO member state.

In an editorial for the New York Sun, Turkish researcher Senan Ceylan described Barak as an "independent actor" who sometimes acts apart from the U.S. Department of State, even going so far as to suggest Barak appears at times more like "Erdogan’s man in Washington, rather than the other way around."

Barak had previously commented on Israel’s targeting of the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria, suggesting one possibility is that Israel detected movements others failed to catch, but emphasized that the "most likely scenario" relates to intercepted communications indicating Turkey’s intent to expand its military training activities within the base.

He also raised the possibility that "the Israelis were testing the Turks’ reaction," by provoking Ankara’s response, and noted the potential for coordination breakdowns within Israel, where the Israeli military, Mossad, and the Prime Minister’s office may have operated based on differing assessments.

He warned that "the unintended consequences of a mistake could be enormous," explaining that Turkish forces might have launched their aircraft without knowledge of Israel’s intentions, and urged resolving disputes between Ankara and Tel Aviv through dialogue and both formal and informal channels instead of unilateral actions.

He said Turkey has publicly declared it takes no hostile or offensive stance toward Israel and does not wish to engage in military operations, emphasizing its goal is a "sovereign and independent Syria."

He added that initial Israeli concerns about a new Syria were understandable, but noted that nearly two years of time now allow for gradual trust-building, pointing out that the recent strike represents a "temporary setback."