‘Why don’t you give New Jersey to the Israelis?’: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander, recalls his joke to Trump over Golan Heights

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa invoked New Jersey while discussing the much-disputed Golan Heights and US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory.

Speaking at an Atlantic Council panel in New York on Tuesday, September 22, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, al-Sharaa discussed Syria’s relations with Israel, direct negotiations between the two countries and the future of the Golan Heights.

‘Why don't you give New Jersey to the Israelis?’

Al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander, recalled an undated conversation with Trump during a visit to the White House. He said he joked about Trump’s position on the Golan Heights by comparing the territory to the US state of New Jersey, a stronghold of the Democratic Party.

"President Trump stood to the side of Syria, supported Syria and issued a historic resolution or decision to lift sanctions off Syria, and I have a very unique relationship with him," al-Sharaa said.

"But once, when I visited him in the White House, I made a joke with him."

"When he said about the Golan Heights that Israel has sovereignty, I said, 'Why don't you give New Jersey to the Israelis? You don't own the Golan Heights to give it to them, but you own New Jersey, and I believe New Jersey is full of Democrats, and they are not voting for Trump. So it will be good to give it to the Israelis.'"

"At least this is something that you own," he continued. "President Trump doesn't own the Golan Heights."

"Regardless of this joke, the Golan Heights belong to their own people," he said in a serious tone. "It is neither the Syrian president nor the American president nor any other person who can abandon them or give them up to others."

What is the Golan Heights and why does it matter?

The Golan Heights is a mountainous plateau in southwestern Syria, close to the tri-junction of the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Jordan. Israel captured most of the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and later applied Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration there in 1981.

As per Al Jazeera estimates, Israel currently controls 1,200sq km (463sq miles) of the western part of the disputed region.

The United Nations continues to regard the Golan as occupied Syrian territory. UN Security Council Resolution 497 states that Israel’s decision to impose its laws and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan has no international legal effect.

The United States, however, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights during Trump’s first presidency, a position that differs from the UN’s longstanding position.

Al-Sharaa on Israel-Syria talks

Al-Sharaa, Syria's de facto head of state since ousting Bashar al-Assad in 2024, also said that Syria and Israel had previously held several rounds of direct negotiations and that the discussions had at one point reached "almost 90%" agreement before Israel withdrew or introduced additional conditions.

What did he say about October 7 and Gaza?

Asked about Israeli society’s trauma following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, al-Sharaa said he understood what happened to civilians but argued that the attack should not determine Israel’s wider policy toward Syria.

"I understand what happened on October 7 to some of the innocent people," he said. "But at the same time, it is not possible that all policies are set based on an incident that happened in history."

He then referred to the death toll in Gaza, saying that more than 70,000 people had been killed there, including women and children.