Sam Brownback, the former U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom and a former GOP senator, warned Wednesday that, unless Syrian minority groups are allowed to maintain their own security forces, they face a likely genocide by government-aligned forces.

The stark warning is a repudiation of the policies of the new Syrian government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, which had pushed for full integration of minority-led forces into the Syrian military and most recently launched a military offensive against the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Defense Forces, largely forcing a Kurdish surrender.

Forces aligned with the Syrian government have also carried out massacres of Druze, Alawite and Christian minorities since al-Sharaa’s rise.

The Trump administration has remained largely supportive of the al-Sharaa government, even as critics have accused it of essentially abandoning the U.S.’ longtime Kurdish allies to the Syrian government onslaught.

“The new administration in Syria is purging religious minorities, threatening and killing them,” Brownback said at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “These groups must be allowed to maintain their own security forces, or I guarantee you today, a genocide will happen in Syria like happened in Iraq to the Yazidis and Christians.”

Brownback urged the U.S. to pressure the Syrian government to change course.

“One Syria — not talking about breaking Syria — but the people there, the Druze, the Alawites and Christians, have to be able to provide their own security,” he said. “The Kurds are our best allies. We’ve got to keep standing with the Kurds. They will protect religious minorities and they need to be able to have their own security.”

Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), who questioned Brownback on the issue, said that he and “many” of his colleagues “struggled” with the idea of repealing the Caesar Civilian Protection Act, the last major sanctions targeting Syria, but ultimately did so on the promise of continued congressional oversight.

In the Senate, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers is pushing to reverse course and re-institute sanctions in response to the attack on the Kurds..

Brownback also warned that there are “early warning signs of a Muslim-on-Christian war … brewing across Africa,” and that the U.S. needs to get out ahead of it. He pointed to Nigeria as a starting point of this conflict, with its government backed by China, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia engaging in persecution of Christians.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) accused the Trump administration, and colleagues on the Hill, of turning a blind eye to what he described as attacks on the Christian community in “Palestine, including Jerusalem” by Israeli government forces and Israeli settlers.

Several major Jewish organizations are expected to call on the Senate to “swiftly” confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees for special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism and international religious freedom ambassador. 

The groups, led by the Jewish Federations of North America, are writing in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that filling the roles is “of utmost importance in fighting growing antisemitism and ensuring freedom of religion or belief worldwide,” according to a draft obtained by Jewish Insider. The letter is set to be sent on Tuesday, according to a source with knowledge of the draft.

“We dare not delay in filling these critical positions that protect human rights around the world,” the letter states. “To that end we strongly urge you to prioritize filling these positions, sending a powerful signal to governments around the world that the United States upholds our constitutionally guaranteed rights to life and liberty, to freedom of religion and belief, and calls on them to do the same.”

In April, Trump tapped Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, an Orthodox businessman and Chabad rabbi who served as a campaign surrogate, to serve as the next U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. In the Biden administration, that role was filled by Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust historian at Emory University. In May, the two authored a joint op-ed, with former antisemitism envoy Elan Carr, calling for action after two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. 

Trump named former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Both positions require Senate confirmation, and neither has had a confirmation hearing yet. 

“We believe that these ambassador-at-large positions are crucial to protecting vital human rights, promoting religious freedom and vigorously confronting the global surge in antisemitism,” the Jewish organizations wrote. 

JFNA CEO Eric Fingerhut told JI on Tuesday that the positions must be filled to help Jewish organizations combat rising antisemitism.

“The 141 Jewish Federations across our system are on the front lines of responding to and combatting antisemitism, and every single day we hear from them about the elevated levels of antisemitism our communities are facing,” Fingerhut said. “The government is a critical partner in our fight against antisemitism, both at home and around the world, so we must make sure that these roles do not remain vacant.”

A spokesperson for Thune did not respond to a request for comment. 

A spokesperson for Schumer referred to the hold the Senate minority leader currently has on dozens of Trump nominees, and Trump’s recent message to Schumer to “go to hell” after bipartisan negotiations broke down. The spokesperson declined to comment specifically on Kaploun or Walker. 

“President Trump has focused on promoting religious freedom and fighting antisemitism in a historic way,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told JI in a statement. “He wants all of his nominees confirmed as quickly as possible, including Yehuda Kaploun and Mark Walker, whose roles will be critically important to protecting Americans of faith.”

Current signatories to the letter include the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Anti-Defamation League, the Orthodox Union, the Israeli-American Council, the Zionist Organization of America, Hadassah, American Jewish Committee, Agudath Israel, B’nai Brith International, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, NORPAC, Combat Antisemitism Movement, Religious Zionists of America and the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists. 

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. 

This story was updated at 9:35 a.m. ET on Aug. 27, 2025.