In 1978 Atrash hosted a dinner aimed at healing the rift between the ruling Ba'ath governments of Syria and neighboring Iraq. The dinner was attended by such notables as Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz and Syrian defense minister Mustafa Tlass. Between 2000 and 2006 Atrash was a member of an organization in support of the Palestinian uprising against Israel. Between 2001 and 2006 he presided over the Syrian Arab Committee, which aimed to end the sanctions against Iraq and later support it after the 2003 invasion.