I didn't know date syrup is now used as an alternate sweetener. One of the recipes on the cookbook, NOPI, by Yotam Ottolenghi is Sweet Potato Pancakes Topped With Yogurt and Date Syrup. Sounds really yummy.
The date syrup in the book's photo is smooth, dark, and thick. I didn't have date syrup so I made a little by cooking California dried dates with water until pulpy. I strained it but the syrup although thick is not smooth and not sweet enough. I also tried making raw syrup by chopping dates and soaking in water but the result also lacks adequate sweetness and even coarser than the cooked syrup. Maybe it's really not that sweet like sugarcane. I'll have to get the ones that come from Israel just to try.