‘Israel is the Iron Dome of the Druze in Syria,’ Say Syrian Druze Residents

‘Israel is the Iron Dome of the Druze in Syria,’ Say Syrian Druze Residents

“We look at our Druze brothers in the Golan Heights, at their level of education, at their ability to work and earn a living, and we envy them. But we understand that if we declare this publicly, we will be exposed to violence from the Syrian regime.”

By Baruch Yedid, TPS

The Druze of southern Syria are optimistic about a recent Israeli pledge to protect their communities, though The Press Service of Israel’s conversations with residents of Sweida also reveal some internal divisions.

“Israel is the Iron Dome of the Druze in Syria,” a Druze cleric from Sweida told TPS-IL. The city of around 138,000 lies near the borders of Syria, Israel and Jordan.

“Many want to be annexed to Israel or have reciprocal relations with it,” he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the demilitarization of southern Syria and protection for its Druze community on Feb. 23. An estimated 700,000-800,000 Druze live in Syria, mostly in southwestern areas near Israel and Jordan. They make up around four percent of the Syrian population. Analysts and Israeli Druze recentlyh told TPS-IL Netanyahu’s remarks were a major shift in Israeli policy.

But Sweida residents are also being cautious.

“On the one hand, elements in the Druze community are issuing statements that are pleasing to the ears of the new Syrian regime and talking about the unity of Syria and loyalty to the new Syria after Assad,” one resident told TPS-IL. “On the other hand, public figures in Sweida are making it clear that if the Druze give up the weapons they hold in favor of Syrian unity, they will become exposed to a large number of violent militias operating in southern Syria, including those loyal to the Syrian government and jihadist groups.”

This dilemma has spurred the Druze in Sweida and surrounding areas to bolster their defenses. “We recently established the Sweida Military Council in cooperation with Syrian rebels,” a local source told TPS-IL.

Gaining Momentum

Despite these military preparations, the idea of seeking closer ties with Israel is gaining momentum.

“We look at our Druze brothers in the Golan Heights, at their level of education, at their ability to work and earn a living, and we envy them,” another Druze cleric from Sweida admitted. “But we understand that if we declare this publicly, we will be exposed to violence from the Syrian regime.”

Another resident, who has visited the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights several times, voiced a similar sentiment.

“I have no doubt that the best interests of the Druze in Sweida lie in reciprocal relations with Israel, whether we establish autonomy like that of the Kurds or whether we manage to maintain trade and working relations with Israel,” he told TPS-IL.

Tensions between the Druze and the new Syrian regime erupted into violence on Friday when armed Druze groups clashed with government loyalists in the town of Jaramana. Two government soldiers were killed, and a delegation of Druze dignitaries from Sweida traveled to Jaramana and later to Damascus in a bid to lower tensions.

While some Druze leaders, such as Sheikh Leitn Balous, have voiced strong pro-Syrian statements, insisting that “we are not seeking external protection,” others, including Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the religious leader of the Druze in Sweida, cautiously advocate for Druze autonomy.

Al-Hijri “is constantly working to bring about autonomy, at least for a period of time until the nature of the new Syrian regime becomes clear,” an associate of the sheikh told TPS-IL.

Within Israel’s Druze community, opinions are also divided.

“Some believe that Israel should take concrete steps and annex the Druze in southern Syria, while others warn that this is very sensitive and could ultimately harm the well-being of the Druze in southern Syria,” a Druze public figure in Israel told TPS-IL.

One local council head told TPS-IL, “Before Israel agrees to annex tens of thousands of Druze from Syria, it would be better for it to take care of repairing the infrastructure in the Druze villages in the Carmel or in the north… and not interfere in the sensitive matters that threaten us.”

Meanwhile, a number of Druze activists are openly opposing the involvement of Sheikh Mowafaq Ṭarīf the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, who has been engaged in discussions with various parties in the United States about establishing reciprocal relations between Israel and the Syrian Druze.

Israel’s Druze community of 152,000 trace their ancestry back to the Biblical figure Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Israeli Druze serve in senior positions in public and military life, and the bond between Jewish and Druze soldiers is referred to as the “covenant of blood.” The Druze speak Arabic but are not Muslim and are very secretive about their religious beliefs.

The Druze living in the Galilee and Mount Carmel areas sided with the Jews in 1948 during Israel’s War of Independence, opted to be part of Israeli society and established themselves in all areas of public life.

When Israel captured the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967, the Golan Druze refused Israeli offers of citizenship, believing Syria would recapture the plateau. But attitudes have changed since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011.

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