“I want to share something that very much moved me over the past two days,” Prime Minister Netanyahu told the nation of Israel in an address this week, “Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the head of the Druze community in Israel, contacted me. He told me the following: ‘During the Holocaust, when they butchered you, the Jews, you called for help, and no one came. Today they are butchering us, the Druze, and we are calling for the help of the State of Israel.’ And I said, he’s right. We acted, and we will continue to act as needed.”
Where are the marches in support of the Druze? Where is the international community condemning their persecutors? There is silence.
Israel knows what it is like to stand alone. UN Watch, an NGO that monitors the UN, published a quote by Sheikh Tarif: “What happened in Syria? They raped a 5-year-old girl. They entered a holy place where women were hiding, and burned them alive. They killed, beheaded, it was pure cleansing. This is only because they are Druze and do not believe as they do.”
The Druze leader’s description of events is consistent with media sources that have verified the massacre of Druze in recent weeks. The reports echo a chilling familiarity with what Israel itself experienced when Hamas breached the border and massacred Jews in southern Israel.
This is why Netanyahu ordered the IDF to act. He this week explained that the Syrian regime, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, violated two red lines — the demilitarisation of the area south of Damascus, near Israel’s border, and the protection of the country’s Druze minority there.
“It sent an army south of Damascus into the area that should be demilitarized,” Netanyahu said, “and it began to massacre the Druze. We could not accept this in any way.”
The Druze are a unique, Arabic-speaking, ethnic group that have lived in the Levant region for centuries. Israel’s relationship with its Druze citizens, and Druze living in Syria, is not merely a matter of military strategy. It is a bond forged since Israel’s re-establishment in 1948. In a region defined by shifting alliances, the Druze and the Jewish people have forged an enduring friendship built on mutual respect.
This friendship is an example to the Arab world of how peace can be achieved by fully embracing the reality that the State of Israel exists and is not the archenemy that is so often portrayed through pro-Palestinian hate-filled indoctrination. Put simply, the Jewish people love peace and so do the Druze. Unlike some actors in the region who want Israel wiped off the map, the Druze see Israel as good and the Jews as genuine brethren.
Brothers in Arms: Israel’s enduring bond with its Druze citizens
While many Arab communities in Israel maintain varying degrees of distance from state institutions, the Druze have chosen a different path of full integration into Israeli society.
This partnership began formally in 1956 when Druze leaders agreed with Israel’s government to institute mandatory military service for Druze men, something that is unique among Israel’s Arab minorities. From that moment, the Druze community became an inseparable part of Israel’s defense and public life.
Today, approximately 150,000 Druze live as full citizens in Israel. They are judges, Knesset members, doctors, and educators. Druze officers command combat units in the IDF. Brigadier General Ghassan Alian, a Druze, became one of the most senior officers in Israeli military history, serving as head of COGAT, which administers Israel’s border crossings. Ayoob Kara is another high-profile politician who served as Deputy Minister of Communications.
In the IDF, Druze soldiers serve in mixed infantry units as well as elite combat brigades, intelligence units, and command roles. Druze officers have led battalions along volatile borders, from Lebanon to the Golan Heights.
In the immediate aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attacks, Druze reservists from northern Israel were among the first to report for duty. According to IDF statements from November 2024, Druze battalions played a key role in intercepting Hezbollah incursions near the Golan Heights and guarding vulnerable border communities.
Their commitment to defending Israel has come with sacrifice. The Druze community has lost 13 soldiers during Israel’s war with Gaza.
When Jewish communities were attacked, so too were Druze communities. When a Hezbollah rocket struck a football field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel in July 2024, 12 Druze children playing there were killed. It was the single deadliest Hezbollah attack since Hezbollah began striking northern Israel on October 8th.
As Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual head of Israel’s Druze community, told Netanyahu last year:
“The bond between the Druze community and the Jewish people in the State of Israel is a deep bond that has endured for eight decades and is built on a common vision and values. It exists thanks to the fighters’ heroism and a steadfast and true covenant.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly affirmed this friendship in January 2025:
“The Druze are not just fellow citizens — they are our brothers in arms. Their courage in battle, their integrity in public life, and their unwavering loyalty are part of what makes Israel strong.”
The Plight of the Druze in Syria Under the al-Sharaa Regime
The Druze of Israel remain deeply connected to Druze across the border in Syria. So when their brethren face persecution, as they have in recent months, Israeli Druze communities feel it keenly. This is part of the motivations behind Israel’s policy in protecting the Druze in Syria. There is a loyalty and a duty.
While Israel’s Druze live in freedom, with full equal rights and making a significant contribution to public life, their relatives in Syria live under mounting pressure. Since President Ahmed al-Sharaa took power following the collapse of the Assad regime, the Syrian Druze, particularly in Suwayda Province, have faced escalating dangers.
The al-Sharaa regime, while distancing itself from Assad-era policies in some respects, has continued aggressive campaigns against minority groups viewed as politically disloyal. One incident occurred in June 2025, when regime-aligned security forces opened fire on a protest gathering in Suwayda city, leaving at least 14 Druze civilians dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The danger isn’t limited to the Druze. Christians in the same regions face similar dangers. The jihadist groups operating in southern Syria, some affiliated with remnants of ISIS and others backed by Iran, have created a hostile environment where minority communities are caught between regime forces and extremist factions.
Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria in early July 2025 reportedly targeted weapons depots and militia positions near Suwayda. Preventing weaponry from reaching Hezbollah and other Iranian militias is a key priority for Israel’s military operations in Syria. But layered onto this is Israel’s deep relationship with the Druze.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement regarding Israel’s military actions in southern Syria following the violation of the demilitarization policy in the area and the massacre of Druze citizens by Syrian regime forces. Netanyahu made clear that “we set a clear policy: the demilitarization in the area south of Damascus, from the Golan to the Jabal al-Druze area, that is one line. The second line: the protection of the brothers of our Druze brothers, the Druze of Jabal al-Druze. These two things were violated by the regime in Damascus. It sent military south of Damascus, into the area that was supposed to be demilitarized, and it began to slaughter the Druze. We could not accept that in any manner.”
Netanyahu added that due to the events, he ordered military action: “Therefore, I ordered the IDF to act, and to act with force. The IAF struck both the murder gangs and the armoured vehicles. I also added a target to strike the Defense Ministry in Damascus.”
The Prime Minister further stated that the strikes brought a clear result: “As a result of these intense actions, a ceasefire prevailed, and the Syrian forces withdrew back to Damascus. That’s important. This is a ceasefire that was obtained through strength. Not through requests, not through begging — through strength. We are achieving peace through strength, calm through strength, security through strength, on seven fronts.”
Netanyahu made clear that Israel would uphold an assertive policy to protect the Druze, and stated: “This will also be our continued policy, we will not allow the military forces to go south of Damascus, we will not allow the harm of the Druze on Jabal Druze.”
Israel’s Security
Senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, have stated publicly that protecting Druze civilians in Syria is a matter of national interest. Retired British military commander Colonel Richard Kemp recently wrote that the UK should be thanking Israel for dealing with the Syrian threat.
“Al-Sharaa was only able to seize power because Israel had smashed up Hezbollah, which otherwise would have stopped him in his tracks. Nor could the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ride to Assad’s rescue because the IDF would not have permitted it to do so.
“Israel went further, dismantling Syria’s military hardware, Iranian bases and chemical weapons factories in relentless pre-emptive strikes following Assad’s downfall. Again, Lammy should be thankful for that, because however the situation develops in the future, neither al-Sharaa nor any other Syrian warlord will have the means to deliver extreme violence without rebuilding these capabilities.”
However, Kemp also issued a note of caution to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy as Britain considers diplomatic re-engagement with Syria:
“Now al-Sharaa is representing himself as a moderate, flirting with leaders from around the world including the US, Europe, Russia, China and the Gulf states, seeking their acceptance and above all, sanctions relief and financial support. His talk of ‘inclusivity’ and protection of minorities echoes the words of the Taliban before and immediately after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Some actually believed them, but look at what’s happening now.”
The Broader Threat
The Druze community in Syria faces threats from multiple fronts. Beyond the Syrian regime under Ahmed al-Sharaa, jihadist factions represent a significant threat to the Druze.
Groups such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, ISIS remnants, and various Salafi-jihadist militias reject not only the authority of secular states but also any religious minorities that diverge from their Islamist views.
Christians in the same regions as the Druze share a similar plight. Their historical presence and distinct Christian identity make them another frequent target of jihadist violence. Both Christian and the Druze communities in Syria are caught between the ambitions of the al-Sharaa regime and the ideological ruthlessness of jihadist militias.
Israel is therefore defending both Druze and Christians.
Fragile Ceasefire
The situation in southern Syria remains tense but somewhat stabilised following a fragile ceasefire agreement brokered between local Druze leaders, the Syrian regime under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and various armed factions.
For Israel, the stakes are clear. A stable Druze presence in southern Syria serves strategic purposes, acting as a buffer against jihadist expansion and reducing the risk of renewed cross-border violence. However, the strongest reason for standing with the Druze is this: a loyal friendship bonded by a willingness to sacrificially stand shoulder-to-shoulder until peace comes to Israel.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.'” – Psalm 122:6
We stand with the Druze community in Syria, for Christians in the region, and for the Jewish people. And may God bless Israel as it defends freedom and combats tyranny on behalf of us all.
