Druze citizens of Israel are redoubling their efforts to help loved ones in Syria, who they say are living under imminent threat of genocide.
On Saturday, Druze communities held protests asking the government to allow them to take in Druze refugees from Syria.
Community leaders said they fear that if Syrian Druze are not allowed into Israel, they may be murdered by ISIS, which has taken over large swathes of territory in Syria.
Many Israeli Druze families have relatives living in Syria and Lebanon. Druze leaders in Israel said Saturday that they “will not remain silent” in face of the threat to Druze in Syria.
Alongside renewed protests, the Israeli Druze community has raised over 8 million shekels to help Druze communities on the other side of the border.
Druze communities in Lebanon are acting to help Syrian Druze as well. On Friday, Druze leaders in Lebanon said they are prepared to create their own army to protect their brethren in Syria.
The increased efforts follow reports that Syria’s President Bashar Assad does not plan to retake territory conquered by ISIS in the near future. Instead, Assad’s troops will focus on protecting the territories they still control.
Last week dozens of Druze citizens of Syria were murdered by a second extremist Islamic group, Jabhat a-Nusra. In an unusual step, the group then apologized for the killings, which it said were not intentional.