(JNS) The Israeli Druze community is deeply concerned about the safety of their Syrian brethren following the deadly attacks by pro-government militias associated with Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime in early May.
According to a statement issued by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the massacre claimed more than 100 lives, targeting Druze villages and neighborhoods, particularly around Damascus, and forcing hundreds of families to flee southward to safer areas.
Wael Mugrabi, the mayor of the Druze town of Ein Qiniye in the northern Golan Heights, summarized the current atmosphere as one requiring vigilance. “We’re sleeping standing up,” he told JNS.
“The extremists in Syria already have a fifth column of supporters inside Israel,” he explained. “We saw it during the 2021 riots, and we saw it again last week with the arson fires near Jerusalem. Ahmad al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani), in his first speech after taking control of Syria (in January) said that his sights are set on Jerusalem. We have to be aware of this and work together, Jew and Druze, to prevent it.”
Mugrabi said that approximately half of the population of Ein Qiniyye has direct relatives who fled the violence inside Syria and are currently in Hader, a village in southern Syria, and the surrounding area.
Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 and the rise to power of al-Sharaa, concerns for the fate of Syria’s Druze have escalated dramatically.
Shadi Abu Faris, a business and social entrepreneur from the Druze town of Isafiya, who holds the rank of colonel in the IDF reserves, said that two Druze villages were destroyed and neighborhoods in and near Damascus were attacked, prompting many to seek refuge in the Druze stronghold of Suwayda in southern Syria.
The HTS regime, described by Abu Faris as “an extremist, Islamist, jihadist regime that includes elements of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra,” poses an existential threat to religious minorities, he said. These groups “view non-Muslims as deserving death,” creating serious concerns about the fate of the Druze population.
“What is scaring them (the Syrian Druze),” according to Mugrabi, “is that following the new regime’s slaughter of the Alawites in Syria, it seems that the leaders who killed many innocent people are a danger to all minorities. Just because their leader has put on a suit, doesn’t mean he will stop killing people,” he warned.
Mugrabi sees a broader regional strategy at work. “He (al-Sharaa) wants to cut Syria into pieces and destroy the connections made between the various minorities in the country, which led to their mutual protection. He made a deal with the Kurds, he has slaughtered the Alawites, and now he wants to separate the Druze and Kurdish communities so that they are weaker and unable to stand up to him.”
Of particular concern to Mugrabi is the potential for violence to spread to Israel. “Ahmed al-Sharaa said in his first speech that he has his sights set on conquering Jerusalem. He has a direction and an intention to attack Israel, and the Druze are in his way,” Mugrabi explained.
Abu Faris sees the problem of the recent slaughter originating in Israel. “In December, a public discourse began, led by the Israeli government and supported by the Druze leadership in Israel, regarding the fate of the Druze in Syria,” Abu Faris said.
“It included discussions about the possible annexation of the Druze in Syria or the establishment of an autonomous zone, and more. The prime minister and defense minister declared they would provide protection and patronage to the Druze and would not allow any group to harm them. This led to several developments that influenced events in Syria.”
“Firstly, this discourse, in the eyes of supporters of the Islamic regime, portrayed the Druze as citizens who undermine the regime and do not submit to its authority, and some even went so far as to paint them as collaborators with the Zionist entity (Israel),” he said.
Furthermore, he added, “it created a great expectation among the Druze that the State of Israel would protect them and not allow any group to attempt to harm them. The Druze understand and know Israel’s tremendous capabilities in light of the war against Hezbollah and Iran, and that Israel has the intelligence, technology, and ability to reach any place in Syria it desires.”
When the attack against the Syrian Druze was launched, he said, Israel’s efforts “were too little and too late to help, as more than 100 people were killed by pro-government militias. There is a lot of disillusionment among the Druze in Syria right now with regard to Israel because of these promises that they felt were not kept.”
Mugrabi thanks Israel
Mugrabi took a more positive view of Israel’s military response. “I want to doff my cap to the prime minister and the government. Even though it took two days, and even though we lost family members in the interim, he made the decision to attack Syria and let them know that Israel is standing behind us,” Mugrabi said.
Both Druze leaders offer differing perspectives on the appropriate response to the crisis. Abu Faris cautioned against public declarations of support that could further endanger Syrian Druze.
“Statements like the ones that were made in December only hurt the Druze community in Syria, and it put them in the crosshairs. The Druze in Syria will stay in Syria, and they will stay Syrian. That is part of the tenets of our faith. We are loyal to a rightful government, but we always protect ourselves and reserve the right to maintain arms, so that we can protect ourselves from evil regimes that seek to destroy us,” Abu Faris said.
He advocated for a more covert approach: “What we need is not calls for Israel to take over the region of the Druze in Syria, nor for the Druze in Syria to rise up in war. That is not who we are. We need Israel, through secret and covert missions, to supply the Druze in Syria with weapons, so that they can continue to protect themselves, maintain the status quo, and keep the extremists off of Israel’s northern border.”
Mugrabi emphasized the historical and religious bonds between Druze and Jews. “We, the Druze, are brothers with the Jews, for all time, and we need to stand united,” he asserted. “We need to strengthen the Druze in Syria so that they know that we have their backs. We the Druze are family and we will protect the northern border and maintain quiet.”
Both leaders agreed on the need for continued cooperation between the Israeli government and Druze communities, particularly through spiritual leadership.
“We need to see collaboration between the Israeli government and the Druze communities in Israel, especially with the Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, to continue to collaborate and support the Syrian Druze communities, with more steps like when the Druze Sheikhs from Syria were invited to come to visit Israel. The more we show that we are united here, the more support our brothers and sisters will feel in Syria.” Mugrabi said.
He warned of a potential escalation should Israel and the Druze communities not work together.
“If we don’t show the militias in Syria that we are at the ready and that we will not shy away from defending ourselves—that we are aware of everything going on and that we will not stand for it—then we will see these same militias attacking our borders very soon and the slaughter that we saw in the Gaza periphery on Oct. 7, will be here in the Golan,” Mubrabi said.
