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Israeli Druze mobilize to aid Syrian Druze amid post-Assad violence
In the quiet village of Julis, in northern Israel’s Galilee region, members of the Israeli Druze community have launched a grassroots effort to support their fellow Druze in southern Syria, who were recently caught in a wave of deadly violence.
The local community center, a pilgrimage site for the Druze — a secretive religious minority with roots in Shia Islam — has been transformed into a “Druze Community Crisis Cell,” according to a sign in Hebrew. Inside, volunteers manage a hotline to gather real-time updates from Syria, oversee logistics for collecting and delivering aid, and run an online awareness campaign.
“Our goal is to help our brothers and sisters in Syria,” said Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, spiritual leader of the Druze in Israel.
A ceasefire halted a week of intercommunal violence on July 20 in the Syrian province of Suwayda, which has a Druze majority. Hundreds were reportedly killed, though access to the area remains difficult and the situation tense. Residents accuse Syrian government forces of enforcing a blockade, a claim Damascus denies.
“We rushed here as soon as we heard about the crisis unit,” said Sleeman Amer, a 35-year-old engineer volunteering in Julis. He pointed to a map of Suwayda and cited the human toll: over 1,400 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, most of them Druze.
Volunteers like Amer are helping gather information — counting attacked villages, fatalities, and kidnappings.
Israel, home to over 150,000 Druze including those in the annexed Golan Heights, has portrayed itself as a defender of the Druze. During the clashes between Druze and Sunni Bedouins, Israel reportedly bombed Syrian forces prior to a government intervention.
“As Druze living in a democratic country, we have the power to influence,” said Akram, a former Israeli soldier now volunteering with the crisis cell, who asked to remain anonymous. He voiced concern over Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Chareh, a former Islamist fighter who ousted Bashar al-Assad last December with support from rebel and jihadist factions.
Akram criticized the lack of international support for Syrian Druze and described the crisis cell’s operations as “semi-civil,” due to the involvement of volunteers with military experience.
In a nearby warehouse, dozens — including Jewish Israelis — pack boxes of non-perishable food and baby supplies. Sheikh Tarif claims some of the aid is air-dropped into Syria, while other shipments are delivered via the Red Crescent. While AFP could not independently verify the methods of aid delivery, Israel’s Health Ministry has published images of parachuted supplies in Suwayda.
Some analysts believe Israel is using the Druze issue as a pretext to limit Syrian government presence near its borders. But residents of Julis stress cross-border solidarity.
“People are volunteering gladly, with generosity,” said Sheikh Anwar Hamudi, 62. A student added, “Even if it’s another country, it’s still our community.”