The Risks of Israel’s Druze Policy

Excerpt

“We are working to save our Druze brothers,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on July 16 as Israel targeted the Syrian military’s headquarters in Damascus. Netanyahu’s comments came after Israel intervened in a complicated power struggle involving Sunni Arab Bedouin tribes, Druze militias, and Syrian government forces, during which hundreds of predominantly Druze civilians suffered horrific violence.

In explaining their actions, Israeli officials have presented the Syrian Druze as a single bloc that is unified in resisting government control and rejecting integration into the Syrian state. The reality, however, is more complex. The Druze community is certainly concerned about the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa and the Islamist influence in his new government. But different Druze leaders have taken diverse approaches to Damascus: Some have signaled a conciliatory approach to Sharaa, while others have resisted state control completely.

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs and the Levant.