Druze and Jews in the Golan Heights

An update from Judith Levy

Druze fighting for Israel in the War of Independence

I wanted to pass along an interesting email

Judith Deborah Levy

sent me. She just happened to be in the Golan Heights this past weekend, spitting distance from Syria. She gave me permission to publish the email she sent me. But read this first, by Michael Shurkin:

Syria Has Fallen. What Now?

Shurkin asks:

Speaking of Israel, its recent land-grab of Mt. Hermon and the slip of land located in what amounts to a Demilitarized Zone on the border between it and Syria is puzzling. [Not really—Claire] Mt. Hermon is a real plum given its value for being able to look into Lebanon and Syria and watch events—not to mention incoming drones. As for the new so-called buffer zone on the DMZ, it is not clear if Israel perceives real threats on the border or is anticipating them. Much might depend on whether Syria’s Druze communities who reportedly dominate that part of Syria intend to assert autonomy and control over the territory, or work with whatever emerges in Damascus. Or, perhaps they want autonomy but lack the strength to affirm it? This matters because the Druze themselves are not a threat to Israel; the threat comes from jihadist Muslims of either the Sunni (Al Qaeda, HTS, or Islamic State) variety, or the Shia (Hezbollah). Druze are not Muslims. Might Israel back a Syrian Druze bid to control the area and assert their autonomy? Would the Druze even want that? Maybe. Grabbing the buffer zone suggests that Israeli leaders assume the Druze cannot or will not.

This is a good question. There are about a million Druze spread over Lebanon, Syria, and a few small pockets in Jordan. As Shurkin notes, they’re not Muslims. They broke from Islam centuries ago. They adhere to an Abrahamic and monotheistic faith, and their liturgy seems to draw from many traditions. They’re they’re extremely secretive about their religion (as are Alawites, for that matter).