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Druze

Dr. Nadia Khir, right, the first female Druze doctor in Israel, consults with a Druze woman in the Clalit health clinic in Julis, Western Galilee, on May 22, 2026. (Courtesy)
May 23, 2026, 7:12 am
First female Druze doctor in Israel awarded prize for breaking barriers
Dr. Nadia Khir honored with prestigious Habama Shelahen prize for blazing trail 35 years ago; ‘wanted to help’ women in her community who couldn’t seek care from male practitioners
By Diana Bletter
ToI political correspondents Ariela Karmel and Sam Sokol join host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI)
May 10, 2026, 2:44 pm
Daily Briefing May 10: Political parties form new constellations ahead of elections
Political correspondents Sam Sokol and Ariela Karmel discuss the opposition parties’ mergers and defections, and a blitz of new legislation as the Knesset goes back to work
By Jessica Steinberg, Sam Sokol and Ariela Karmel
Golan Regional Council Deputy Head Yaakov Selavan, left, stands with Reut Tal-Levy, head of demographic growth in the Golan Heights, in a new neighborhood in Odem, on April 20, 2026. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)
May 9, 2026, 7:24 am
The quiet frontier? With minefields cleared, Golan Heights readies for construction boom
Despite local volatility, residents brace for speedy growth and bolstered infrastructure as part of recently approved 5-year plan allocating NIS 1 billion to develop area by 2030
By Diana Bletter
Former IDF Druze Battalion commander Col. (res.) Wajdi Sarhan. (Kinan Heno/Brothers' Alliance)
May 5, 2026, 5:35 pm
Former IDF commander Wajdi Sarhan launches first Druze political party in decades
‘Brotherhood Alliance’ aims for Knesset seats and kingmaker role as Druze frustration with major parties grows; no clarity yet on alignment with coalition or opposition blocs
By Ariela Karmel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a state Memorial Day ceremony commemorating fallen soldiers, at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, April 21, 2026. (Ilia Yefimovich/Pool Photo via AP)
April 21, 2026, 3:50 pm
In bellicose Memorial Day speeches, leaders vow to keep fighting; Netanyahu heckled
Defense minister says Hezbollah leader will ‘pay with his head’; protester interrupts PM when he says he brought back all the hostages from Gaza; Gantz warns of ‘deceptive calm’
By Sam Sokol, Lazar Berman, Charlie Summers and ToI Staff
In this undated photo, Arab women from northern Israel take part in a resilience building activity run by Mashabim. (Mashabim)
March 25, 2026, 8:19 am
Facing violence on all fronts, Arab Israelis are unprecedentedly open to mental health help
After 18 months of expanded activity in Arabic-speaking towns, the Community Stress Prevention Center in northern Israel starts to see stigmas breaking down, uptick in calls
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative: Members of the Israeli Druze community arrive to attend a celebration at the holy tomb of Nabi Shoaib near Tiberias in northern Israel on April 25, 2018. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP)
March 15, 2026, 8:03 am
After years of hesitation, more Druze of the Golan Heights seek Israeli citizenship
Spurred by a deadly Hezbollah rocket and the fall of the Assad regime, northern Golan residents abandon historic ties to Syria and look to strengthen their Israeli identity
By Tal Schneider
Israeli Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 24, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 10, 2025, 5:03 pm
Israeli Druze leader seeks US security guarantees for Syrian counterparts
After the bloodshed in Sweida this year, Sheikh Muafak Tarif says Washington must fulfill ‘duty’ to protect minority group, stresses need for Druze self-determination
By Olivia Le Poidevin and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), arrives to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem for a hearing on the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, July 21, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 8, 2025, 3:21 pm
Man arrested for posting death threats against Druze COGAT chief
Suspect called Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, a senior officer who oversees affairs in West Bank and Gaza, a ‘Nazi Hamas terrorist in IDF uniform,’ urged followers to ‘pray for his death’
By Charlie Summers
Druze in Israel protest near the Israeli-Syrian border fence in solidarity with Druze in Syria, July 16, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
November 20, 2025, 9:31 pm
Seven Druze men, including three Syrians, charged with smuggling arms into Israel
Defendants detained alongside 5 soldiers on suspicion of smuggling army-grade weapons to criminals in Israel, during outpouring of Druze into southern Syria amid clashes in region
By Charlie Summers and Emanuel Fabian
Members of Syria's security forces stand on a tank in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 15, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (Bakr Alkasem / AFP)
November 16, 2025, 9:58 pm
Syria arrests military members for deadly attacks on Druze in Sweida in July
Committee investigating violence says it will only release death toll in final report later this year, doesn’t say how many security forces were detained amid investigation
By AP and ToI Staff
Attendees at the "Future of Minorities in the Middle East" conference in Tel Aviv hold the Kurdish, Israeli and Druze flags as they speak, on October 27, 2025. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
October 28, 2025, 8:39 pm
Seeing Israel as a beacon, regional minorities gather in Tel Aviv to discuss future
Representatives of the Druze, Kurdish, Alawite communities attend conference aimed at forging ties between Israel and historically persecuted Middle Eastern groups
By ToI Staff
Israeli troops patrol the border fence with Syria near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on July 23, 2025 (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
September 17, 2025, 10:17 am
Israel presented Syria with detailed proposal for new security agreement – report
Top Israeli, Syrian and US officials said to meet in London to discuss plan that would see no Syrian troops near Israeli border, air corridor that would enable Israel to strike Iran
By Lazar Berman, ToI Staff and Agencies
Israeli troops fix a Druze flag attached to the antenna of an army humvee at a position along the barbed-wire fence near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on July 19, 2025. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
September 16, 2025, 8:25 pm
Israel said arming, paying salaries of Druze militia in Syria’s Sweida area
Report comes as US pressures Damascus into making security pact with Israel, although any such deal is likely to fall far short of a full peace treaty
By Reuters and ToI Staff
Demonstrators protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the current government and for the release of hostages outside Tel Aviv's Defense Ministry on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Erik Marmor/Flash90)
August 27, 2025, 3:33 pm
Daily Briefing Aug 27: Day 691 – Cabinet ignores Hamas deal as Trump plans postwar Gaza
Political correspondent Tal Schneider discusses White House talk, cabinet meeting as reporter Diana Bletter looks at Druze war room for Syrian brethren and groundbreaking research
By Jessica Steinberg, Tal Schneider and Diana Bletter
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