Chief rabbi stresses ‘blood covenant’ with Druze brethren in meeting of religious leaders

Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef holds a meeting with leaders from the major religions in Israel at the Druze “Emergency Center” set up by Druze Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif in the Druze village of Julis in the Galilee, according to a Chief Rabbinate spokesperson.

“We have a blood covenant with the Druze community, and the state must do everything to protect the Druze wherever they are,” Yosef says, according to the spokesperson’s statement.

Some 780,000 Druze live in the Syrian province of Sweida, the site of major violence over the past two months in which around 1,800 Druze were killed, including some by Syrian government-led forces, according to reports.

“Here sit the leaders of religions from around the world, and every religion worthy of this name is obligated to sanctify life,” Yosef also says. “We must raise a clear and unequivocal voice: we choose life.”

In addition, the chief rabbi appeals to his colleagues to raise their voice for the release of the hostages in Gaza.

Several imams and Christian leaders attend the meeting, including Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III.

“The visit of Rishon LeZion Rabbi David Yosef, together with the heads of the Christian communities and Muslim religious leaders, and their solidarity with the Druze community, is an explicit statement of light against darkness, of good against evil,” Tarif says according to the Chief Rabbinate statement.

“This solidarity is encouraging and serves as a light at the end of the tunnel in the face of the evil and inhumanity that our Druze brothers in Syria have experienced during attempts at annihilation,” he adds.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also visited the emergency center earlier today.