Israeli Druze leader urges world to help Syria out of ‘dead end,’ create a democracy that protects minorities

Speaking at a conference on “The Druze and the security of Israel: The blood alliance in practice” at Western Galilee College in Acre, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, warns that “less an hour and a half away [in Syria] are extremist terror groups that threaten Israel.”

“After October 7 and after what Hezbollah did, Israel cannot allow extremist terror groups to be on its northern border,” Tarif says.

He calls on the international community to help Syria out of the “dead end” it finds itself in and build a democratic government that includes the different ethnic groups in Syria, which he says might eventually lead to peace with Israel.

Tarif says there are “a thousand foreign soldiers who belong to ISIS who are saying the Druze are not part of Syria.”

“The Druze have tried to be part of the new government and to get their basic civil rights,” Tarif argues. He adds that Israeli Druze “don’t want to interfere with politics in Syria, but we will do what we can to protect the Druze.”

The Druze community in Syria is waiting for aid from the international community, but “that hasn’t happened.”

Separately, Tarif stresses that “above all,” the most important thing is the return of the hostages from Gaza and for the war to end.