Quoting Bible, Ashkenazi chief rabbi backs intervention on behalf of Druze

The Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber issues an open call to Israel and the world to help the Druze in Syria, citing the biblical commandment “not to stand by the blood of your neighbor.”

“We are witnessing a brutal campaign of murder against the Druze people,” he writes in comments that come after Israel already took action and regime forces accused of attacking Druze retreated. “These are acts that we and all religious leaders around the world must not ignore or remain silent in the face of. We have seen savage beasts descend in a fury upon innocent civilians, without distinguishing between man and woman, elder and child. We are reminded of the dark days of history, when bloodthirsty nations committed similar atrocities — and the world was silent!!!”

The statement marks a rare departure for the rabbinical leader; chief rabbis rarely comment on defense issues or matters involving other faiths.

More than 350 people had been killed this week in clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters in Syria, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says, though the group has been accused of inflating tolls in the past.

According to the monitor, 189 of those killed are regime troops or officials, while another 79 are Druze fighters. It says 55 civilians are among the victims, charging that 27 of them were killed in “summary executions” by regime forces. Another 18 fighters from Bedouin tribes opposed to the Druze were also killed.

Witnesses in Sweida, a Druze-majority city in southern Syria, say government forces dispatched there with the stated objective of ending deadly feuds between Druze and Bedouin joined in attacks against Druze fighters and civilians.

Israel carried out several strikes on Wednesday in Damascus and on Syrian regime forces deployed to Druze areas of southern Syria, saying it sought to protect the Druze and keep the Syrian forces from militarizing areas near its border, and by Thursday Syrian forces had retreated, saying security would be left to Druze factions.

“The divine commandment ‘Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow’ obligates us to raise a cry and stir the conscience of the entire world,” Ber writes, quoting Leviticus and describing the violence against the Druze as “ethnic cleansing.”

“We must also remember that some members of this community — and their relatives — live among us and are bound to us in a covenant of blood, forged in shared sacrifice for the existence of the State of Israel,” he adds, referring to Israel’s sizable Druze community, many of whom serve in the military.