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Druze

Left to right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to staff at a Shin Bet facility, June 29, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO); Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the signing of an agreement for a regional energy project, in Damascus, Syria, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
In first, Netanyahu reveals he spoke with Syria’s Sharaa after 2025 strike in Damascus
By Lazar Berman
'Very short and very sharp' call came shortly after Israel bombed government targets with stated aim of protecting Syrian Druze, PM tells Druze supporters
Screen capture from video of a teenage girl, bottom right, allegedly throwing socks at a Druze woman on a Dan bus, August 6, 2026. (Dan Bus Company: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
October 13, 2026, 4:12 pm
15-year-old girl detained on suspicion of attacking Druze woman on bus — police
Probe into August incident reopened after brother of alleged victim obtains security camera footage from vehicle showing suspect apparently throwing socks at his sibling
By Noam Lehmann
Druze horsemen and cattle growers from the four Golan Heights Druze villages of Majdal Shams, Ein Qiniyye, Buq’ata and Mas’ade parade through the Golan Heights ahead of Eid al-Adha festival, in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, May 23, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
September 14, 2026, 10:06 am
Golan Druze increasingly embrace Israel, reject Syria in seismic shift triggered by tragedy
After decades of identifying as Syrian, community that saw kids killed by Hezbollah rocket and brethren massacred by forces controlling Damascus pivots toward ‘protector’ Israel
By Diana Bletter
Reporter Diana Bletter joins hosts Gabriella Jacobs on today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI photo)
August 30, 2026, 2:12 pm
Daily Briefing August 30 — Golan Druze rethink their ties to Syria
Reporter Diana Bletter explains why more Druze are becoming Israeli citizens, and explores the UV trend many worldwide are using to get a tan faster
By Gabriella Jacobs and Diana Bletter
Tribal and Bedouin fighters in al-Dur village in Syria's Druze-majority southern Sweida governorate as they mobilize amid clashes with Druze gunmen on July 18, 2025. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
July 4, 2026, 7:53 am
Syria starts trials over deadly 2025 violence in Druze heartland
Government intervention on side of Bedouin tribes that clashed with Druze in Sweida last July triggered Israeli strikes; suspects include staff from defense, interior ministries
By AFP
Master Sgt. (res.) Basil Sweid (courtesy/picture quality improved with Photoshop AI)
June 25, 2026, 1:15 pm
Reservist killed, soldier injured in truck accident in south Lebanon
Master Sgt. (res.) Basil Sweid, 32, killed when military truck overturns; in Gaza, Defense Ministry civilian contractor killed in building collapse
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
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
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