Israel raised air strikes in Syria on Wednesday after reports that members of the Druzen -religious minority were slaughtered by militant Islamists, which brought a unique community to the spotlight who has been living in the region for more than a thousand years and has been tightly connected, despite being scattered over international borders.
About 150,000 Druze live in the north of Israel and on the Golan heights, but there are also large communities in Syria and Lebanon – neighboring countries that have been at war technically – and a smaller group in Jordan.
An esoteric, monotheistic religion that absorbs elements of other Abrahamitic religions, as well as various other philosophies, the Druzen, an Arabic -speaking population, regard themselves as one people despite the hostile boundaries that divide them.
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A young man waves the battles between the forces that are loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebels in the Druze village of Khader in Syria, on 17 June 2015. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
While their religion dictates loyalty to the country in which they live, most of those who live in Israel are proud citizens, with an overwhelming 83% of men who accept themselves in the Israeli army. About 5% of all Israel defense forces soldiers are druzen, and they are some of the brightest warriors in the country.
Moreover, the Druze accounts for around 20% of Israeli prison protectors and around 6.5% of the country’s police officers.
This dedication has delivered them a special place in Israeli society, so that the Israeli political and military leaders are insisted on action if the Druzen community in Syria is threatened in any way.
As reports emerged that Islamists, and loyal loyalists supported by regime, had collided on Tuesday with Druze militia in southern Syria, more than a thousand young Israeli Druze-Burgers who were rushed across the border to save their brothers, Israeli media reported.
Reports showed hundreds of people, including some who were armed, break off the border fence and entered Syria in the nearby Druze villages.
Israeli Druzen in the Golan Heights -Massa along the Syrian border on July 16, 2025. Many have violated the border in an attempt to help their Syrian brothers who are locked up in days of ethnic violence. (Eitan Elhadez-Barak/TPS-IL)
In a briefing on Wednesday, an Israeli military officer explained that many members of the Druze community of Israel have close relatives who live in Syria and that is why they started to help. The official said that Israel was now working to bring them home.
“The IDF is dedicated to the deep alliance with the Druze community,” emphasized IDF -Staff chief Eyal Zamir.
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Walid Jumblatt, the Druze -political leader in Lebanon, center background, stands shortly after a meeting of the religious leadership of the community in Beirut, Lebanon, 12 June 2015. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
“The Druzen community of Israel puts pressure on the government, so for domestic reasons, Israel has to do with this,” he said, adding that the current Israeli government “believes in the use of power to soothe its base and show that it is strong and uses power and what is needed.”
This is not the first time, Israel’s Druze has rushed to protect their community in Syria. In 2015, when Druze was threatened there by ISIS and from the local Al Qaeda branch, Jabhat al-Nusra, Druze in Israel edited To collect funds and arms for their brothers across the border.
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In April, months after the fall of the old Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, hundreds of Syrian Druze-spirituals crossed the border and made a rare journey to Israel to celebrate the holiday of the community of Ziyara in the Nabi Shuaib-saint site, just to the west of the sea of Galilee.
