Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the rise of jihadist rebel groups, there has been a surge in the number of Druze-Israelis in the Golan seeking to enlist in the IDF, Channel 14 News reported.
There are currently about 200 Druze-Israelis at various stages of the recruitment process.
This is a very significant number considering the size of the Druze community in the Golan – just over 20,000 residents concentrated in four main villages: Majdal Shams, Buqata, Mas’ade, and Ein Qiniyye.
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, an overwhelming majority of the Druze in the Golan hesitated to identify with the State of Israel and often displayed identification with Syria and the Assad regime. The main reason for this was the fear that one day Israel would return the Golan to Syria, and then the Alawite regime would settle accounts with them. Additionally, the Syrian regime purchased large quantities of apples from their orchards.
Before the October 7 massacre, very few members of the community enlisted in the IDF, and some would take off their uniforms before returning to their villages. Since October 7, there has been an increase in IDF enlistment in the community. And since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the rise of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, an organization that considers the Druze to be infidels, resents them for their support of the Syrian regime, and has attacked the Druze villages in the Syrian Golan on several occasions – there has been a notable surge in the number of those seeking to enlist.
At the same time, there has been a significant increase in the number of Druze from the Golan wanting to obtain a blue identity card and become full Israeli citizens. Until now, they were eligible for this status, but a large majority of them chose to retain their status as permanent residents for the reasons mentioned above.
“It seems that after decades of careful maneuvering between Syria and Israel, the Druze in Ramat HaGolan are beginning to choose a side, joining their brothers in the Galil who long ago forged a blood alliance with the state,” Channel 14 correspondent Tamir Morg wrote.
The report follows the circulation of a video on Israeli social media over the weekend that shows Druze residents in the village of Hader, near the Israeli border in southern Syria, calling on Israel to annex them.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
The misleading headline suggests he whole Druze population is undergoing some kind of change. The article refers only to Druze residents of the Golan Heights. For the bulk of Israel Druze, the historic change was in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli War of Independence, when they decided to support the State of Israel, and agreed to male conscription, with many joining the career service and some becoming senior officers of major units (e.g. the Golani).