Druze, Syria and Israel

First Druze crossing in 50 years as Israel courts allies in Syria
It's the first time in five decades that Druze leaders have crossed from Syria into Israeli-controlled territory to visit Druze religious sites and communities here. The buffer zo
Druze Religious Elders From Syria Make Historic Visit to Israel
People gather on the day Israeli Druze leader Sheik Mowafaq Tarif and around 100 Syrian Druze religious elders, in the first Druze delegation from Syria just after 1973 war, visit the Nabi Shuayb Shrine, a holy place for the Druze community, in northern Israel March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Israel ‘Poised’ to Defend Syrian Druze Near Damascus
Israel’s defense minister says minority Druze in Jaramana a town south of Damascus, were under attack from the new Syrian regime and that he ordered Israeli forces to be poised to help protect them if necessary.
Three buses carrying Druze from Syria cross into Israeli-controlled area of the Golan Heights
The visit comes as Israel says it is supporting the minority in a country now ruled by Islamists. But many Druze have rejected its overtures, and critics accuse Israel of trying to weaken and divide Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
Israeli Druze Prepare for First Visit by Syrian Druze in Decades
Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif said the visit by around 100 Syrian Druze religious elders on Friday would be the first to Israel in some 50 years, when a group came in the immediate aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur war between Israel,
Syrian Druze cross armistice line for pilgrimage to Israel
Dozens of Syrian Druze clerics crossed the armistice line on the Golan Heights into Israel on Friday for their community's first pilgrimage to a revered shrine since Israel's creation in

Israel, Damascus and Jihad

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project13h
Documents Unearthed After Assad’s Fall Show Syrian Spy Agency Reacting to Israel’s Pager Attack on Hezbollah
As pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon, Syrian security forces were directed to keep communication devices away ...
Israel carries out air strike on edge of Syrian capital
Israel carried out an air strike on the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, targeting what the military said was a command ...
Israel's military prepares to defend Druze community near Damascus
Israel's defense ministry says the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of ...
Jewish Insider8d
Leading American pro-Israel groups diverge from Israel on Syria
AIPAC and AJC are taking a cautiously hopeful approach to the new government in Damascus, while Israel is growing ...
Israel faces new Syria challenge as it adjusts to new strategy amid regional power struggle for influence
Israel is rethinking its Syria strategy following the country's Islamist takeover in December, rising attacks on minorities ...
In Netanyahu’s new Middle East, Syria could become Israel’s biggest strategic gain
Just hours after Islamist rebels ousted longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ...
Syria's Druze seek a place in a changing nation, navigating pressures from the government and Israel
Members of the small religious sect find themselves caught between two forces that many of them distrust: the new, ...
Damascus faces demands for accountability after civilian killings
Syria's Islamist-led government on Monday said it had completed a military operation against a nascent insurgency by Bashar ...