Amid growing Islamist threats, some Syrian Druze call for annexation to Israel

A second group of Druze leaders later denied idea of joining Israel

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Some members of the Druze community living on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights are fearful of Islamists and have reportedly asked to be annexed to the neighboring State of Israel.

A video circulating on social media, purportedly filmed in the Syrian Druze village Hader, shows a speaker calling on local leaders to support annexation to Israel.

“In the name of all the people of Hader, and if anyone objects, please say… if we have to choose, we will choose the lesser evil – to be annexed to the (Israeli) Golan!” the Druze speaker stated. Referring to the Islamists in Syria, the speaker warned of “the other evil coming our way” warning that they would “take our wives, our daughters, our homes.”

The Syrian Druze are seeking annexation by Israel out of fear of the new jihadist government in Syria. While their concerns are understandable, why do they refer to Israel as "the lesser evil"? Is it truly in Israel's interest to extend protection to them?
video: @YosephHaddad pic.twitter.com/kC2UL4vyqD
— Israel Unplugged (@UnplugIsrael) December 13, 2024

“We are with those who preserve our dignity… I don’t mind if anyone is taking pictures or recording – we ask to be annexed to the Golan… The fate of Hader is the fate of the surrounding villages, we want to ask to join our kin in the Golan, to be free from injustice and oppression,” the Druze speaker added. The surrounding crowd responded by chanting “We agree, we agree!”

“What’s our fate, our brothers?” the speaker asked.

“Israel!” the crowd replied.

The Spiritual and Temporal leadership committee in Hader officially rejects any notion of being separated from Syria or annexed to any other country. https://t.co/QwahQFeLhA
— David Daoud (@DavidADaoud) December 13, 2024

Later on Friday, another video ostensibly filmed on Thursday, showed a gathering of the "Spiritual and Temporal Authority" committee in Hader rejecting the idea of being annexed to Israel, stating they want to remain part of Syria.

Many Druze in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights supported the former regime, led by now-deposed President Bashar al-Assad, considering it a preferable alternative to radical Islamist groups.

Following the collapse of the Assad regime last week, many Syrian Druze fear that Islamists will now seek revenge against the Druze communities, which are a minority.

Dr. Yusri Khaizran, a senior lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Shalem College, explained the volatile position of the Druze population in Syrian villages close to the Israeli Golan Heights.

“These villages were in fact an enclave surrounded by rebel groups, most of them Sunni Islamists,” Khaizran told the Jerusalem Post. He spoke about the complex ties between Israel and the Druze population on both sides of the Golan Heights.

“For years Israel faced a conflict: on the one hand, it sought to create a certain mechanism of understandings with rebel organizations in the Golan Heights; while on the other hand, Israel’s commitment to the Druze community in Israel prompted it to create a balancing equation, signaling to the Islamists that they will not be allowed to invade the Hader enclave and carry out violent mass massacres against the Druze,” Khaizran assessed.

“The Druze were never an anti-Israeli actor. In Hader they know very well that the one who prevented rebels from entering their towns and ‘settling the score’ was Israel, and that this was made out of Israel's commitment to the Druze community here,” he added.

Despite its relatively small size, Khaizran concluded by presenting the Israeli Druze population as the most privileged Druze population in the entire Middle East.

“Strikingly, the Druze community in Israel is the smallest of the Druze communities in the Middle East, yet it has essentially become the shield of the Druze, a center of gravity that can provide assistance to the Druze in Syria.”

There are approximately 150,000 Druze who are Israeli citizens and are typically well-integrated into Israeli society, usually serving in the Israeli military.

In addition, some 20,000 Druze are living in the Israeli Golan Heights – most of them not Israeli citizens – with some seeking to be reunited with their Druze neighbors on the Syrian side of the border.

Looking ahead, Khaizran believes that Druze autonomy is more realistic than an independent Druze state.

“Some in Israel have envisioned a Druze state, but I believe that their aspirations are more toward a pattern of complete autonomy, as was the case until 1954. What’s more important for them is to deny the Islamist forces from entering their areas.”