Majdal massacre: My visit to the site where our children were killed

Israel marks 300 days at war – a distressing milestone that doesn’t even begin to capture the staggering scope of death, injury, trauma, and economic distress suffered by the people of Israel. The interminable conflict is numbing. And yet, this week’s murder of 12 beautiful Arab Druze children in the Golan Heights village of Majdal Shams has struck an especially raw nerve in Israel. Saturday’s Hezbollah missile attack transformed a lively neighborhood soccer pitch into a killing field strewn with young, dismembered bodies. As the “the Druze rabbi,” I have been contacted by many, to convey through me their heartfelt condolences and to better understand this devastated community.

The 150,000 Druze residents of Israel, who revere Jethro as their founding prophet, can be divided broadly into two groups: the large majority who live in the Galilee and the 25,000 who live in the Golan Heights. The Galilee Druze are loyal Israeli citizens, whose sons serve with distinction in the IDF. Most of the Golan Druze, whose villages were in Syria until the 1967 Six Day War, have elected not to become Israeli citizens or serve in the IDF. Many explain their decision as rooted in their concern for the fate of relatives across the border in Syria and for their own safety should Israel return the Golan Heights to Syria in the context of a peace treaty. Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of young Golan Druze who have embraced Israeli citizenship. While Yakir’s public programs engage the Galilee Druze communities, I have quietly nurtured relationships with influential pro-Israel Druze in the Golan.

The Majdal Shams massacre elicited our horror primarily because we are decent human beings. Moreover, we recognize that these precious children were not murdered by Hezbollah monsters as Druze or as Arabs, but as Israelis. Regardless of their official nationality, they are now our murdered children. The national embrace of this bereaved community has been a Kiddush Hashem, and it has put on display for our somewhat estranged northern neighbors the essential goodness of Am Yisrael. Will this calamity mark a turning point in relations between the Golan Druze and Israel? This dark tragedy may yet give way to some rays of light.

Because of the volatile security situation, Yakir was cautioned not to organize group condolence visits to Majdal Shams, as it has in the past for fallen Druze soldiers. So yesterday, I drove to Majdal Shams by myself, where I was greeted by the town’s deeply touched mayor, Dolan Abu Saleh, who shared with me his profound personal grief. The mayor asked his aide to escort me to the site of the attack, where I encountered burnt bicycles, a shrapnel-pocked shelter, and a makeshift memorial that included 12 colorful soccer balls, one for each victim. I was brought by shuttle to the town’s community center, where the families of all the victims gathered to receive the thousands of visitors, mostly Druze but also quite a few Jews, who made the trip despite security concerns.

The author offering condolences in Majdal Shams. (Courtesy of author)

Two bereaved fathers, who are brothers, describing the moment when they discovered their murdered children on the debris-filled field. (Courtesy of author)

For the 3.5-hour drive back to Jerusalem, I offered a ride to two journalists – one from Japan, the other from Italy, whose foreign press corps bus, inadvertently left without them. The journey home was cathartic; the three of us, total strangers, helped one another process our heart- wrenching encounter with the devastating consequences of hate. We coalesced around a shared belief that those who love life will ultimately prevail.