The Druze Tragedy

30 Druze kids are hit in the middle of the playground in Majdal Shams by a Hizballah rocket, almost half of them are dead. These are difficult days for all Druze communities in the Middle East. We are peaceful and patriotic people in any country we live in yet we always pay the highest prices in every war.

The Druze people are one of the smallest people in the world. After 1000 years of history they count only one and a half million people. They are living mainly in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.

In Israel, 10 Druze officers and soldiers died since the beginning of the war in Gaza, and a dozen others were injured. The community that lives in 14 villages in the Galilee and the Carmel felt the war in every family. In Isfiya village, 18 kids in one primary school were in reserve service in Gaza.

The outpouring patriotism of the Druze in Israel was used by Hizballah against the Druze of Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt had to come out and criticize his brothers and sisters in Israel to protect his community. Other Druze in Lebanon were not afraid to remind Hizballah that, unlike Nasralla who is loyal to Iran, the Druze are always loyal to their country.

In Syria, the Druze community has been demonstrating against the Assad regime for the last nine months. They closed all the branches of the ruling party in their region and kicked out all the notorious agents of the Syrian secret service. No one in the world is paying attention to them because their protest is peaceful.

The Druze situation in every country became a major indicator of the stability of these countries. Although they don’t exceed a few percent of the population in each country the Druze always plays a political part greater than their size. In Israel, Syria, and Lebanon there are Druze generals in the military. They always push for a strong stable central government and oppose violence and aggression.

Sadly, the influence of the Druze in the three countries has been weakening in the three countries as their central government is weakening. Iran and its proxy groups are using this window of opportunity to destabilize the whole region. Terror organizations became terror armies equipped with the best weapons and the most extreme ideologies.

The Druze story was always tragic since the community lives on both sides of the Arab – Israeli conflict. For the last 80 years, we have not met our relatives in the different countries. Our patriotism and pride prevented us from even talking about this sad situation but this massacre in Majdal Shams opened this wound again.

Soon we will bury our dead children and our relatives will not be able to cross the borders and support us in this difficult hour. We will pray for peace in our countries that will end our tragedy and allow us to reconnect and rejoice life.