The leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, spoke at a conference at Western Galilee College in a talk focused on the crisis of survival facing the Druze people. The Times of Israel reports that Tarif not only called for awareness, but action from the U.S. and Europe to “stop the quiet massacre” that is continuing in the region.
He says that in 2025, “thousands of Druze were killed, hundreds were kidnapped.”
“There are still 500,000 Druze trapped in 30 villages in Syria and nobody in the world is talking about it,” he says.
“America and Europe don’t understand terrorism,” Tarif says. “The leaders in Damascus are jihadists. But the Druze are still surviving there. They will not surrender.”
2025 saw significant clashes near the Druze stronghold of Sweida, which has come under attack by not only jihad terrorists but also local clans. In response, The Fellowship has sent aid in the form of additional ambulances, weapons for defense, and humanitarian assistance.
Our President and Global CEO Yael Ecktsein said, “Syrian-backed forces, including jihadist fighters, launched attacks against Syrian Druze in the southern part of the country, resulting in the murders of at least 1,400 people, including a 35-year-old Syrian American from Oklahoma, Hosam Saraya, who was visiting family in Syria. Once we saw what was happening in Sweida, we could not turn a blind eye to it.”
The Fellowship and our donors have not turned a blind eye toward this vulnerable community, providing aid to them last year and before.
Who are the Druze? Learn more about this religious and ethnic minority who support Israel just as we support and pray for them.
