Thursday, June 25, 2015

Fwd: The Druze factor by Shalom Pollack


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shalom Pollack <shalompollack613@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 1:51 PM
Subject: The Druze factor


Yesterday, about one hundred and fifty Druze from their village of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights, lynched  two severely wounded  Syrian men  being evacuated in  an IDF ambulance.

A similar attack was carried out in the Druze village of Churfesh in the Galilee.

What is  this all about? Well, its like this; The Druze in Syria are allies of the Assad regime, and they serve in  his  army, making them  foes of an array of rebel groups there.

With government armies now  on the run, the Druze are feeling the heat . Indeed there was a little massacre of Druze last week when  one of their villages was abandoned by the Syrian army. So the Druze are nervous.

Israel, remaining  neutral in the  now, four year old civil war, has frequently  extended humanitarian aid  to severely wounded civilians and  have hospitalized thousands in Israel. 

It seems that the Druze suspect Israel of favoring or aiding  some of the rebel forces fighting against  the Assad / Hizbullah / Iran Axis, including tending to rebel wounded.

 After the massacre of their kinsmen  last week,  Israeli Druze decided to stop any further  transfer of Syrian wounded  into Israel for treatment. Thus the lynching. The ambulance was stormed and the wounded were torn limb by limb. Two Israel officers were wounded as well.


It seems certain that this was not a spontaneous attack. It took intelligence gathering,  communication and transportation. Israeli Druze soldiers may have played  a part. It may be  part of a Syrian government plan to discourage Israel from aiding any of the regime's enemies.  Any thing is possible  in the  bloody  mess that was once called Syria. 


 Druze serve in the IDF, some along the Syrian border. Some, in IDF uniform have been sited celebrating with local Druze in the after math of the lynch.

The Druze are a tight knit community and for the Druze of Israel it is difficult  to watch  as their Syrian brethren are quickly  finding themselves on the losing side in the civil war. In Syria if you  lose - you really lose.

Israel is a country, not a sect, and thus has national  interests that  are often nuanced. For the Druze it is far simpler. As long as the Syrian Druze were safe behind Assad's  regime , all was fine. Now  they are ready to jump  across the border to fight for their kinsmen.

And you thought that Jews struggle with "dual loyalty"?...


This is not the first time that Druze  interests conflicted with those of their country, Israel. During the 1982 Lebanon war, Israel was allied with the Christian forces against the PLO and Syrian army. There  was one problem. The Christians  are historic, bitternemies of the Druze in Lebanon. On some occasions, Israeli Druze soldiers bolted  to stand at the side of their kinsmen.


Who are the Druze and how did the Druze - Israel relationship evolve?   


The Druze are  a minority  sect found  in parts of  LebanonSyria ,Jordan and Israel..

 They  are an  ethnic and linguistic Arabs  but cling to their  secretive religion  their founded by Al  Daruzi, when  they  broke  away  from Islam in the Middle Ages. 

The Muslim world has never forgiven the Druze  for this act of apostasy and treason and so the Druze  have carefully  kept  the details of their  religious  dogma a secret to the hostile out side world. They have also historically chosen the protective mountainous areas for their homes thus keeping the Muslim majority safely at arms length. They are also tough fighters

 

In 1948, as the beleaguered Jewish population of Israel fought off the combined Arab forces, the Druze at first chose to "go with the obvious winner", the Muslims. However, after being bloodied in a key battle for the Galilee, the Druze reconsidered and withdrew  from the war declaring their neutrality.

 

After Israel's victory, the Druze leaders requested to enter a pact with the victorious  new Jewish state and offered their sons to serve in the IDF which they do with distinction until today.

 

They are  often found in the para military units responsible with  security vis a vis the Arab populations since they are familiar with the language and culture.

Often when an Arab riot got out of hand and IDF troops were not effective, the very sight of a Druze manned jeep was enough to disperse the threatening crowd. They clearly  spoke each other's language.

The Druze  have come to see Israel as a spunky little country  delivering bloody noses to the  ever menacing Muslim world threatening to wash over her. In this, they identified a parallel with their own experience. However, a "New Israel" has emerged in the last generation. Suddenly, Israel is retreating; Sinai, Lebanon, Gaza, Judea, Samaria. No longer are Israeli soldiers feared but rather  have their hands tied as they  flee  from stone throwing Arab youngsters. This is not the Israel that won their respect in 1948 ans 1967. This is the Israel of  Shimon Peres' "New Middle East"

In the  this New middle East, the Druze revert to their Old Middle East mold and take care of number one - their way.


www.shalompollacktours.co.il








--
Sincerely,

Robin Ticker

Activist emails sent to my list  are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch.  May their memories serve as a blessing. 

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