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In this episode, a collaboration with the podcast “The Caliphs’ Revolt,” the guests are Khalifa Khalifa and Sheikh Wazir Amoun. They discuss the murderous attack on Druze communities in Syria that took place in late April 2022, explain the background to the events, and sharply criticize Israel’s inaction.
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A blood libel and a coordinated attack
According to Khalifa Khalifa, the chain of events began following a visit by a Druze delegation from Syria to Israel for the Nabi Shu’ayb holiday on April 25. The visit, which was a great display of brotherhood and strengthened the alliance between the communities, was perceived as a grave insult by the Islamist side in Syria. As a pretext for the attack, he explains, a blood libel was spread: an audio clip of a young Druze man allegedly cursing the Prophet Muhammad was presented along with a picture of an elderly sheikh, to create the false impression that a religious leader was behind the insult.
The libel led to a declaration of jihad against the Druze in mosques throughout Syria, on the grounds that they were both traitors collaborating with Israel and insulters of the Prophet. Calls to slaughter the Druze were heard at demonstrations, and the situation quickly escalated into a large-scale military attack on Druze neighborhoods, chief among them the Jaramana neighborhood in Damascus. According to Khalifa, the local residents in Jaramana fought for 48 hours until they ran out of ammunition.
Siege on Suwayda
The attacking forces, according to the guests, are ISIS-like jihadists, some of them foreigners (Chechens, Uzbeks, and Afghans), operating under the umbrella of the new Jolani regime and posing as official security forces. Sheikh Wazir Amoun describes a pattern of action in which “moderate” forces first enter to calm the area, and immediately afterward, the jihadists arrive to carry out the massacre.
After the attack in Jaramana, the focus shifted to the Suwayda province, the heart of the Druze concentration in Syria. Khalifa recounts that when Druze reinforcement forces tried to leave Suwayda to assist the residents of Damascus, they were ambushed by Bedouin tribes from the Daraa region, with whom they had previously had good neighborly relations. As a result, the city of Suwayda itself came under siege. Sheikh Wazir Amoun adds and tells of another planned ambush, in which Jolani’s security forces led a delegation of Druze dignitaries into a deadly trap on the Damascus-Suwayda road. In this ambush alone, 38 people were killed.
Israel’s betrayal
Khalifa Khalifa expresses a deep sense of betrayal and disappointment with Israel. He recalls past promises by Israeli prime ministers and defense ministers to protect the Druze in Syria, and argues that there is no way Israeli intelligence did not know in advance about the massive buildup of forces for the attack. According to him, Israel’s silence makes it appear weak and dishonorable, and puts the alliance between the peoples to the test. He compares his feelings to the sense of betrayal felt by the residents of the Gaza envelope on October 7.
He rejects the claim that Israel is afraid of getting bogged down in the Syrian quagmire as happened in Lebanon, arguing that policy is not conducted out of fear. According to him, Israel must either keep its word or openly admit that it does not intend to intervene, instead of playing “cheap politics” at the expense of those being slaughtered. Sheikh Wazir Amoun adds that the attackers mocked the Druze captives, telling them: “Bring Israel to protect you.”
Internal politics and the attitude toward Islam
Sheikh Wazir Amoun explains that the Druze community in Syria is not monolithic, but the spiritual leadership, headed by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, advocates a moderate line calling for a united Syria not under radical Islamic rule. He emphasizes that none of the Druze asked to annex villages to Israel.
He dismisses the religious pretext for the attack, noting that there are many Shiite television channels that broadcast content against the Prophet Muhammad without provoking such a violent reaction. The real reason, he claims, is the anger over the successful visit to Israel and the desire to harm the developing bond between the Druze and Israel. He clarifies that the Druze respect the Prophet Muhammad and key figures in Islam, but hold their own theological interpretation of the Quran, and all they want is to be left to live their religious lives in private and their civil lives in normality.
The original episode, in Hebrew: טבח הדרוזים בסוריה