As I write this, there is a battle underway for control of the town of Hader in Syria. Rebel forces consisting predominantly of the al Nusra Front are attempting to take control from the inhabitants of Hader and the small number of Assad regime forces that remain in Hader. It sounds like just another day in Syria, but it is indicative of a major new turn in the Syrian Civil War for two reasons: first, Hader is populated almost exclusively by the Druse, and second, Hader literally sits on the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel on the Golan Heights.
Let's start with the Druse. At the start of the civil war, there were about 700,000 Druse in Syria, a community which encompassed about half of all the Druse in the world. The Druse follow a separate religion which has existed in the region for over 1000 years. They are not Moslem, and many Islamists like ISIS consider the Druse to be infidels. The al Nusra Front, which is the local Syrian name for al Qaeda, also considers the Druse to be infidels. Over the years, the Druse have survived by aligning themselves with the government of the state in which they are living. The Druse in Israel (about 120,000) serve in the Israeli army and government. The same is true in Lebanon and Syria. Because of this tradition and the hostility of the Islamists towards them, the Druse have mostly supported the Assad regime in Syria.
Thus far in the Syrian fighting, there has been little involvement of the areas where the Druse live. The fighting around Hader changes this in a major way. Also, the forces of ISIS have been advancing towards and area whose name translates into "the mountain of the Druse". More than half of all Syrian Druse live in these two areas. There is a very real threat that if the Islamists take these areas, there will be wholesale slaughter of the local Druse or, at a minimum, forced expulsion of these people. When the Yazidi areas in Syria were taken by ISIS, over 20,000 were killed. If the Druze areas are taken, the death toll could easily top 100,000.
Then there is the proximity to Israel. Without a doubt, the Israelis do not want to have al Qaeda forces on the other side of the border. More important, however, the Israelis do not want to sit by and watch the al Qaeda or ISIS terrorists kill the Syrian Druse indiscriminately. There are literally thousands of Israeli Druse as well as Druse who live on the Israeli section of the Golan Heights who would want to go to help the Druse in Hader defend their homes from the terrorists among the rebels. The pressure on the Israeli government to get involved to protect Hader and its citizens will be intense. In fact, the Israelis may set up a protected zone on the Syrian side of the border to receive Druse refugees who flee from other sections of Syria.
The situation in Syria has been bad for a long time. Now imagine what happens if Israeli forces get involved in the battle even in only a small section of that country. As is usual, the US government has said nothing whatsoever about the fate of the Druse in Syria. The State Department is too busy trying to think of ways to make the nuclear agreement with Iran weaker so that Teheran will accept it. The rest of the Obama regime doesn't seem to care what happens in Syria. We can only hope and pray that something good comes of all this.
Let's start with the Druse. At the start of the civil war, there were about 700,000 Druse in Syria, a community which encompassed about half of all the Druse in the world. The Druse follow a separate religion which has existed in the region for over 1000 years. They are not Moslem, and many Islamists like ISIS consider the Druse to be infidels. The al Nusra Front, which is the local Syrian name for al Qaeda, also considers the Druse to be infidels. Over the years, the Druse have survived by aligning themselves with the government of the state in which they are living. The Druse in Israel (about 120,000) serve in the Israeli army and government. The same is true in Lebanon and Syria. Because of this tradition and the hostility of the Islamists towards them, the Druse have mostly supported the Assad regime in Syria.
Thus far in the Syrian fighting, there has been little involvement of the areas where the Druse live. The fighting around Hader changes this in a major way. Also, the forces of ISIS have been advancing towards and area whose name translates into "the mountain of the Druse". More than half of all Syrian Druse live in these two areas. There is a very real threat that if the Islamists take these areas, there will be wholesale slaughter of the local Druse or, at a minimum, forced expulsion of these people. When the Yazidi areas in Syria were taken by ISIS, over 20,000 were killed. If the Druze areas are taken, the death toll could easily top 100,000.
Then there is the proximity to Israel. Without a doubt, the Israelis do not want to have al Qaeda forces on the other side of the border. More important, however, the Israelis do not want to sit by and watch the al Qaeda or ISIS terrorists kill the Syrian Druse indiscriminately. There are literally thousands of Israeli Druse as well as Druse who live on the Israeli section of the Golan Heights who would want to go to help the Druse in Hader defend their homes from the terrorists among the rebels. The pressure on the Israeli government to get involved to protect Hader and its citizens will be intense. In fact, the Israelis may set up a protected zone on the Syrian side of the border to receive Druse refugees who flee from other sections of Syria.
The situation in Syria has been bad for a long time. Now imagine what happens if Israeli forces get involved in the battle even in only a small section of that country. As is usual, the US government has said nothing whatsoever about the fate of the Druse in Syria. The State Department is too busy trying to think of ways to make the nuclear agreement with Iran weaker so that Teheran will accept it. The rest of the Obama regime doesn't seem to care what happens in Syria. We can only hope and pray that something good comes of all this.
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