Tarif: Israeli Druze Continue to Support Their Families in Druze Mountain and Sweida - Sarmad
Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze Monotheist community in Israel, reaffirmed the community’s unwavering support for their compatriots in the Jabal al-Druze and As-Suwayda regions.
Speaking during his annual visit to a Druze spiritual shrine (the shrine of Sheikh Abu Yousef Amin Tarif in Julis), Tarif said, “We remain committed to our pledge to support our people in Jabal al-Druze and As-Suwayda until their rights are secured and their demands are met with dignity. Jabal al-Druze is impervious to every aggressor, and its standing is stronger than any oppressor.”
Tarif emphasized the “continuity of support from the Druze community in Israel for their relatives in Jabal al-Druze and As-Suwayda, with all the resolve and capabilities at their disposal to bolster their resilience and work to convey their voice to all regional and international forums.”
He also called on “the leadership of the mountain to achieve unity in ranks and words on matters of destiny,” stressing that “unity is the safety valve for resilience and the means to preserve rights and standing and to confront challenges.”
Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif played a major role in halting the attack on As-Suwayda last summer, in an effort to reclaim the city where the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Syria, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, had taken refuge, refusing to accept orders from Damascus on the grounds of the marginalization and exclusion of the Druze community and other minorities.
Tarif, along with members of the community, exerted pressure on the Israeli government to intervene militarily to halt the advance of the Syrian army, which indeed occurred when Israeli drones bombed Syrian military convoys advancing toward As-Suwayda, followed by strikes on Syria’s Ministry of Defense and the Presidential Palace in Damascus, forcing the Syrian side to accept a ceasefire and remain outside the province near a contact line in the rural areas of the province.
