The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews quickly mobilized its assets in July to support the Syrian Druze and Christians, who were under severe threat from jihadists in southern Syria, with some terming it as an act of genocide.
Forces backed by Syria, including jihadist militants, targeted the Syrian Druze in the country’s southern region, resulting in tragic killings.
Safwan Marich from the Israeli Druze community oversees the Fellowship’s Emergency Response Center and informed Fox News Digital that a genocide is occurring in the Sweida region, something that requires no elaboration, particularly for the Jewish community.
“Once the displaced residents return to their village, they will grasp the scale of the catastrophe. Women were taken by jihadists, and many children have been kidnapped and are unaccounted for,” he noted.
Marich has been in contact with his fellow Druze in Syria.
“This conflict is fundamentally religious,” he added. “There is footage of ISIL approaching a village and inquiring, ‘Are you Druze or Sunni?’ When a man replied ‘Syrian,’ and later confirmed he was Druze, he was shot instantly in the street. The religious motives behind these attacks are clear.”
“It is vital for me to assist the Druze because I am Druze myself. Although the Druze community is peaceful, they will undoubtedly defend themselves if attacked. Our traditions compel us to assist fellow Druze worldwide, regardless of where they are,” he stated.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (not seen) and Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa hold a press conference after their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 4, 2025. (Mehmet Ali Ozcan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Marich also noted he is Israeli, and the other day a Druze officer was killed in Gaza. Twelve officers from the Druze community have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
“They died defending Israel and the Jewish people. We have an expectation that Israeli society will come through and stand by Druze community, and so we can defend our brothers in Syria. The state of Israel cannot afford to have Daesh on its borders and in the Golan Heights.”
He pointed to the example of Hamas on the border and its growth as a military danger over the years as a warning about radical Islamists gaining a foothold on the Syrian-Israeli border.
