Today, Jews across the world are finding themselves alone, ostracized and vulnerable.
One people that have stood by Israel sacrificing life and limb since 1948, is the country’s Druze community, who through thick and thin, war after war, have thrown in their lot with the destiny – and fate – of Israel. In the current Israel-Hamas war, Druze have fought and died alongside their fellow Jewish soldiers in the IDF as they have done in all previous wars.
Today, the Druze in southern Syria, family to the Druze of Israel, are under attack with regime forces aiding Syrian Bedouins in perpetrating atrocities – including the summary execution of Druze civilians.
Israel could not sit back, particularly as Israel’s Druze community’s leadership has appealed to Israel to save their people across the border in turbulent Syria from slaughter.
Lay of the Land fully supports Israel’s efforts to help save the Druze of Syria.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
The massacre of Druze children on the Golan, Israel mourns while world ignores.
By Jonathan Feldstein
In case you missed the news, Saturday afternoon Israel time, Hezbollah fired a rocket from one of its bases in southern Lebanon at Israel’s Golan Heights region, a region heavily populated by Druze residents. Tragically it hit a soccer pitch killing 12 kids and injuring many others.
In doing so, the Iranian-backed Islamist terror group committed many crimes over and above the wanton murder. As Prime Minister Netanyahu so poignantly articulated in his address to the US Congress last week:
“This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization.”
The main differences in this latest attack on the Golan were the number of casualties, and the fact that they were Druze, not Jews.
Sight of Slaughter. The football pitch in Golan Druze village of Majdal Shams where kids were playing and then struck by missile fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
Over nearly 10 months, in addition to Hamas firing thousands of missiles and drones from Gaza, slaughtering 1200, raping and sexually mutilating many, and kidnapping more than 250 people to Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon has also fired thousands of rockets, missiles and drones at Israel, killing and wounding scores. Both are demonic. But Saturday’s attack was the largest number of casualties at any one time, from any one incident.
All of Israel is enraged.
Honoring Druze Fallen. A tree is planted in Ahihud Forest on July 2, 2024 in memory of fallen Druze soldier, Maj. Jamal Abbas, a company commander in the Paratroopers Brigade who was killed on Nov. 18, 2023 in the Gaza Strip. (Photo: Giorgia Valente/The Media Line)
Despite the magnitude of this massacre, cutting short Netanyahu’s US trip, many around the world may not have heard about it because with Arabs killing Druze rather than Jews killing Arabs, mainstream media was less interested. The facts complicated the preferred media narrative of blaming Jews!
The distance of the weapon fired at Israeli territory was so short that the 12 dead children, and dozens of others injured, did not have the time to get to one of the portable bomb shelters placed along the site of the soccer field where they were enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon during their summer vacation.
Druze are an Arabic speaking minority. Their religion is somewhat secretive. While it is derived from Islam, they do not consider themselves Muslim, revering the biblical figure Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law) as their prophet. As such, they are often discriminated against within the Arab/Islamic world and have a tradition of being loyal to the countries where they reside.
In Israel, they are loyal citizens, serving in the IDF, achieving senior ranks militarily and throughout Israeli society, often in numbers that are disproportionately high to their small percent of the population. Many Druze have fallen in the line of duty. Israeli Druze consider themselves to be cousins of the Jewish people, partly with their reverence for Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses.
Grieving Together. IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center), at the soccer field in Majdal Shams, meeting with Druze community leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif (2nd left), local council representatives, and senior IDF officers.
Most Druze in the Golan find themselves in a complex situation not being Israeli citizens (their choice) but rather permanent residents following the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel took control of the Golan from Syria. Since Israel applied full Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, now fully recognized by the US, many Druze remain fearful to take Israeli citizenship lest they be accused of endorsing Israeli sovereignty and being seen as “traitors” in Syria to which this Golan community, historically, was once loyal to.
But make no mistake about it, the Golan Druze never want the Golan returned to Syria and as ties to Syria fade with time, are increasingly turning to Israel for citizenship. Israel views them as integrally part of the country, and their well-being and defense is no less important than for all the rest of the nearly 10 million Israelis. The massacre at the Golan Druze village of Majdal Shams was a shock to ALL Israelis.
Terror from Lebanon. A youth from the Druze community weeps over a makeshift memorial at the football pitch for the 12 children and teens killed in a rocket strike on a soccer field, in the village of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, Monday, July 29, 2024. (Photo: AP Photo/Leo Correa)
While loyal to their respective countries and their governments, Druze are also fiercely tribal. Like Jews, when Druze anywhere suffer, Druze everywhere care. Of course, we have seen that clearly among the Israeli Druze since Saturday’s massacre, publicly advocating for the well-being of all Druze. But now, we are also seeing support from Syrian and Lebanese Druze who are publicly and unequivocally calling out Hezbollah, their supporters and, by implication, their own countries which have allowed this Iranian-backed Islamic extremists to gain strength and threaten them.
Hezbollah is armed and funded by Iran’s Islamic regime. Like Iran, Hezbollah does not distinguish between children or adults, soldiers or civilians, Jews, Moslems, Christians or Druze. On Saturday, Hezbollah terrorists brutally attacked and murdered a dozen Druze children and wounded dozens more, children whose only crime was going out to play soccer. Hezbollah knew full well they were firing their weapons at the second most populated city in the Golan. The carnage was no accident. It’s laughable that they and their Islamist defenders have gone out of their way not only to deny responsibility, but blame Israel.
Comrades-in-Arms. Family and friends of Cpt. Wassem Mahmoud attend his funeral service in the Druze village of Beit Jann, on June 16, 2024. Mahmoud was killed in battle in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo: David Cohen/Flash90)
The expectation of an Israeli response against Hezbollah was overwhelming, but with the concern that it might escalate the situation with Hezbollah and even Iran. Israelis and Druze in Lebanon are understandably nervous.
Events following have only affirmed the concerns and nervousness as the region braces for an escalation of unpredictable proportion.
From Yesterday to Tomorrow. Concerned back then, Druze men look out over the border between Israel and Syria near Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on February 14, 2014. What will the future bring? (Photo: AP/Oded Balilty)
People of conscience can send prayers and condolences that will be printed and delivered to the families. Just as the Druze in Israel are loyal, an essential part of the diverse Israeli mosaic, Israel’s friends around the world can show their love and support today for the grieving families now, and no matter what comes next by way of the war that may escalate tomorrow.
*Feature picture: Burying Children. Mourners attend the funeral in Majdal Shams of Druze children killed by a Hezbollah rocket fired from Lebanon, July 28, 2024. (Photo by Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
About the writer:
Jonathan Feldstein - President of the US based non-profit Genesis123 Foundation whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians – is a freelance writer whose articles appear in The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Townhall, NorthJersey.com, Algemeiner Jornal, The Jewish Press, major Christian websites and more.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).
It takes its cue from an indifferent world – A shameful Silence
By David E. Kaplan
Last year, writes Raymond Ibrahim, “Christians were persecuted more than ever before in the modern era — and 2019 is expected to be worse.”
Raised in the USA to Egyptian parents, Ibrahim today is a widely published author and Middle East and Islam specialist.
He was the first to expose in 2012, an Arabic-language Saudi fatwa that called for the destruction of any Christian church found on the Arabian Peninsula. Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.”
“Destroy All Churches In Gulf,” Says Saudi Grand Mufti. Speaking to a delegation in Kuwait, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, stressed that since the tiny Gulf state was a part of the Arabian Peninsula, it was necessary to destroy all of the churches in the country.
Raymond Ibrahim is sounding ALARM BELLS about the plight of Christians in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Too few hear them ringing!
Writing this March in the Gatestone Institute, Ibrahim reveals that in 2018, 4,136 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons, according to Open Doors USA in its recently published World Watch List 2019 (WWL) of the top 50 nations where Christians are persecuted.
This translates on average, to 11 Christians killed every day for their faith.
Why the deafening silence?
Additionally, in 2018, “2,625 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned”, and “1,266 churches or Christian buildings were attacked.”
In 2018, 215 million Christians faced persecution and the prognosis according to Open Doors, is that this year – 2019 – over 245 million will suffer – a 14% increase, that represents 30 million more people abused for their faith.
This means that “One in nine Christians experience high levels of persecution worldwide.”
Worse for Woman
Another frightening trend is the “shocking persecution against women.”
“In many places,” reveals the report, “they experience a ‘double persecution’ — one for being a Christian and one for being a woman! Even in the most restricted circumstances, gender-specific persecution is a key means of destroying the minority Christian community.”
“At least six women every day are raped, sexually harassed or forced into marriage to a Muslim man under the threat of death for their Christian faith…”
Worst Offenders
Among the worst persecutors are those that rule according to Sharia.
In Afghanistan (ranked #2), “Christianity is not permitted to exist” because it “is an Islamic state by constitution, which means government officials, ethnic group leaders, religious officials and citizens are hostile toward adherents of any other religion.”
Similarly, in Somalia, (ranked #3),
Al-Shabaab’s primary aim is to rid Somalia of all Christianity. In 2014 when their leader Ahmed Godane died, they appointed a new leader.
Despite Pope Francis’ statement that Africa is a continent of hope and his call to engage in dialogue against the attacks that have recently occurred, there is not enough being done currently to protect Somali’s Christians. When they are not allowed to express their beliefs to the government without being killed or to celebrate holidays and customs publicly that are Christian, they are being stripped from their basic human rights from society.
Take Note BDS SA. Nigeria accounted for more than half the worldwide killings of Christians in 2015. (Photograph: AFP/Getty Images)
Being forced to hide their beliefs from the country and having to live in fear is not an acceptable way to live. Pope Francis is correct in saying that meaningful dialogue is important to solving this problem, but in the meantime, these Christians are being killed regularly, and a change needs to be come soon.
In Iran (ranked #9), “society is governed by Islamic law, which means the rights and professional possibilities for Christians are heavily restricted.” While worship is permitted under the Islamic Republic’s constitution, conversion to Christianity can be a crime meriting a sentence of more than 10 years imprisonment.
“There are many reports,” said Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, “that this has contributed to the government’s ever-increasing dependence on hardline Islamic ayatollahs, who naturally see Christianity as a threat to their power. For this reason, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing an increase in Christian persecution.”
It has become increasingly common for authorities to arrest worshippers, raid house churches, and confiscate Bibles.
Under Pakistan‘s notorious blasphemy laws, Christians live in daily fear they will be accused of blasphemy — which can carry a penalty of death.
Only recently, Pakistan’s supreme court struck down the death sentence for blasphemy handed down to a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, in a long-delayed, landmark decision that freed her after nine years on death row and ignited countrywide protests from Islamist groups.
What’s Changed Since The Roman Circuses? Protestors in Pakistan screaming support for death penalty for Christian woman.
Christian farm labourer Bibi, a 47-year-old mother offive, was sentenced to hang for blasphemy in 2010. She had angered fellow Muslim farm workers by taking a sip of water from a cup she had fetched for them on a hot day. When they demanded she convert to Islam, she refused, prompting a mob to later allege that she had insulted the prophet Mohammed.
In Libya (#4), Yemen (#8), Syria (#11), and Iraq (#13) war has given rise to Islamic militancy and general lawlessness, both of which prey on Christian minorities.
While in Egypt, President el-Sisi has publicly expressed his commitment to protecting Christians, his government’s actions and extremist groups’ continued Christian persecution attacks on individuals and churches, have left Christians feeling insecure and extremely cautious.
In December 2017, a gunman opened fire in Cairo at a church and a nearby shop owned by Christians. Eleven people died as a result of the attack.
In July 2018, a mob attacked Christians in a village in Minya, when Muslim residents were angered by a Facebook post they believed to be blasphemous.
Many Christian girls and women have become the victims of sexual harassment, abduction and rape. In just one month (April 2018), at least seven cases of abduction were documented.
In early November 2018, Islamic State militants attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians from a monastery in Minya, killing eight and injuring more than 13 people.
Beach Barbarism. In 2015, 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians – constructive workers that had been kidnapped – were beheaded by ISIS on the beaches of Sirte, in Libya,
According to Open Doors, 128 Christians were killed in Egypt for their faith and more than 200 were driven out of their homes in 2017. It attributed the rise in persecution to “the overspill of Islamic terrorists driven out of Iraq and Syria”.
Beware Of Reporting The Truth. In 2015, ISIS burned twenty media activists to death in Iraq’s northwestern city of Mosul. The victims were executed on charges of leaking security information to “hostile parties”. “The horrific execution was conducted in front of dozens of people in al-Houd, including some family members of the victims.
Home to the largest Christian community in the Middle East, Christians in Egypt are facing unprecedented levels of persecution, with attacks on churches and the kidnapping of girls by Islamist extremists, intent on forcing them to marry Muslims.
“Michael Jones” – not his real name – a Cairo-based businessman and evangelical Christian, told The Guardian there was a gulf between statements from the national leadership regarding the Christian community and actions at a local level.
“You hear President el-Sisi speaking about Christians with a lot of respect and sympathy. Just a few days ago, he made a beautiful, emotional speech when inaugurating our new cathedral. It looked like an amazing affirmation that the state is supporting the church and the Christian community, and doing everything it can to guarantee our welfare,” said ‘Jones’.
“Then you have the local authorities in villages and towns – police, judges, business owners – and it’s evident that many of them are infected with a rejection of Christianity. You see this in daily practices.”
BDS – are you hearing the cries and calls for salvation or are you callously ignoring?
The Yazidis – “We harmed nobody”
This ancient faith that has survived for centuries by living apart in a tight-knit community is facing extinction. There are less than a million Yazidis worldwide, and most are in the Iraqi heartland.
Facing extinction – they see their fate inextricably linked to the wider world.
Horrors The World Ignores. Yazidis fleeing their towns for Mount Sinjar as Islamic State forces advanced on them. “They raped me every day, twice or more,” recounts Bafrin from the village of Kocho. “I was just a child; I can never forget it.” Over 400 men, the entire male population of Kocho, were rounded up, shot or beheaded. Old women were killed and dumped in mass graves, younger ones sold in markets as sex slaves, boys turned into child soldiers. (Photograph: Rodi Said/Reuters)
The Yazidi narrative reveals surviving 74 genocides throughout their tormented history, but the worst, Yazidis today will say, is ISIS “that is trying to eradicate our faith and culture.” Acknowledged by the United Nations as genocide, the ISIS campaign may have dealt “the most brutal blow.”
On 3 August 2014, ISIS attacked the Yazidi community in Sinjar, northern Iraq. Thousands were imprisoned or killed, and close to 100,000 people fled to Mount Sinjar. The UN referred to the attack as “a genocide”.
Women have paid the highest price when ISIS attacked. Close to 7,000 women have been sold as sex slaves. They have been brutalised by ISIS fighters, many of them repeatedly victims of sexual assaults. They were forced to convert to Islam, and many were forcibly married off to ISIS fighters. Women who tried to escape were often punished with gang rape.
Thousands of women and children, down to the age of nine, were repeatedly sold in slave markets in Syrian cities where ISIS had a strong presence. Boys from the age of seven years and upwards were separated from their mothers and put in camps where they were brainwashed and trained to become child soldiers.
In an appeal to the world, a priest, Sheikh Ismael Bahri, catches sight of a rare group of foreign journalists and wails:
“All humane countries of the world must see our situation. We’ve not harmed anyone. All we want is help and protection.”
While the Yazidis’ plight has moved some countries such as Australia, Canada and Germany that offered refuge to a limited number of victims, notably the women brutally enslaved by ISIS, most the world remains silent.
“We feel threatened here, we don’t have a future here,” cried out Tuli Bahri Evo, whose family crossed the border from Syria where the Yazidis’ presence is also dwindling.
Alarmed by a potential exodus which could endanger the very survival of this tiny community, Yazidi leaders are begging the world to help them stay in Iraq.
“We need our own Yazidi force so we can protect ourselves,” the Yazidis’ religious leader, Baba Sheikh says. “The world is only talking about Yazidis but doing nothing.”
Wake up world – the Yazidis are an “Endangered Species”!
Asia Bibi: protests erupt in Pakistan after blasphemy conviction overturned – video
Feature picture: Yazidi Kurdish women chant slogans during a protest against the Islamic State group’s invasion of Sinjar city, in Dohuk, Iraq, August 3, 2015. (AP/Seivan M. Salem)
