Druze, Syria and Israel

Dozens of Syrian Druze make a rare visit to Israeli-controlled Golan Heights
Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel and the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau seized from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel’s 1981 annexation of the area is recognized only by the United States, with the rest of the world considering it occupied Syrian territory.
First Druze crossing in 50 years as Israel courts allies in Syria
It's the first time in five decades that Druze leaders have crossed from Syria into Israeli-controlled territory to visit Druze religious sites and communities here. The buffer zo
Three buses carrying Druze from Syria cross into Israeli-controlled area of the Golan Heights
The visit comes as Israel says it is supporting the minority in a country now ruled by Islamists. But many Druze have rejected its overtures, and critics accuse Israel of trying to weaken and divide Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
In a first, Druze clerics visit Israeli shrine since 1948
Dozens of Syrian Druze clerics crossed into Israel on Friday for their community’s first pilgrimage to a revered shrine since Israel’s creation in 1948, The Times of Israel reported. On board three buses escorted by military vehicles,
Syrian Druze delegation visits Israel for 1st time in 52 years: Reports
Syrian Druze members expected to visit religious sites in occupied Golan Heights, northern Israel, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN - Anadolu Ajansı
Israel says it will let Syrian Druze workers cross into Golan Heights
The Golan Heights is home to 24,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam and also live in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Syrian Druse Pilgrims Pay Rare Visit to Israel
As part of an effort to deepen its influence in southern Syria, Israel has been seeking stronger ties with the Druse religious minority that holds sway there.
Druze Religious Elders From Syria Make Historic Visit to Israel
People gather on the day Israeli Druze leader Sheik Mowafaq Tarif and around 100 Syrian Druze religious elders, in the first Druze delegation from Syria just after 1973 war, visit the Nabi Shuayb Shrine, a holy place for the Druze community, in northern Israel March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Group of senior Syrian Druze expected to visit Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
A group of around 100 senior figures from Syria's Druze are expected to visit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday, members of the community said, in a further sign of Israel's support for the minority group.
Druze clerics cross from Syria to Israel for first time in decades
Druze clerics who crossed from Syria, were welcome by hundreds of members of the Israel Druze community at the Nabi Shuaib shrine compound, in northern Israel.
Israeli Druze Prepare for First Visit by Syrian Druze in Decades
Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif said the visit by around 100 Syrian Druze religious elders on Friday would be the first to Israel in some 50 years, when a group came in the immediate aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur war between Israel,
Israel faces new Syria challenge as it adjusts to new strategy amid regional power struggle for influence
Israel is rethinking its Syria strategy following the country's Islamist takeover in December, rising attacks on minorities ...
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Turkey and Israel face mounting tensions over future of post-Assad Syria
The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government has aggravated the already tense relations between Turkey and Israel, ...
In Netanyahu’s new Middle East, Syria could become Israel’s biggest strategic gain
Just hours after Islamist rebels ousted longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ...