Day 651 - Who are the Druze and why is Israel protecting them?

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

News

4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, as violence between Syria's Druze and Bedouin communities reached a boiling point in the southern city of Sweida, hundreds of Druze rushed across the border from Israel, vowing to protect their community in Syria.

Israel joined in as the protector of the Syrian Druze and the IDF said it struck over 160 targets in Syria, mostly in the area of Sweida, including government tanks and machine guns headed there. The military also said it was bolstering forces in the Golan Heights, on the Syrian border, in preparation for days of potential conflict.

Likewise, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber issued an open call to Israel and the world to help the Druze in Syria, citing the biblical commandment “not to stand by the blood of your neighbor.”

We delve into the origins of the mysterious religion and Israeli ties to the ancient people which came to settle in what is today three nations: Lebanon, Syria and Israel.

We discuss what could be Israel's motivations in taking on the mantle of protector of the persecuted minority -- and international backlash to it.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A woman carries a Druze and an Israeli flag near the US Embassy in Jerusalem on July 16, 2025. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Times of Israel's Friday Focus. I'm your host, Amanda Borchelle, Don, here with our
0:08.4	diplomatic correspondent, Laser Barron. Laser, thanks so much for joining me again after we missed you
0:14.0	last week. Oh, well, I missed you all. I was in the United States. We had that B.B. Trump trip,
0:19.6	and then I spent a little time in New Hampshire.
0:22.4	New Hampshire, I've definitely heard of it, never been there. It will happen one day,
0:26.2	but I want to kind of put it back into the realm of hard news if you can get away from
0:33.9	kayaking for a second. Well, there was no kayaking, though I was fishing in a canoe,
0:38.6	but there is a connection, I think, between New Hampshire and our topic, because New Hampshire,
0:43.7	very mountainous region, and we are going to talk about a people that generally lives in the
0:49.8	mountainous areas of the Middle East. That's true. Mountain people, and we are talking about the Druze.
0:56.5	After this week in Syria, there were clashes in the southern city of Sweda.
1:02.5	And on Tuesday, the Syrian government entered the fray with the stated aim of overseeing a ceasefire that was agreed on with the Jews community leaders after armed
1:13.4	conflict with local Bedouin tribes left more than 100 people dead. I think now the report is about
1:19.8	350 or so. But witnesses reported that the government forces joined with the Bedouin in attacking
1:26.7	the Jews fighters,
1:28.6	and then Israel joined in as the self-stated protector of the Syrian Jews,
1:35.3	and the IDF struck over 160 targets in Syria, mostly in the area of Swayda,
1:40.8	including government tanks and machine guns,
1:43.7	and then the United States stepped into the
1:46.3	fray as well in trying to calm the waters. And there was a ceasefire that was announced yesterday,
1:53.2	at least between the Syrian government and the Jews. And hundreds of Jews on Wednesday night
1:59.6	rushed across the border, even up to a thousand were
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Times of Israel, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Times of Israel and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.