Israel’s Druze community has demanded in recent days that Israel take action to protect their coreligionists across the border in the Suwayda district of Syria, who have faced significant violence from government forces. On Wednesday, Israel launched air strikes at Syria in response to the violence.
Also on Wednesday, Histadrut Chair Arnon Bar-David sent a letter to the heads of the federation’s unions and regional branches, calling on them to show solidarity with members of the Druze community and to provide logistical assistance for public initiatives, support rallies, and other acts of solidarity led by the Druze community in Israel.
Bar-David emphasized that although the Histadrut does not usually intervene in matters of foreign policy, the violent conflict in Syria has a direct impact on the Druze community in Israel—a community that, he said, is an inseparable part of Israeli society and of the Histadrut itself. “Israel’s shared destiny with our Druze brothers and sisters is not measured only on holidays or in times of joy,” he wrote.
“This is an inseparable part of the soul of the state of Israel and of the strong alliance built between us on friendship, respect, sacrifice, and mutual responsibility,” Bar-David continued. “The families of our brothers are in distress, and we must not remain silent or indifferent. This is the time for all of us to express human and moral solidarity across sectors, communities, and political camps.”
He also expressed support for Muwaffaq Tarif the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. “I pledge that the Histadrut will stand by the community until an agreement is reached that restores calm and stability to the Jabal al-Druze area in southern Syria,” he said.
