MJDALSHAMS, Golan Heights (AP) — The town of Majdal Shams, high in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights mountains, is home to one of the Middle East’s most isolated religious minorities: the Druze. Home for members of the faction.
This minority of about 1 million people originated from the Ismailis in the 10th century, a branch of Shiite Islam found in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Golan Heights.
About 25,000 people live in the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau that Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel’s 1981 annexation of the region is recognized only by the United States, and the rest of the world considers it to have occupied Syrian territory.
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Most Druze religious practices are secretive and outsiders are not allowed to convert. Just glimpses: women wearing traditional flowing white headscarves; men wearing round white hats and flowing beards.
Although Israeli citizenship is open to Druze in the Golan Heights, most choose not to accept it, despite their right to reside.
They strictly maintain their Druze identity and traditions. A week ago, people took to the streets of Majdal Shams to celebrate the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, red, yellow, blue, white and green Druze flags with Syrian rebels The green, white and black flags are equally eye-catching.
As the region is once again torn apart by unrest and fighting, traces of the 1967 war are still visible, with ancient trenches and abandoned tanks. A security fence, topped by a ring of barbed wire, now runs along the outskirts of the town and through the fields of nearby Alpha Line.
The current war has not left Majdal Shams unscathed. On October 8, 2023, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began attacking Israel in solidarity with Hamas’s cross-border attack the day before, triggering nearly 14 months of fighting on Israel’s northern front. One night in late July, a rocket hit a football field in Majal Shems as children played. Twelve children aged 10 to 16 were killed and about 20 others were injured.
The strike plunged the town into mourning. Five months later, football resumed on the sports field, where a small makeshift memorial of toys and teddy bears marked the site of the rocket impact.
Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah last month brought a brief respite to the town. But with the fall of Assad in Syria and the presence of Syrian armed groups and Israeli forces operating on the border, residents of Majdal Shams, many of whom have relatives in Syria, now face more uncertainty and insecurity .
Some families are separated by the so-called Alpha Line, the start of the buffer zone that separates the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights region from Syria. They live under Israeli rule while also learning about their historical Syrian identity. Along the Lebanese-Syrian border, the Druze generally adopt Arab nationalism, including support for the Palestinian cause.
Israel has also established settlements in the Golan Heights, where about 25,000 Israeli Jews currently live, and the area is also a popular tourist destination for Israelis. Many people flock to the mountains for the scenery and local hot springs.
