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A Druse state
By JOSHUA GELERNTER
01/08/2015 17:35
Israel should assist in securing a state for the Syrian Druse.
Members of the Druse community watch the funeral of Israeli Druse
police officer Zidan Saif in the northern village of Yanuh-Jat on
November 19, 2014.. (photo credit:REUTERS)
As a sovereign state, Syria no longer exists.
President Bashar Assad, the Alawites and Iranbacked Shi'ite groups
control a checkerboard third of the country; Sunni and Kurd forces
combine for another third; and Islamic State controls the rest. Caught
in the middle are the Druse; more precisely, they're caught at Syria's
southernmost point, east and southeast of the Golan Heights - Jabal
al-Druse.
Israel should actively aid in the creation of a Druse state.
In the 1920s, when Syria was under a French mandate, the Druse
rebelled and won control of an autonomous Jabal Druse state, which
lasted until Europe's prewar colonial chaos. After the war, the
British - which had liberated the northern Levant from Vichy control -
established the modern state of Syria.
The Druse, being culturally inclined to independence and industry,
played an outsized role in Syria's establishment.
As early as 1945 - a year before independent Syria was formally
founded - Syrian president Shukri al-Quwatli called the Druse a
"dangerous minority."
(This should hit a nerve in Israel.) In the '50s, president Adib
al-Shishakli compared his enemies to "a serpent.
The head is Jabal al-Druse... if I crush the head, the serpent will
die." To beat any independent notions out of the Druse, Shishakli
shelled Druse villages, occupied their territory, sent his troops
pillaging and even went so far as to accuse them of collaborating with
Israel.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Druse have proven to be exceptional Israelis.
Indeed, in December, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described both
Druse and Circassian Israelis as "our very flesh, who fight and fall
in defense of our people."
Druse have helped Jews reestablish a national homeland - and Jews are
obligated to return the favor, to say nothing of the fact that Israel
would benefit from a friendly neighbor to its northeast.
Vocal support for independence and a promise of Druse state
recognition would be a good start. After consultation with whoever can
speak for the Syrian Druse, Israel might consider dispatching part of
the IDF - perhaps with a Druse commander - to help secure Jabal
Druse's borders. (While they're there, they might consider a trip
northeast through Syria's empty eastern desert to secure Dura-Europos,
presently being sacked by Islamic State. But play it by ear.) Perhaps
the Jabal Druse would be interested in annexation to Israel, in which
case the IDF could go ahead and annex the desert up to Dura-Europos,
and a nearby community of Islamic State-endangered Armenians. The
Jewish state shouldn't stand for the slaughter of Armenians either, if
it comes to that; but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Irrespective of the Druse situation, the Syrian civil war, combined
with Islamic State running amok, will almost certainly mean the
creation of an independent Kurdish state - something else Israel
should be (and evidently is) aggressively supporting.
Consider a Middle East under these circumstances: Northeast of Israel
is a Druse state; northeast of the Druse is Kurdistan; northeast of
Kurdistan is Azerbaijan. Three Muslim countries, all of them open to
warm and friendly relations with Israel.
In the general scheme of things, Arab- Muslim hegemony north of the
Arabian peninsula is new - surely when compared to, say, Kurdish or
Jewish claims. It needn't be the status quo forever.
Certain important Middle Eastern borders are melting. Israel should be
involved in reshaping them; it has a stake in the outcome, and it has
a responsibility to help its friends secure the independence that Zion
has enjoyed for the past 66 years.
A Middle East that's Islamic, or Islam- ish, without being Islamist
could mean a very bright future for everyone.
The writer is a columnist for National Review Online; he has written
about international relations and military policy for publications
such as The Wall Street Journal and The Weekly Standard.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/A-Druse-state-387136
From: A. Papazian
By JOSHUA GELERNTER
01/08/2015 17:35
Israel should assist in securing a state for the Syrian Druse.
Members of the Druse community watch the funeral of Israeli Druse
police officer Zidan Saif in the northern village of Yanuh-Jat on
November 19, 2014.. (photo credit:REUTERS)
As a sovereign state, Syria no longer exists.
President Bashar Assad, the Alawites and Iranbacked Shi'ite groups
control a checkerboard third of the country; Sunni and Kurd forces
combine for another third; and Islamic State controls the rest. Caught
in the middle are the Druse; more precisely, they're caught at Syria's
southernmost point, east and southeast of the Golan Heights - Jabal
al-Druse.
Israel should actively aid in the creation of a Druse state.
In the 1920s, when Syria was under a French mandate, the Druse
rebelled and won control of an autonomous Jabal Druse state, which
lasted until Europe's prewar colonial chaos. After the war, the
British - which had liberated the northern Levant from Vichy control -
established the modern state of Syria.
The Druse, being culturally inclined to independence and industry,
played an outsized role in Syria's establishment.
As early as 1945 - a year before independent Syria was formally
founded - Syrian president Shukri al-Quwatli called the Druse a
"dangerous minority."
(This should hit a nerve in Israel.) In the '50s, president Adib
al-Shishakli compared his enemies to "a serpent.
The head is Jabal al-Druse... if I crush the head, the serpent will
die." To beat any independent notions out of the Druse, Shishakli
shelled Druse villages, occupied their territory, sent his troops
pillaging and even went so far as to accuse them of collaborating with
Israel.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Druse have proven to be exceptional Israelis.
Indeed, in December, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described both
Druse and Circassian Israelis as "our very flesh, who fight and fall
in defense of our people."
Druse have helped Jews reestablish a national homeland - and Jews are
obligated to return the favor, to say nothing of the fact that Israel
would benefit from a friendly neighbor to its northeast.
Vocal support for independence and a promise of Druse state
recognition would be a good start. After consultation with whoever can
speak for the Syrian Druse, Israel might consider dispatching part of
the IDF - perhaps with a Druse commander - to help secure Jabal
Druse's borders. (While they're there, they might consider a trip
northeast through Syria's empty eastern desert to secure Dura-Europos,
presently being sacked by Islamic State. But play it by ear.) Perhaps
the Jabal Druse would be interested in annexation to Israel, in which
case the IDF could go ahead and annex the desert up to Dura-Europos,
and a nearby community of Islamic State-endangered Armenians. The
Jewish state shouldn't stand for the slaughter of Armenians either, if
it comes to that; but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Irrespective of the Druse situation, the Syrian civil war, combined
with Islamic State running amok, will almost certainly mean the
creation of an independent Kurdish state - something else Israel
should be (and evidently is) aggressively supporting.
Consider a Middle East under these circumstances: Northeast of Israel
is a Druse state; northeast of the Druse is Kurdistan; northeast of
Kurdistan is Azerbaijan. Three Muslim countries, all of them open to
warm and friendly relations with Israel.
In the general scheme of things, Arab- Muslim hegemony north of the
Arabian peninsula is new - surely when compared to, say, Kurdish or
Jewish claims. It needn't be the status quo forever.
Certain important Middle Eastern borders are melting. Israel should be
involved in reshaping them; it has a stake in the outcome, and it has
a responsibility to help its friends secure the independence that Zion
has enjoyed for the past 66 years.
A Middle East that's Islamic, or Islam- ish, without being Islamist
could mean a very bright future for everyone.
The writer is a columnist for National Review Online; he has written
about international relations and military policy for publications
such as The Wall Street Journal and The Weekly Standard.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/A-Druse-state-387136
From: A. Papazian