MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights (AP) — High in the mountains of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, the town of Majdal Shams is home to members of one of the Middle East’s most insular religious minorities: the Druze.
With its roots in 10th century Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam, the roughly 1 million-strong minority is spread across Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Golan Heights.
Around 25,000 live in 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.
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Most Druze religious practices are shrouded in secrecy, with outsiders not allowed to convert. Only glimpses are visible: women wearing traditional flowing white headscarves; men with round white hats and flowing beards.
Although Israeli citizenship is open for the Druze of the Golan Heights, most have opted not to take it, though they have residency rights.
They closely maintain their Druze identity and traditions. The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad a week ago saw people take to the streets in Majdal Shams to celebrate Assad’s ouster, with the red, yellow, blue, white and green Druze flag featuring as prominently as the rebel Syrian green, white and black flag with three red stars.
As the region is riven once more by upheaval and fighting, evidence of the 1967 war is still clear to see, with old trenches and abandoned tanks. A security fence, topped by coils of barbed wire, now runs along the outskirts of the town, across a field from the nearby Alpha Line.
The current wars have not left Majdal Shams unscathed either. On Oct. 8, 2023, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began attacking Israel in solidarity with Hamas’ cross-border attack the previous day, sparking nearly 14 months of fighting along Israel’s northern front. On an evening in late July, a rocket struck a soccer field in Madjal Shams while children played. Twelve children, ages 10 to 16, were killed, and about 20 other people were wounded.
The strike plunged the town into mourning. Five months later, soccer games have resumed in the playing field, where a small make-shift memorial with toys and teddy bears marks the spot where the rocket hit.
Israel’s cease-fire with Hezbollah last month brought the town a brief respite. But with Syria’s Assad toppled and Syrian militant groups and Israeli troops active across the border, the residents of Majdal Shams, many of whom have relatives in Syria, now face more uncertainty and insecurity.
Some families are split apart by what is known as the Alpha Line, the start of a buffer zone that separates the Israeli-controlled area of the Golan Heights from Syria. They navigate their historically Syrian identity while living under Israeli rule. Across the border in Lebanon and Syria, the Druze generally adopted Arab nationalism, including support for the Palestinian cause.
Israel has also built settlements in the Golan Heights that are now home to some 25,000 Israeli Jews, and the area is a popular tourist spot for Israelis. Many flock to the mountainous region for the scenery and the local hot springs.
