The first question we should ask is why should Israel expend political and military capital to protect a small group of Muslims living in Syria? We don’t want to annex the territory they inhabit in Southern Syria, so why the concern? There are three good reasons. The Druze who live in the Golan are loyal Israeli citizens, and are close to their co-religionists and relatives who live in Syria; they are very concerned about their safety in Syria, where many have been slaughtered. The Israeli Druze, although not obligated to serve in the IDF, volunteer in large numbers to do so; hence their concerns are our concerns too. Secondly Israel as a moral state cannot ignore persecution of anyone, particularly when the current government of Syria has done nothing to protect the Druze, and its forces have actually harmed more than helped. Thirdly the Syrian government, while claiming to protect all minorities in Syria is headed by someone who until recently was a member of a terrorist organization, Al Qaeda, and likely has not really changed his philosophy. At this time having a friendly group on the Syrian side of the Israeli-Syrian border is in our interest.
Assuming that we would like to protect the Druze in Syria, how can this be best accomplished? The best method is to help them help themselves. This requires some out of the box creative thinking. The world, particularly the Western World, has rigid definitions of countries and loyalty, and cannot deal with the idea of cross-border responsibility and cooperation. However Syria is not a real country, however much people pretend it is. It’s a collection of diverse people put together initially by two diplomats, Sykes and Picot, sitting in office in Paris, who drew straight lines on a map defining French and British spheres of interest. The Middle East suffered and is still suffering from the problems they created.
The solution is to create a new structure to deal with reality not the dreams of Sykes-Picot. We should offer the Druze a ‘Protectorate’. If they wish, they can move under Israeli protection without becoming Israeli citizens. As such they will still be living in Syria, but will be guaranteed protection by Israel. In return they will be allowed to volunteer to serve in the IDF, but after training they will return to their Syrian villages where their experience in the IDF will bolster their security and allow them to defend themselves. The IDF will supply additional help with air cover and weapons. Hopefully this will suffice to protect the Druze from marauding Bedouin, or others who might want to slaughter them.
It will be difficult to persuade the Western World and Syria to accept this arrangement but it would be good for Israel and good for the Druze; and ultimately good for Syria too.
stephenscohen.com 