Israeli Druze official: in Aleppo, “the Druze community has no protection”

The top Druze official in the Israeli government said on Saturday that members of his religious sect remain vulnerable to attack in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Ayoob Kara, the deputy minister of regional cooperation, hosted a military briefing in his home in the Druze village of Daliat al-Carmel. Kara, the most senior Druze politician in the ruling Likud faction, invited a number of Druze IDF reservist officers to participate in the session.

“The situation in the village of Hader, not far from the border with Israel on the Golan Heights, is under control, contrary to press reports,” the deputy minister said. “As a Druze, my problem is what is taking place in Aleppo, which is the only place where the Druze community has no protection.”

“I am going through various channels to try and help them any way I can,” Kara said.

“The Jews fled Aleppo over the years due to persecution,” said the deputy minister, who traces his family origins to Aleppo. “I will do everything in my power so that the Druze do not disappear from there as well because of religious persecution.”

Kara said that he plans to fly to Ankara later this week for talks with Turkish officials, which will focus on the plight of Druze in the Syrian town of Idlib.