Israel's decisive Syria strikes highlight need for intervention in preventing genocides

For many Jews, the images of Druze men having their mustaches forcibly shaved conjure up memories of the Holocaust.

Israel’s decision to take decisive action in Syria to try to deter attacks on the Druze has shown that it is possible for countries to work to pre-empt massacres or genocide.

In the wake of the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has been vocal about protecting the Druze in Syria. Israel has acted several times when clashes in Syria between armed groups and Druze fighters have descended into killings of Druze.

The recent strikes on Damascus on Wednesday included high-profile strikes near the presidential palace and targeting a military headquarters.

In addition, Israel carried out strikes near Sweida designed to target Syrian government forces and also others who were involved in killing Druze. It is not known yet how effective this campaign has been. However, it clearly did result in the Syrian government taking a step back, considering ceasefires, and also hinting it might withdraw from parts of Sweida.

There is a lesson here. Countries can do more than just make statements when it comes to genocide and ethnic cleansing.

This is a lesson that other genocides could have been prevented if countries were willing to take action. In 2014, the Yazidi minority in Iraq was subjected to a brutal genocide by ISIS. ISIS massacred Yazidis in the northern Iraqi area of Sinjar. After conquering many of their towns and villages in August 2014, the ISIS terrorists separated Yazidi men, women, and children. They massacred thousands of men and sold the women into slavery. This was done while the international community largely looked on and made statements, but didn’t do much to prevent the killings.

The US did intervene to fight ISIS and eventually built a large coalition against the group. However, this was too late to save many of the Yazidis. Instead, the Yazidis were saved by Kurdish forces linked to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who helped them flee.

The massacre of Yazidis didn’t take place suddenly. ISIS had invaded large parts of Iraq in June 2014. It had captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in June 2014. It had expelled Christians and minorities from Mosul. It also captured more than 1,000 Shi’ite Iraqi military cadets at Camp Speicher in June 2014 and then proceeded to massacre them.

It did this publicly, and many of the images made their way around the world. ISIS supporters celebrated on social media. ISIS planned the massacre of Yazidis between June and August. There was time to prevent the genocide. As it was ongoing, there was time to do more. However, many countries preferred to wait and watch.

Druze among small minority groups in the Middle East

The Druze are one of many small minority groups in the region. Like Yazidis, Kurds, Christians, and other groups, they have faced persecution and have also sought to protect themselves in their areas.

The attacks on the Druze in Syria are not new. During the Syrian Civil War, there were also attacks on Druze by some extremist factions of the Syrian rebellion.

The Druze were accused of being close to the Assad regime, and they were attacked for religious reasons. In Syria, this has become a pattern since the fall of the Assad regime.

While the new government of Ahmed al-Shara’a seeks to unify the country, there are many supporters of Shara’a who are willing to use violence to achieve this goal. Over the last six months, some of these supporters have persecuted minorities. They have massacred Alawites in Lattakia, for example.

Israel’s support of the Druze is important because it shows Israel is willing to act on behalf of a minority group. This doesn’t come in a vacuum. Druze in Israel serve in the army and are seen to be part of a “blood covenant” alongside Jewish Israelis. Joint service in the army creates close bonds. That is why Israeli political leaders across the spectrum support the Druze and support action to protect them in Syria.

Now is the real test to see whether this policy has been effective in protecting them.

The major lesson is that action is demanded more than words when people are being massacred. For many Jews, the images of Druze men having their mustaches forcibly shaved conjure up memories of the Holocaust and the abuse of Jews at the hands of Nazis.

It is natural, therefore, that Israel should feel a kinship for this minority group.