Druze Spiritual Leader Tarif Endorses Netanyahu, Cites Sweida
Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel's Druze community, has issued a statement supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, crediting him with helping halt the massacre of Druze in southern Syria in July 2025.
The endorsement comes a week and a half before the election. Tarif recorded it as a video message with English subtitles, which is embedded below.
What Sheikh Tarif says in the video
Speaking in front of the Israeli and Druze flags, Tarif says that in July 2025 the Druze community was targeted simply because they were Druze. He refers to Netanyahu as “my friend Benjamin Netanyahu” and describes a decision that, in his words, “will go down in the history of the Druze community.”
He also refers to the Swords of Iron war and the Druze community’s role during it.
What happened in Sweida in July 2025
Fighting erupted on July 13, 2025 in Sweida, the heartland of Syria’s Druze community near the Israeli border, between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes. Syrian government forces then entered the city, saying they were there to oversee a ceasefire. Druze armed groups, witnesses and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said those forces fought alongside the Bedouin against the Druze. Hundreds of people were killed.
Israel struck Syrian government forces and military targets in Damascus, including the Defense Ministry. Netanyahu said the intervention was intended to protect the Druze, whose communities in Israel and Syria share close family and religious ties. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would not abandon the Druze in Syria. Syrian forces withdrew from Sweida days later, and the US envoy Tom Barrack announced a ceasefire between Israel and Syria. Al Sharaa pledged in a televised address to hold accountable those who harmed the Druze.
The call with al Sharaa
On Thursday, Netanyahu disclosed that he spoke directly with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa during the crisis. He described the call as “very short and very sharp” and said the slaughter stopped afterward. Reports described it as the first public confirmation of direct contact between the two men over Sweida.
Netanyahu added that he will do whatever is needed to protect “our Druze brothers” and that there is more work to be done.
Why the timing matters
The Druze community’s top religious figure has put his name behind the prime minister in the closing stretch of the campaign. Tarif was among the Israeli Druze leaders who called for action during the July 2025 crisis, and he now ties his support to that specific episode rather than to a general political platform.
Druze in Israel have close family ties to Druze in Syria, which is why events in Sweida were followed so closely inside Israel. Tarif’s statement places that episode at the center of his message to the community ahead of the vote.
