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Dozens of Syrian Druze clerics crossed into Israel on Friday for their community's first pilgrimage to a revered shrine since Israel's creation in 1948, The Times of Israel reported.
On board three buses escorted by military vehicles, the clerics crossed the armistice line at Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, and headed to northern Israel, The Times of Israel reported. The delegation of around 60 clerics was due to meet the spiritual leader of Israel's Druze community, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, in northern Israel. They were then set to head to the tomb of Nabi Shuaib near Tiberius in the Galilee -- the most important religious site for the Druze. Followers of the monotheistic Druze faith are mainly divided between Syria, Lebanon and Israel, Times of Israel reported. A source close to the delegation said that the visit followed an invitation from the Druze community in Israel, but that it had been met with "strong opposition" from other Druze in Syria. The Druze account for about three percent of Syria's population and are heavily concentrated in the southern province of Sweida. In Israel, there are around 150,000 Druze, with most of those living in Israel holding Israeli citizenship and serving in the army. However, of some 23,000 living in the Golan Heights, most do not hold Israeli citizenship and still see themselves as Syrian nationals. Amir Khnifess, Chairperson of the Druze and Circassian Movement for Democracy and Equality, welcomed the visit as a "historic and meaningful moment" for the Druze, in a statement quoted by the Israel Hayom news site. The visit signified "the beginning of a new chapter in the country's history with its neighbour," he said. Israel seized much of the strategic Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967, later annexing the area in 1981 in a move recognized by the US but not by most of the international community. The pilgrimage comes as Israel has voiced support for Syria's Druze and mistrust of the country's new Islamist leaders. (ANI)
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