Druze Leader Praises Netanyahu, Then Clarifies No Political Endorsement

A week and a half before Israeli elections, Sheikh Wafiq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, released a video praising Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for his leadership and actions to save Druze people in Syria. The video, showing the two men together, gained significant attention, particularly from Likud activists, who promoted it as an endorsement ahead of the vote. In the video, Tarif recounted how he urgently appealed to Netanyahu to stop a massacre of Druze in Syria's Sweida province in July of the previous year. He stated that Netanyahu's decision to strike a defense ministry building in Damascus and target jihadists heading to Mount Druze halted the killings, calling it a "historic" and "existential turning point" for the Druze. Tarif also commended Israel's civilian and medical aid to Druze across the border and Netanyahu's actions following a disaster in Majdal Shams and regarding the protection of Druze in southern Lebanon.

However, the video sparked mixed reactions within the Druze community. While acknowledging Israel's actions in Syria, many expressed lingering anger over the Nation-State Law, the Kaminitz Law, and planning and construction issues in Druze towns. For many, the praise for military intervention did not negate their significant civil disputes with the government. Rafiq Halabi, head of the local council of Daliyat al-Karmel, urged Tarif to avoid endorsing any political party, emphasizing the need to maintain the non-partisan status of the spiritual leadership and the unity of the Druze community. He also criticized political activists for trying to exploit the video for electoral gain.

In response to the criticism and controversy, Tarif's office issued a clarification. The statement emphasized that his remarks were not new and that he had expressed similar sentiments previously, stating that "the only state and the only people who stood by the Druze were the State of Israel and the Jewish people." Crucially, the clarification stressed that this did not constitute support for any specific party, and that the community leader does not express political stances or endorse any party. Tarif's office also criticized media outlets for allegedly misrepresenting and manipulating the video, calling it a "humanitarian act" that should not be politicized. The statement concluded by highlighting the unresolved civil issues facing the Druze community in Israel, such as planning and construction, and affirmed that each Druze citizen has the right to vote according to their own conscience.