Alawites in Syria are hoping for Israel’s protection: “Alawite Syrians to ‘Post’: We need Israel’s help from jihadist atrocities – exclusive,” by Ohad Merlin, Jerusalem Post, March 11, 2025:
B. is planning to meet with Israeli officials in an attempt to promote a protective Israeli umbrella to the Alawite community in Syria. “There are five million Alawites in Syria, and many of them are begging for Israel’s support and protection,” B. said….
B. believes there are “five million” Alawites in Syria. This a clear case of wish-fulfillment. Even if we were to accept, as some do, that the Alawites are 12-15% of the Syrian population, and to use that 15% figure, then — given that Syria has a current population of 25 million — that would come to 3.75 million Alawites. Most outside estimates give a figure of three million Alawites in Syria. With that number, even though they were the backbone of Assad’s army. many have had military training and have kept their weapons, those three million Alawites would still have trouble withstanding the jihadists now in power in Damascus should they decide to inflict still more atrocities on the Alawites. After two days of massacres of Alawites in Latakia and Tartous by Sunni Arabs, most of the latter belonging to the security services, though there were also others — freelance killers — who were seeking revenge against any Alawite they could get their hands on, for they blamed all the Alawites, no matter how innocent, for their assumed support for the murderous Bashar al-Assad.
The Alawites were well aware of the warning given to the Syrians by Defense Minister Israel Katz on March 1, that “We will not allow the extreme Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms them , it will be struck by us.” And once that warning was issued, the regime’s gunmen withdrew from Jaramana, the Druze town on the southern outskirts of Damascus.
What the call by some Alawites for similar protection to that now provided by Israel to the Druze demonstrates is that the Alawites know that Israelis are not a sinister enemy, as they were taught to believe. It is doubtful that the Israelis would be able to offer the help to the Alawites that it has done for the Druze. The Druze in Syria are right on the border with Israel. Tens of thousands of the Druze live on Israel’s part of the Golan Heights, that the Jewish state annexed in 1981. On the Syrian part of the Golan that the IDF has just taken over, intending to stay, are more tens of thousands. Israel’s Druze serve in the IDF, and thus have earned Israel’s assurance that the Druze in Syria — there are 600,000 of them — if threatened by the jihadist regime, will have the Jewish state’s protection.
The Alawites in Latakia are much farther away from Israel than the Druze — some 250 miles from the Israeli border. There would be no easy way for the IDF to provide them with arms by land; the Syrian security forces would try to block such deliveries, and though much weaker than the IDF, the Syrians would certainly inflict casualties. I don’t think that Jerusalem, despite the Jewish state’s sympathies for the Alawite civilians who are under such a threat, would want to intervene. The new head of the IDF General Staff, Major General Eyal Zamir, says that 2025 will “be a year of war,” and that Israel will focus “on Gaza and Iran.” Syria, for now, is in a state of disarray, and the IDF attacks on its airbases and weapons storehouses, that took place the day after Assad left for Moscow, have managed to remove most of the major weapons from Syria’s arsenal. Israel will protect the Druze, but that is the extent of the IDF’s protective umbrella. The Alawites in Latakia may still be able to be supplied by their fellow Shi’ites in Iran; the Iranian government has denounced the “genocide” of the Alawites. We’ll see if those words are matched by deeds — that is, by weapons being delivered to the Alawites from the mullahs in Tehran.
Billy says
Islam is a danger to everyone. Islam, a Terrorist-Criminal Enterprise, and its murderous Muslims continually fund, promote, and practice ideological subversion, propaganda, bigotry, discrimination, deceit, supremacy, segregation, hatred, violence, and terrorism as taught in Islamic Law and in Islam’s Quran, and Muslim actions should be legally challenged with a multi-faceted force of Western Laws like Muslims wield against Americans and Westerners(Quran 9:5,29; 49:15 and more).
Like a Foreign Terrorist Organization(FTO) designated by the USA Secretary of State, Islam is a MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATION(MTO) fighting against Non-Muslims and NOT A PEACEFUL religion under Western Law because Islam funds, teaches, and promotes a Terrorist Criminal Organization with Muslims as Terrorists for Allah(Quran 9:5,29; 49:15 and more). Under Islam and Islamic Law, Muslims have the legal right to terrorize Non-Muslims because neglecting this DIVINE DUTY is a Crime against Allah; Jihad means warfare against Non-Muslims to ESTABLISH ISLAM’S RELIGION(Quran 3:151; 9:29; Muslim Law Manual: “Reliance of the Traveller”, o9.0 and more).
More specifically, Islam, a terroristic-destructive way of life, is a Muslim Terrorist Ideology and Murderous, Criminal Enterprise of intolerance, continuous war, discrimination, segregation, supremacy, genocide, polygamy, propaganda, deceit, hatred, incitement, sedition, rape, terrorism, and violence against all Non-Muslims as taught in the Quran(Quran 2:216; 4:65,89,95; 5:14,64; 8:12,39,74; 9:5,21,29,36, 41,49,88,111,123; 21:92; 49:15 and more).
cornelius says
HUGH: What the call by some Alawites for similar protection to that now provided by Israel to the Druze demonstrates is that the Alawites know that Israelis are not a sinister enemy, as they were taught to believe.
Or….the desperation of their momentary plight has compelled the Alawites to reach out to their “sinister enemy”….and if they ever recaptured power (extremely unlikely given the religious demography of the country), they would resume the campaign of hatred against Israel that they pursued for the 55 years that they held the reigns of the country.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I think one major difference b/w the Alawites today, and the ones when Hafez al-Assad was in power, is that Hafez al-Assad was trying to position himself as an Arab leader, particularly after Anwar Sadat signed Camp David. In those days, given that most of the Arab countries that mattered – Iraq, Libya,… were run by secular strongmen, he had a good chance, since he was the only neighbor of Israel who swore never to sign a peace treaty w/ them (which is when Israel annexed the Golan Heights)
Today’s Alawites have no illusions that they won’t be accepted by the Arabs, except maybe as a foil against Turkey, but given the welcome the Arab League gave Ahmad al-Shara’a, even that looks unlikely. If they did hypothetically seize power in Damascus again, they would look at the fate of Iran and Hizbullah, and may choose to make peace w/ Israel. Ideally, they should copy Bahrein, where the different sects are forced to live together in peace, and give everyone in the country – Alawites, sunnis, Kurds and Druze – their individual sandboxes, and stop trying to conquer Lebanon. That would be the best path forward
That said, Syria is lost – right there w/ the likes of Afghanistan and Bangladesh
gravenimage says
Yes–Israel has to be careful that she does not put her own people at risk if they decide to help the Alawites.
ElderlyZionist says
If Israel was to try to support the Alawites on the Syrian coast by a sea lift, I wonder whether the Turkish Navy would interfere.
Rob Porter says
My hope is that Israel will help the horribly threatened Christians in Syria a s well as the Alawites. Please Israel, bomb the hell out of this al-Qaeda/ISIS Muslim filth.
gravenimage says
+1
࿗Infidel࿘ says
While I don’t believe that Alawites deserve to be exterminated, I don’t want Israel to be the one rescuing them. Let the Russians do it. They’ve so far been taking in Alawite and Christian refugees at their Hmeimim air base in Latakia, and their port in Tartus. They can evacuate them to some place in Russia, maybe work w/ Azerbaijan in relocating them there. They can also take in the Christians themselves, who are Eastern Orthodox themselves (not sure how much of a difference there is b/w Greek vs Russian Orthodox church, but it can’t be more than Greek Orthodox and sunni islam)
There is also another reason. So far, public opinion in the West, particularly on the Left, has been either neutral on this, or critical of the HTS regime. But if Israel were to confront the HTS, then suddenly they’d be the target of incoming barbs from the Left in the US. So from a PR standpoint, the Alawites would be better off getting their support from the Russians than the Israelis
The US should work together w/ the Russians to help them evacuate these Christians and Alawites to Russia, and gain more of their trust. That would contribute towards achieving a peace deal in Ukraine
gravenimage says
Good analysis, Infidel.
gravenimage says
The Alawites Know That Their Enemy is Not Israel
…………………………………..
This does not surprise.
Even Fatah members fled to Israel fron Gaza when they were being attacked and slaughtered by Hamas.
I hope that Israel can help the Alawites–at little risk to themselves.