IDF Witnesses Sharp Rise in Enlistment from Druze, Bedouins, and Arab Christians
For him and other members of Israel’s Druze community, the turmoil across the border has become a catalyst for a broader shift within their community – which includes a dramatic rise in IDF enlistment among Druze who live on the Golan Heights, who are long known for their opposition to Israel. The events in Syria, coupled with the shock of the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, are reshaping attitudes toward the Israeli state, the army, and the Druze community’s place within both.
“Protecting lives and defending your people makes you feel you did something really important and valuable. It’s a great pride,” Ibrahim told The Jerusalem Report in a recent interview.
“The Druze residing in Syria believe there is no one who can help them more than the State of Israel,” he said, adding that “there is a very strong awareness among the Druze here and the general leadership [in Israel] about the necessity to support the Syrian Druze. That is meaningful to me as a Druze serving in the IDF.
“In the end, they are our brothers,” said Ibrahim, 45, who hails from the Druze-majority town of Maghar in northern Israel. “It’s true they belong to another country, but they are still our own flesh and blood.”
The most surprising change has emerged in the Golan Heights, home to more than 20,000 Druze living in four towns: Majdal Shams, Mas’ade, Buq’ata, and Ein Qiniyye.
For decades, since Israel captured the area in 1967 and annexed two-thirds of the territory in 1981, Golan Druze have largely opposed Israeli sovereignty, identifying with the regime in Syria and keeping their distance from Israeli society.
Unlike the Druze of the Galilee and Carmel – who serve proudly and prominently in the IDF – the Golan’s Druze historically held residency without Israeli citizenship and avoided military service.
That is now shifting, Ibrahim said. IDF enlistment among Golan Druze has surged, with motivation reportedly six times higher than before. He was the first to identify and cultivate the change.
“Shortly after the war began, we saw a willingness among the local population to defend themselves and join the reserves,” the colonel said. “We facilitated training for 150 people, and they continue to serve to this day. Now you see them in IDF uniforms in their villages – something they were reluctant to do previously because they were either shy or afraid.”
A second group of 150 Golan Druze soldiers began basic training this month, and demand continues to climb. Requests for Israeli citizenship are rising as well.
This shift is driven partly by fear following the collapse of the Syrian regime a year ago, and after a missile strike on a Majdal Shams soccer field in August 2024 that killed 12 children
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