'#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/uncles-say-soldier-killed-in-rafah-blast-was-wounded-on-oct-7-but-insisted-on-returning-to-battle\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=erZ_4UgqIgXlo_h3ODAXi0.Miwka9EXnDzHVQD3H1E0-1746509577-1.0.1.1-2UMNFdD6OVLmcoEgucq_NGcFavHLF2SxSSQ.GSMbfRI" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); 2022Get email notification for articles from Bar Peleg FollowOct 30 2022While most party leaders were running between news studios Friday afternoon to record the traditional Shabbat pre-Election Day interviews was at a parlor meeting in the Druze village of Beit Jann You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed "\/liveblog_entry\/eight-soldiers-killed-in-rafah-explosion-idf-announces\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=3HzdLdn0s9G0_LC1Zz8vZTnOI9cI5.FP6WaMOTtV9io-1746509584-1.0.1.1-qYcgGojCEsDdpSMWG4ruYDEE16FlOX5WC3lSJOvpI.8" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null Now He Dreams to Change the Entire CountryAli Salalha led his high school in a Druze community in northern Israel to become a national success story From his new position as a recently elected Member of Knesset 2021Get email notification for articles from Judy Maltz FollowSep 14 2021After earning the highest levels of recognition in their field other school principals might have chosen to rest on their laurels and take it easy once they hit retirement age "\/liveblog_entry\/druze-town-again-leads-israel-in-matriculating-high-schoolers\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=KScS52CKZhXq0FBSBU4b3t..P2ngabsdnCdJBCcFhyk-1746509591-1.0.1.1-h6l4IXA96eebc2F_.PsMpc6VcoL.M80mu4xKQfLGLvE" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null The US-backed anti-regime groups stationed in southern Syria near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders began expanding both to the north and towards Damascus which operates in the Al-Tanf region at the crossroads of Syria has made gains in the Bashar al-Assad regime's stronghold 27 when Assad regime forces quickly lost ground against anti-regime forces in Aleppo handing over the areas they controlled in the country's east to the PKK/YPG terrorist group The US-backed anti-regime group advanced northward from its deployment point on the Iraq-Jordan border taking control of the Palmyra district before turning westward towards Damascus The Syrian Free Army took the Amour and Hamad Mountains and Qasr al-Hayr settlements from regime forces in the north and west anti-regime groups advanced in the Aleppo-Hama direction reaching the outskirts of the Homs provincial center and entering Al-Waer from the outskirts entering the industrial zone and Qosour neighborhood from the surrounding districts Fierce clashes are taking place between the two sides as per the latest reports Homs is strategically important as a gateway to Damascus Regime withdraws forces from some areas in the Damascus countryside The regime forces withdrew from many settlements in and around the Al-Qutayfah district about 25 kilometers (about 16 miles) north of Damascus and evacuated their positions in Khan Sheikh and Beit Jann settlements in the southwestern countryside of the capital Regime troops are retreating towards the capital the regime-held provinces of Daraa and Suwayda in the country's south fell to the opposition which retook the provincial center of Quneitra southwest of Damascus from the regime are attempting to advance in Damascus' southwestern countryside They have already taken control of Sasa Prison in Damascus' southwestern countryside and released many detainees Clashes between Syrian regime forces and anti-regime groups broke out on Nov the opposition forces had taken control of most of Aleppo’s city center and established dominance across Idlib province the Syrian National Army launched Operation Dawn of Freedom against the PKK/YPG terror group in the Tel Rifaat district of Aleppo's countryside liberating the area from terrorist elements Anti-regime forces captured Hama on Thursday and continued their advance on Friday seizing Rastan and Talbiseh districts in Homs province 21 from Beit El is the eighth IDF soldier that was killed in in Rafah from an explosion of an APC Menachem was a fighter in the 601st Battalion of the 401st Division and Menachem was promoted to the rank of Sergeant posthumously.  was killed in combat in the southern Gaza Strip Yakir Ya’akov Levi, 21, from Hafetz Haim, fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Sunday was promoted to the rank of sergeant posthumously He studied at the Sha’alvim hesder yeshiva along with fellow fallen soldier Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist in life nor death,” the yeshiva eulogized.  Sgt. Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, aged 21, from Beit Shemesh, fell in battle alongside seven soldiers in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Zimbalist was a woldier in the 601st Battalion in the Combat Engineering Corps, and was killed alongside seven other soldiers from this unit, the IDF announced on Saturday.  and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant-Major posthumously.  Sergeant Itay Amar, 19, from Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal, a soldier in Battalion 601, fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced Sunday.  and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant posthumously.  Amar fell alongside seven other soldiers in the Gaza Strip Staff Sgt. Orr Blumovitz, 20, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur, a soldier in Battalion 601, fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced Sunday.  Blumovitz was killed alongside seven other soldiers early on Saturday morning, following an explosion in an armoured vehicle in the Gaza Strip.  Staff Sergeant Oz Yeshaia Gruber, 20, from Tal Menashe, a soldier in Battalion 601, fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Saturday.  Gruber was killed alongside seven other soldiers early on Saturday morning, following an explosion in an armoured vehicle in the Gaza Strip.  Staff Sergeant Stanislav Kostarev, 21, from Ashdod, a soldier in Battalion 601, fell in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced Sunday.  Kostarev was killed alongside seven other soldiers early on Saturday morning, following an explosion in an armoured vehicle in the Gaza Strip.  Capt. Wassem Mahmoud, 23, from Beit Jann, and seven other IDF soldiers were killed in an explosion of an armored vehicle in Rafah Mahmoud was a deputy company commander in Battalion 601 of the Combat Engineers Brigade. Daniel Hagari on Saturday night said that the military is currently investigating the incident as well as the armored vehicle that the soldiers were in The IDF announced Saturday night Sergeant Yair Roitman succumbed to his injuries after being wounded in the explosion of a booby-trapped building on June 10 was initially injured along with a total of six other soldiers in the incident Maj. Tal Pshebilski Shaulov, 24, from Gedera, St.-Sgt. Eitan Karlsbrun, 20, from Modi'in, Sgt. Yair Levin, 20, from Givat Harel, and Sgt. Almog Shalom, 19, from Kibbutz Hamadia were also killed in the same incident.  a Druze Couple Builds a New HomeA family affair in Beit Jann is cause for celebration for the northern village 2014Get email notification for articles from Ron Ben-Tovim FollowSep 25 2014Location: All over the village of Beit Jann At a funeral procession for an Israeli Druze soldier killed in Gaza this week mourners wore T-shirts bearing his face next to an Israeli flag which was draped in the blue-and-white Star of David What was noticeable about the scene were the portraits of prominent Syrian and Lebanese Druze leaders seen adorning a wall as the procession passed through the Druze village of Beit Jann The paintings of historic Syrian Druze figures Sultan al-Atrash and Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) founder Kamal Jumblatt, an ardent advocate of Palestinians before his death in 1977 “I am so ashamed of this image that Druze from Palestine are raising the portraits of Sultan Attrache and Kamal Jumblatt behind an Israeli flag covering the coffin of an IDF (Israeli army) soldier,” Walid Jumblatt, son of Kamal and a de facto leader of Lebanon’s Druze community, wrote on X a day later.  “What an insult to the memory of these two great Arab heroes,” he added in the post.  Mahmoud was killed fighting in the southern city of Rafah in Gaza where the Israeli army has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians since October Jumblatt declined to provide further comment.  There are many Druze in [Israeli] combat units,” Tobias Lang a political scientist who has published research on the Druze of the Levant And though images of Sultan al-Atrash are common among Druze Israelis “I think what triggered Jumblatt was the usage of the pictures of his father Memory is always selective - Kamal Jumblatt can be seen as a symbol of the Lebanese and pro-Palestinian left Kamal Jumblatt’s image is “not widely used.”  “It’s unusual to see Kamal Jumblatt’s picture in the context of the IDF.”  The Druze - an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious group present across the Levant - adhere to an offshoot of Islam that emerged in medieval Egypt and are found primarily in Syria There are about 150,000 Druze citizens of Israel and another 24,000 in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights who have rejected Israeli citizenship and live in a state of legal limbo The latter “still regard the Syrian state as their home,” a Syrian journalist of Druze origin told Middle East Eye He requested anonymity to protect family members still living in Syria Unlike Muslim and Christian Palestinian citizens of Israel Druze male citizens have been drafted into the state’s mandatory military service since the 1950s when Tel Aviv made efforts to integrate the community It is not clear how many Israeli soldiers are Druze.  Druze are also listed as a separate nationality from Arabs under Israeli law as the state facilitates a sense of “distinct Israeli Druze identity,” Lang said and of course through [military] conscription.”  This dynamic “comes from far before the current fight in Gaza,” the Syrian journalist said that Druze people in Palestine are not a monolith,” said Lebanese international criminal lawyer Nadine Kheshen there’s this principle that you’re supposed to assimilate with the population around you.” That means that some community members “assimilated with the occupation while others have conscientiously objected to serving in the army and have gone to jail for it.”  Druze citizens of Israel have expressed some solidarity with their community in Lebanon and Syria the feeling doesn’t tend to go both ways.  In the majority-Druze town of Baysour in the mountains above Beirut about a dozen old semi-automatic rifles adorn the living room wall of Riyadh Malaeb in a neat row He said the guns are from his time as a PSP fighter during the Lebanese Civil War including in the “War of the Mountain” sub-conflict in the early 1980s.  'We are not with those [people] who hold up Kamal Joumblatt’s photo in Israel' This pitted the PSP and leftist groups against the Christian Lebanese Forces by crossing the nearby Dammour River to fight “those working with Israel” on the other side.  Malaeb said he’s proud of his actions during the war “We are not with those [people] who hold up Kamal Jumblatt’s photo in Israel,” Malaeb said of the unusual display this past Sunday at the Israeli soldier Mahmoud’s funeral “We are with the Palestinian people who are being massacred” Walid Jumblatt himself has also urged Druze south of the border not to take up arms against Palestinians in the wake of the 7 October Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities he called on “the forced conscripts of the Druze Arabs into the Israeli army in occupied Palestine” not to take part in the war The fighting has come to include attacks on civilians in war crimes being investigated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as potential genocide “It doesn’t matter if Druze fighters are technically indigenous because they are fighting with the occupying power,” Kheshen said they would be considered members of the occupation.”  the risk of yet another all-out war between Lebanon and Israel is growing Druze towns on both sides of the border have been hit At an Eid al-Adha gathering in Baysour earlier this week politician Ghazi Aridi, a Druze former government minister and close associate of Jumblatt suggested to local Druze sheikhs and notables that a fight in Lebanon - though already underway in the country’s south since October - could be devastating should it intensify.  “A war with Hezbollah is different from a war with Hamas,” he told locals over coffee at a private home after the town’s Eid religious ceremony whereas Hezbollah…” The discussion topic soon changed Aridi could not be reached for further comment.  The Israeli army announced on Tuesday that it had "approved and validated” plans for a potential offensive on Lebanon as cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces intensify Where do Jumblatt and the PSP stand in the midst of it all The former PSP leader is seen as implicitly supporting Hezbollah should the air war in southern Lebanon grow into an all-out conflict with Israel And it will probably be our turn soon,” Jumblatt told Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq in late May.  Copyright © 2014 - 2025. Middle East Eye Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters Middle East Eye          ISSN 2634-2456                      You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience a Druze (an Arab group but not Muslim) died while attempting to save the life of an Arab man and while serving in the emergency services of the Jewish State There is no word yet on the identity of the man who was rescued or of his religion Israeli Defence Forces strike across Lebanon Israeli cabinet rejects state inquiry into October 7; opposition warns of repeated failures Israel's Druze leader urges international protection for Syrian minorities Israeli PM Netanyahu discusses IMEC with Cyprus President; recalls conversation with PM Modi Israeli forces find Hamas weapons near former school copyrights © aninews.in | All rights Reserved Lion’s Trail sculpture in the Druze town of Beit Jann [Photo: Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation]By Jerry Klinger the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation has placed Lions of Judah across Israel these sculptures comprise the Lion’s Trail The purpose of the Trail is to create a cultural journey reflecting Jewish historical presence and legitimacy in the Land They are the sculptural creations of noted artist Sam Philipe Nothing like them existed before in Israel not infrequently with considerable courage Philipe has stayed the course to complete what others would have shied away from When the Hamas killers and their eager Gazan supporters attacked the virtually defenseless Gaza Kibbutzim on October 7 The terrible Hamas-incited war is not about Jews – it is about people everywhere who do not wish to live under the tyranny of an imposed theocratic-centered dictatorship The defenders in the South against Hamas and in the North against Hamas’ Iranian ally There are about 150,000 Druze living mostly in Northern Israel They are a very private community that speaks Arabic and has Arabic roots that are tangentially associated with Islam and its conquest of the Middle East It has caused them to be severely treated by mainstream Islam as heretics the Arab armies and Arab communities of Northern Israel rose to exterminate the Jews If they joined in the extermination of the Jews in their Holy War of Jihad More than 80% of Druze recruits choose to be in combat units Flame of Friendship in Daliyat al-Karmel [Photo: Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation]Two years ago JASHP gifted a tribute to the Druze community It was appreciatively and very prominently sited in the largest Druze city in Israel The dedication plate notes that it was given with honor wrote to JASHP: “I am really grateful for this opportunity to thank you for your dignity and giving my city this great gift of the Flame of Friendship The Druze community has a great partnership that is referred to as the ‘Covenant of Blood.’ We would like to see you here when you visit Israel to thank you in the city council… Please give my regards to all the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation’s members Looking forward to enlarge our partnership in another project in the coming future.” –Rafik Halabi – Mayor When the Druze IDF General asked JASHP for a Lion for Beit Jann approximately 45 miles northeast of Daliyat el Carmel I did not know of the additions until I saw the pictures Eight Druze soldiers have fallen in the terrible Hamas war so far The Beit Jann community chose to add photographic plates of their fallen to the base of their Lion They transformed the Lions Trail of Beit Jann into a war memorial for all the fallen Druze of the War The Lion’s Trail of Beit Jann took on an entirely new dimension—a painful one The dedication plate on the Beit Jann Lion reads The Lion’s Trail – The Lion of Brotherhood “How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Psalms 33:1 – King David The Jewish and Druze people have lived here for over Millennia Donated by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation In cooperation with Netivei Israel A ninth photograph will be added shortly to the Lion of Beit Jann please let there be no more pictures of fallen added to the Lion’s Trail – Beit Jann or any memorial Jerry Klinger is the President of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation PLEASE CLICK ON ANY AD BELOW TO VISIT THE ADVERTISER'S WEBSITE Get the latest stories from San Diego Jewish World delivered daily to your inbox for FREE Please help us continue publishing quality content with your non-tax-deductible donation