Hazem Algebra and the Fate of Religious and Ethnic Minorities in Syria
Date: Wednesday, July 30th
Time: 12 o’clock noon
In December of 2023, many people were somewhat relieved that after the 50 year reign of the Alawite family of Hafez and Bashir-al-Assad, their time at the helm in Syria was coming to a close. The benefit was that manpower and weapons would no longer be smuggled from Tehran, through Baghdad, Damascus and ultimately to Hezbollah forces in Beirut, and throughout Lebanon.
A new man has emerged, Ahmed al-Sharaa, (a.k.a. Abu-Mohammad al-Julani), who took control of Syria. Many had erroneously assumed he would be a more moderate force for Syria. However, last week, we saw the horrific images from the Druze city of Sweida of women being captured as sex-slaves and raped, children being kidnapped and murdered, as well as the wholesale humiliation and slaughter of many men, women and children. For days, clashes raged between Druze and local Bedouin forces, immediately joined by Syrian government forces. More than 1100 people have been killed.
Throughout this, we saw over 1,000 Israeli Druze cross the border fence to enter their Druze brethren in Syria.
Only one nation in the world came to their aid, the state of Israel.
As I write this, Israel is now in talks with Syria. First, however, there should be certain benchmarks ascertained: What sort of protections will there be for the Druze community, the Kurds, the Christians and the Alawites? How secure will the border be for Israel? Will Israel be able to keep control of its buffer zone to prevent hostile forces from encroaching upon Israel? Will Israel be able to maintain its control of the 10 military bases in southern Syria since the Assad regime fell?
About Our Speaker: Hazem Alghabra, born in Damascus Syria, is the founder and president of Frontiers Consultants, a Washington DC-based consultancy firm that provides public relations and crisis management solutions with a focus on the Middle East.
