In a scene that stirred much controversy, the Israeli flag was raised in a demonstration in the Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida. Yet the uproar that followed reveals the fragility of Arab and Muslim conscience and exposes the double standards at play.
How can outrage over a piece of cloth outweigh the anger over the innocent blood spilled under the knives of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's ISIS militias and his security apparatus?
Druze demonstrators in Syria's Sweida fly an Israeli flag
While many were provoked by the sight of a flag, their voices remained silent in the face of real massacres: villages stormed, homes burned, young men killed and children left to hunger and thirst. Hospitals turned into slaughterhouses, and the Druze identity in Sweida was placed on the altar of ethnic cleansing. Where were the voices that claim Arab and Muslim honor?
The bitter irony is that the only state that extended a humanitarian hand to the Druze was Israel, which delivered humanitarian aid and treated the wounded. Meanwhile, the so-called “state” led by al-Sharaa sought to uproot the Druze entirely. Yet no outcry was heard in Arab and Muslim capitals against this bloody project. On the contrary, many of these states now normalize relations with Israel openly, among them al-Sharaa and his ministers, who preach slogans by day and strike deals by night.
As for the Arabs of Israel, who live daily under this flag and enjoy its rights, one would expect them to be the most understanding of the Druze suffering in Sweida. Yet many chose to raise their voices against the flag, ignoring the fact that the blood spilled in Sweida is far more worthy of their outrage. They attack a symbolic gesture, but dare not utter a word of truth against al-Sharaa’s massacres, nor raise a voice demanding justice for the victims. It is a disgraceful hypocrisy, exposing how outrage has become a media show rather than genuine solidarity.
Munir DahirOutrage over a flag raised at a demonstration is nothing more than a distraction from the truth: the real shame lies in the silence over massacres, in the abandonment during times of crisis, and in the rush toward normalization. If the sight of a flag is what shocks some, then abandoning Sweida to its fate is the true scandal. The real disgrace lies not in the flags, but in those who traded in hollow slogans and left Jabal al-Druze to face death alone.
Israel stands for justice and stands with the oppressed. What unites Israel and the Druze is that neither aggresses against others, but when attacked, both rise with dignity and resolve. For that reason, the Israeli flag should fly across the entire Middle East, just as it now flies in the grand capitals of the Arab world.