Freed hostage Emily Damari meets Druze leader, stresses shared struggles in Israel and Syria

The meeting focused on the worsening plight of Druze communities in Syria.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Emily Damari, the British-Israeli teenager freed earlier this year after more than 15 months in Hamas captivity, met Wednesday with Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, at Sheba Medical Center.

The meeting focused on the worsening plight of Druze communities in Syria.

Damari, who was released on January 9, 2025, after 470 days as a hostage, has become a prominent symbol of Israeli resilience.

In a message shared on Instagram, she reflected on her discussion with Tarif, drawing parallels between the experiences of Israelis during the war in Gaza and the suffering of Druze in Syria’s Sweida province.

“[Tarif] told me that currently in Syria, there are hundreds of hostages, and their situation is terrible,” she wrote, highlighting the danger faced by women and young girls.

She extended words of solidarity to the Druze, adding, “My heart goes out to all of you,” while thanking the community for its support of Israel. “It’s empowering to know that we’re not alone in this journey,” she said.

Her remarks came against the backdrop of rising violence in Sweida. The southern city, home to Syria’s Druze majority, has witnessed repeated clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin groups.

The turmoil follows the collapse of the Assad regime and the rise of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which has consolidated control in much of the country.

Syrian forces have been deployed to reassert authority, while the Israel Defense Forces have struck Syrian positions to prevent them from nearing the border.

The conflict has reverberated deeply among Israel’s Druze, some of whom have sought to cross into Syria to join the fighting. Others in Sweida have even called for annexation to Israel.