ARTICLES

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Syria’s summer turned deadly for the Christian community in Damascus. On Sunday, June 22, a suicide bomber, driven by hatred and warped ideology, opened fire on the historic congregation of Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church. As the faithful gathered in prayer, the attacker unleashed his violence, and then triggered the explosives strapped to his chest. The brutal assault claimed the lives of 25 worshipers and left 63 others wounded, shattering a sanctuary that held 350 people in solemn worship.

Just weeks later, on July 16, a targeted act of brutality took the life of Pastor Khaled Mazher, a resident of Sweida in southern Syria. The violence did not end with him. Jihadist militants went on to slaughter his entire extended family—20 Druze followers of Jesus—including his siblings, children, and parents. An entire household of believers was erased in a single, merciless attack.

Devastated by the massacre, members of Pastor Khalid’s congregation at Good Shepherd Evangelical Church fled their homes in fear and anguish. Many have found temporary refuge with local Orthodox and Catholic Christians, who have opened their arms and doors despite already being stretched thin. These courageous friends are doing all they can—but they are overwhelmed and urgently need support.

But first, some context.

The latest wave of violence began when members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida set up an illegal checkpoint and assaulted a Druze man, robbing him and setting off a chain of retaliatory attacks and kidnappings. Tensions quickly escalated, unleashing a reign of terror against the Druze community. Within a single week, jihadist forces brutally murdered 1,265 Druze civilians.

The perpetrators include extremist Bedouin militias now aligned with Syria’s new president—formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Once a prominent figure within Al-Qaeda and ISIS, he now goes by Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, presenting himself in a Western suit and tie in a calculated charm offensive. Despite his violent past, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and France appear to show little skepticism or restraint in dealing with him.

In an interview with Jonathan Conricus, Israeli Druze attorney and advocate Anan Kheir described the assault in stark terms. He reported that “a thousand Jolani soldiers entered in and committed atrocities,” labeling the events as “ethnic cleansing.” He underscored that Jolani’s Islamist militia views the Druze as infidels—targets for elimination.

Here is a brief overview of the Druze community. This unique religious and ethnic group traces its origins back over a thousand years. Today, fewer than one million Druze live primarily in four Middle Eastern countries: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. While they speak Arabic, their dialect and cultural identity set them apart from other Arabic-speaking communities.

The Druze faith is highly secretive and deeply spiritual, blending elements from various religious traditions. Their beliefs honor Jesus and the Virgin Mary, while also venerating Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, as a central prophetic figure and spiritual patriarch.

When I began writing my column early this morning, I felt prompted and perhaps even divinely nudged to reach out to my friend Daryl Hedding, chief operating officer of the Shai Fund. This Christian non-profit organization—“shai” means “gift” in Hebrew—serves vulnerable populations in high-risk environments around the world. In Syria, the Shai Fund has earned a strong reputation for its compassionate and effective work among religious and ethnic minorities, including Christians, Druze, Kurds, and Yezidis.

I asked Daryl whether the Shai Fund was mobilizing to assist the besieged Christian community in Sweida. He replied, “In June, Shai aided the Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus just 36 hours after the Christian murders.” He added, “We coordinate with trusted local partners to distribute immediate aid. Then we follow up with support for expanded needs like medical care and funeral costs.”

I was overwhelmed with gratitude. What I believe was a Spirit-led prompting had opened a channel of response. Daryl immediately began contacting his network in Sweida. Moments later, a message arrived from one of those connections: a member of the late Pastor Khalid Mazher’s Good Shepherd Evangelical Church. The message carried an urgent headline:

“Christian Communities Call for International Protection.”

It continued: “Orthodox and Catholic Christians in Sweida have become a refuge for most of the displaced. The churches are overflowing, well beyond their capacity. The Catholic Church has issued a multilingual statement in English, German, French, and Arabic.” Their plea was clear and desperate: A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in our region. Open the humanitarian crossings. Help us end the siege. We remain on this mountain until the very end, asking the Lord for swift relief.

The Shai Fund’s immediate goal is to raise $5,000, an attainable sum that can bring tangible help and hope. By giving, we can become part of the answer to urgent prayers for “swift relief.” My own donation wasn’t large, but whether small or substantial, every gift sends a clear and compassionate message to Syria’s persecuted Christians: you are not forgotten in your suffering.

You can make a gift of any amount here: TheShaiFund.org.

Galatians 6:2 exhorts us to Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.

On Sunday, Israel quietly launched an overnight humanitarian mission to Sweida, delivering first aid kits, food, and medical supplies to support the embattled Syrian Druze community. Remarkably, Israel was the only nation to respond with tangible aid. The operation was carried out by Israeli Air Force helicopters, with additional support already en route.

Israel’s response reflects its deep and enduring commitment to its own Druze population—approximately 150,000 citizens—who share close familial and cultural ties with the Druze in Syria. Israeli Druze are known for their steadfast loyalty to the state. They serve with distinction in the Israel Defense Forces and national police, and many have made meaningful contributions in politics, business, and academia.

On my many trips to Israel, I’ve had the privilege of meeting members of the Druze community, sharing heartfelt conversations, unforgettable experiences, and generous meals offered with their signature warmth and hospitality. The Druze are a remarkable people, and I feel a deep personal bond with them.

This is a time not merely for reflection but for action. While images of the recent atrocities have not surfaced, the descriptions alone are harrowing. On Monday morning, Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), interviewed Israeli Druze attorney Anan Kheir outside Majdal Shams, often considered the informal Druze capital in Israel’s Golan Heights. With visible emotion, Kheir recounted: “We have seen three-month-old babies killed, women raped and then set on fire.” Choking up, he continued, saying he could hardly breathe after witnessing a video of “a man tied to a chair, burned alive in front of his family.”

Anan also shared a WhatsApp exchange with the general manager of Sweida Hospital, a chilling confirmation of the horror unfolding. When asked what was most urgently needed, the GM replied: “The terrorists murdered patients sleeping in their beds. They cut off body parts, tried to kill our staff, and vandalized our equipment. Our hospital can no longer take care of our patients.” Kheir, himself Druze, emphasized the importance of verified sources amid widespread misinformation on social media: “In this age of fake images and recycled footage, personal verification on the ground is critical. The hospital’s GM is a trusted source.”

It is worth remembering that Pastor Khalid Madher, whose murder was part of this wave of violence, was a Druze believer in Jesus. Years ago, he encountered Christ and embraced Him as Savior. Rather than leave his Druze community behind, he chose to remain in Syria, founding the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church under the Assemblies of God, where he faithfully ministered to his people until his death.

Charmaine Hedding, President of the Shai Fund, offers a sobering reflection: “This is a targeted campaign to erase one of Syria’s oldest religious minorities. What is happening in Sweida is a test of whether Syria can become a nation that protects the dignity and rights of all its people. If Syria loses its minorities, it loses its soul. We must act—not only with aid, but with courage, compassion, and resolve.”

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayer for Syrian Christians:

• Pray for massive aid to go quickly and successfully to Syrian Christians.
• Pray with thanks for the strong two-way loyalty between Israeli Jews and Israeli Druze.
• Pray for each Syrian minority: Alawites, Christians, Druze, and Yazidis
• Pray for Syria’s Christians who have lost family members to jihadist terrorists. 
• Pray for wisdom and caution for all leaders meeting with Syrian president Abu Mohammad al-Julani.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has faced accusations about conducting a genocide against Gaza’s Palestinian Arabs. This apartheid accusation, which has been around for decades, includes a favorite lie: that the Jewish population is all white and oppressive. Whether you’re traveling to Israel or viewing online photos, let your eyes tell you the truth about Israel’s diverse citizenry.

A case in point is that upwards of 170,000 Ethiopian-Israelis can be found among Israel’s current population. This inspiring Ethiopian statistic reflects a singular fact: Israel is the only nation in the world that has transported black Africans to freedom instead of to slavery. Allow that fact to sink in—and pass it on, if you will.

In 1973, Israel’s Chief Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ruled that Ethiopian Jews were, according to Jewish law, “Sons of Israel” (Bnei Israel). Facing religious persecution and oppression at home, these Africans began the perilous 2,000-mile trek to Israel in relatively small numbers—numbers that ballooned in the early 1980s with Israeli-initiated airlifts undertaken in response to the thousands of Jews dying along the way. What factors drove them to first undertake their dangerous walks through hostile territories?

Similar to all Jews, in the global diaspora Ethiopians held Judaism in their hearts. Their Judaism harkened back to their belief that the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon resulted in a son, their ancestor Menelek I. Their tradition says that King Solomon gave Menelek a Torah scroll instructing him to teach Ethiopians about biblical Judaism. You may be inclined to dismiss the story, but facts on the ground in Ethiopia prove the ancient Jewish practices in their culture called Beta (House of) Israel.

Encyclopedia Britannica affirms their Jewish Torah culture in Ethiopia. With a Bible and prayer book written in Geʿez—an ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia—they observed the Sabbath, circumcision, synagogues with priests (kohanim) of the villages, offered animal sacrifices, and kept some of the major Jewish festivals. They followed Jewish dietary laws as best they could despite generations of Ethiopian poverty and famine in that nation.

Danielle Mor, a vice president at the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), explains that Ethiopian Jews were among the most ancient Jews in exile. “They are actually believed to be from the tribe of Dan, exiled by the Babylonians.” She further observes that, living in Ethiopia’s northern rural, mountainous region, they were “cut off from the rest of the Jewish world [and] followed more ancient, biblical traditions, not the traditions of the last 2,500 years.”

Fighting famines and persecution in Ethiopia under dictator Mengistu Hail Mariam—and longing for their homeland, Israel—the Ethiopian Jews first headed north to neighboring Sudan. It was not an easy journey. Suffering from starvation, dehydration, and violence meant Ethiopians died by the thousands. Yet the group maintained its cultural determination to reach their ancestral homeland. Thousands of Ethiopians walked into Sudan. They were then housed in strained, sometimes violent conditions in refugee camps.

Israel, learning of the vast number of deaths, decided to get involved. In 1984-1985, the Ethiopian Jews’ dangerous foot journey was transformed into Israeli flights. Via Operation Moses—the first of three clandestine military undertakings—Israeli pilots airlifted an estimated 7,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudanese refugee camps to Israel. But leaks and political pressure forced Sudan to end the lifesaving airlift prematurely, leaving many people stranded.

In 1985, the U.S. launched Operation Joshua to evacuate the Ethiopian Jews remaining and bring them to safety in Israel. Three countries cooperated in the complex covert logistics: Israel’s Mossad, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and Sudanese State Security. However, this enterprise, too, came to a halt when leaks about Operation Moses became public knowledge and Sudan was pressured by Arab countries to stop.

Operation Solomon, the third masterful operation, was carried out on May 24-25, 1991. Launched to airlift Jews threatened by an escalating civil war in Ethiopia, this remarkable 36-hour enterprise is considered one of the most extraordinary rescue efforts in modern history.

Thirty aircraft were utilized for Operation Solomon, including the Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules. Seats were removed to maximize passenger capacity and plastic sheeting was laid down for improved hygiene and disease prevention. One El Al 747 airlift set a world record: 1,122 passengers—and the miracle of two babies born during the flight.

During Operation Solomon, doctors and paramedics were on hand for malnourished Ethiopians, providing water and food. A summation from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the operation’s execution was flawless: planes took 14,087 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Israel in one weekend. Once, 25 planes were in the air simultaneously, including planes chartered from Ethiopia’s state airline.

So, when you hear cries of “apartheid in Israel,” or “genocide,” or “lack of diversity”—that’s nothing but propaganda! Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics recorded that between 1980 and 1992, Israel repatriated upwards of 44,766 Jewish Ethiopians. History books, websites, social media, and videos are replete with diverse facts and stories of Israel’s decision to airlift black Ethiopian refugees to their homeland.

In fact, Israel is alone in its dedicated, complex efforts to rescue Africans instead of enslaving them. The United States and Great Britain, for example, cannot make such claims, since their horrific slave trade lasted for several hundred years. Mercifully, both countries long ago abandoned the deadly slave trade, yet true freedom remained ahead in slow legal and activist advocacy for equality.

The Ethiopian Jews’ transition into Israel was indeed complicated and challenging for both Israelis and Ethiopians. As an example, the first years of integrating Ethiopians—who had lived in huts with no electricity—into contemporary Israeli society meant teaching them how to turn on a stove and perform other tasks required for living in a modern culture. Israelis had to make their own adjustments regarding the culture of Ethiopians. Israel, though, has made frequent transitions—receiving people making Aliyah from nations such as India, China, Mexico, and South America—each bringing their own unique cultures.

In frequent trips to Israel, I have met and talked with many wonderful, exceptional Ethiopian citizens. Among them was Shlomo Molla, former deputy speaker of Israel’s Parliament Knesset, who in 1984 arrived in Israel barefooted. Today, Ethiopians serve in the Israel Defense Forces and attend Israel’s Ono College, which champions multiculturalism and where they earn degrees for prestigious positions as attorneys and in the tech sector.

Israel’s enemies have no regard for Psalm 34:13— Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. I encourage you to put these facts in your truth-telling toolbox and pass it on as one way to oppose lies by expressing your support for Israel.

Our CBN Israel team welcomes you to join us in prayer this week: 

• Pray for those blinded by hate to open their eyes to truths about Israel’s diversity.
• Pray for lingering challenges for Ethiopians to gain added influential roles in Israel.
• Pray for Ethiopian families grieving for deceased family members among the IDF.
• Pray for all Ethiopian family members still in Ethiopia who await their Aliyah.

Arlene Bridges Samuels is the weekly feature columnist for CBN Israel since 2020. Working on the staff of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as their SE Regional Outreach Director for nine years, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as the Leadership Outreach Director part-time for their project American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, is published at AllIsrael.com and The Jerusalem Connection, and has traveled to Israel since 1990. By invitation, she attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summits as part of Christian media worldwide. In 2024, Arlene and her husband Paul co-authored Mental Health Meltdown: Illuminating the Voices of Bipolar and Other Mental Illnesses. www.TheMentalHealthMeltdown.com.