French
DeutschMuwaffaq Tarif
Muwaffaq Tarif | |
|---|---|
موفق طريف | |
.jpg) Tarif in 2023 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1963 (age 61–62) Julis, Israel |
| Known for | Spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Druze |
Muwaffaq Tarif[a] (Arabic: موفق طريف; born 1963) is a Druze religious leader, and the main sheikh of the Druze in Israel.[1][2]
Biography
[edit]Tarif was born in Julis, a Druze village in northern Israel. His family has been leading the Druze community in the southern Levant since Ottoman rule in 1753. He inherited the position of spiritual leader in 1993 upon the death of his grandfather, Amin Tarif.[3][4]
He is a graduate of the Higher School for Druze Religious Studies in Khalwat al-Bayada, Lebanon. He also graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Ono Academic College, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa in 2010.[5]
Tarif and the mayor of Shefa-'Amr signed a declaration in January 2004 calling on non-Jews living in Israel to observe the Noahide Laws.[6] He was selected by the Ministerial Committee for Symbols and Ceremonies to light a torch at the torch-lighting ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel in April 2018.[7]
He met with U.S. officials in January 2025, including Senator Ted Cruz, to secure U.S. protection for the Druze in Syria under the new Islamic rule after the fall of the Assad regime.[8] After the 2025 massacres of Syrian Druze, Tarif urged Israel and international community to intervene.[9]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (10 July 2009). "Druze Lead in IDF Enlistment". Arutz Sheva.
- ^ "Israel's Druze call for world to help their sect in Syria". Ynet News. 14 June 2015.
- ^ The Assimilator: Intermarrying high and low culture at the Wayback Machine (archived 2015-12-22) Forward Magazine
- ^ "Hundreds of Israeli Druze said anxious to join the fight against rebels in Syria". The Times of Israel. 31 March 2013.
- ^ Greer Fay Cashman (20 October 2013). "Druze community of Israel to President Peres: Help our brethren in Syria". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "Druze Religious Leader Commits to Noachide "Seven Laws"". Arutz Sheva. 2004-01-18. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
- ^ Moran Azoulay (8 April 2018). "אלה מדליקי המשואות ביום העצמאות ה-70" (in Hebrew). Ynet.
- ^ "Israeli Druze leader travels to US, urges protection for Syria's Druze minority under Islamic rule". All Israel News. 13 January 2025.
- ^ Etiel, Yoav (2025-05-01). "Israel must 'act immediately to prevent a massacre' of Syrian Druze, leader says during ceremony". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
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