Israel prepares for an upcoming Alawi meeting to discuss the "future of minorities."

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

**Arab Gulf - Follow-ups:** **Political sources described as "Alawite" abroad revealed that the "Minorities Conference" hosted by Israel on October 27 will witness the first direct contact between Syrian Alawites and Israeli officials.** **The sources indicated that the expected meeting is a radical shift in the relationship between the members of the sect, in whose name the two Assads ruled Syria for more than 54 years, and Israel, with whom they declared hostility since the father Assad took power in 1970 until the fall of the son Assad on December 8, 2024.** **"The Future of Minorities"** **The conference will be held under the title "The Future of Minorities in Syria and Iraq," and will focus on the future of Christians, Druze, Alawites, and Assyrians in Syria and Iraq, according to the announcement published by Israeli journalist Eddy Cohen on his social media accounts.** **The sources explained that some members of the "Political Council for Western and Central Syria," which was recently formed as a representative of Alawites and other minorities in the Syrian coast, Homs, and western Hama, will be among the participants in the Minorities Conference, along with hundreds of invitees, in addition to other independent Alawite figures living abroad.** **It is expected that Rami Makhlouf, the maternal cousin of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will participate in the conference, noting that Makhlouf had previously met with Israeli officials in an attempt to gain support for his efforts to return to the Syrian coast, amid the pursuit of a federation or self-rule for the Alawite-majority region.** **Direct Attendance** **Israeli journalist Eddy Cohen, a researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, who is leading "coordinated" efforts to attract and support minorities in Syria, announced the conference days ago and asked those wishing to participate in the conference "by traveling to Israel, not via Zoom" to contact him for coordination.** **He said that the conference will discuss "the future of minorities in Syria and Iraq and how to hold war criminals in the Syrian regime accountable, and submit complaints about violations against minorities to the International Criminal Court and the United Nations."** **Cohen explained that the conference, which he is preparing with the former advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, the Druze Mendi Safadi, will witness the participation of politicians, deputies, and officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry.** **Invitation to Alawites of the Iskenderun Brigade** **The Israeli journalist of Lebanese origin sent a message to those he called "our Alawite people in the Iskenderun Brigade and Turkey," wishing for strong and effective participation, especially from representatives of the Alawites in the Iskenderun Brigade and Turkey, as well as the Alawites in the village of Ghajar (occupied by Israel) to present the demand for the establishment of a region for the Alawites on the Syrian coast and to gain Israeli support.** **Cohen said, addressing the Alawites of Turkey: "If there is difficulty, embarrassment, and accusations of normalization and betrayal for the Syrian Alawites because of visiting Israel publicly and participating in the Tel Aviv conference, then Turkey has relations and exchange of embassies with Israel, and public visits from Erdogan, the first Muslim president to visit the grave of Herzl, the founder of Zionism, as well as ministers and the Justice and Development government who visit Israel and meet with Israeli officials publicly," as he said.** **Therefore, Cohen continues: "Our Alawite people in the Iskenderun Brigade, who hold Turkish citizenship, there is no obstacle or legal or moral impediment in Turkey that prevents participation in the conference and visiting Israel, as long as the Sunni Muslim majority in Turkey has public relations and an embassy in Israel," calling on them to participate in the conference and "open relations with Jewish Israel, and strengthen relations with it to support the establishment of the Syrian coast region for the Alawites," as he put it.** **Cohen especially wished that "Sheikh Salim Narli," one of the senior Alawite sheikhs in Turkey, would be the representative of the Alawites at the conference "because he is trustworthy," as he described him.** **Israel "The Protector"** **Media reports indicate that Israel seeks to exploit the issue of minorities in Syria, including Alawites and Druze, as a political tool to undermine the Syrian state and establish itself as an active party in the regional conflict.** **While Israel's strategy generally aims to destabilize Damascus, attempts have been noted by Tel Aviv to open channels of support, whether politically, militarily, or through the media, for some Syrian components, such as its attempts to provide indirect or humanitarian support to the Alawites, but it developed into direct intervention in favor of the Druze during the attack launched by government forces and factions and tribes allied with them on Sweida, until Israel became a key player in the Sweida file and southern Syria in general.** **This position is repeated, albeit less clearly, in the Israeli media support for the Alawites' demands for federalism and self-rule, as reports indicate that there are appeals from some members of the Alawite sect to Israel to seek help and protection from persecution, and it responds to this through media reports and proposals to support them secretly.**