MAJDAL SHAMS, northern Israel – In southwest Syria, Christian and Druze communities face severe violence from Islamic terrorists. Now, across the border, the Israel Defense Forces are taking steps to ensure vulnerable communities can protect themselves.
Residents in the Golan Heights are taking an active role in defending their towns, thanks to help from the IDF.
We traveled to the Syrian border, where the Druze communities live in constant threat of violence and attacks. Yet, here in Israel, there is freedom and hope, not only because the IDF is protecting them, but because Israel is training the border communities and allowing them to join the Emergency Response Force.
While the IDF is responsible for defending the nation, terrorists struck on October 7th, 2023, before forces could fully mobilize, and those first moments proved to be deadly.
For border communities, the lesson is clear: response time matters.
Here in Majdal Shams, that lesson became painfully real when in July, 2024, a Hezbollah missile hit a soccer field, killing innocent children. For security reasons, we are not using the full names of the soldiers we interviewed.
For M., a father of four who grew up here, that night changed everything.
Now part of the Emergency Response Force, M. told CBN News, “We are standing here at the soccer field where the greatest disaster in our history occurred, in the history of Majdal Shams, when Hezbollah fired a missile toward this field. We lost 12 children, and many were injured. I felt what others feel when there are wars. I knew that we won’t let this happen again, and we will join hands together with the IDF, and together we will make sure that such things don’t happen to us again.”
We asked, “Do they feel safer now that you have gone through this process?”
M. answered, “Absolutely. I feel much safer. It’s a very, very important thing to learn how to defend, because after all, we are in the Middle East.”
R., a businessman, says that for many Druze men here, stepping forward meant more than security. It was about identity.
“I joined the Halacha L’Maaseh (Emergency Response Unit) training out of motivation to protect the home, the community, and my country, because I have no other land. I live here, I was born here. My children were born here. So we continue living here. We hope the country remains forever.”
Motivation, however, is not enough. These units are designed to act in the critical minutes before regular forces arrive.
When we asked why it was important that the response teams are local, rather than relying only on the IDF, S., a leader of the Druze Emergency Response Unit, replied, “We belong to the IDF, and at the end of the day, the one who protects us in the bottom line is the IDF. But we are in defense until the IDF forces arrive (for) us. And there is no one better than us to protect the home because it’s our home, it’s our families, and it’s our land.”
R. explained, “We contributed by being the first line. The army is also here, protecting us. While we guard here, the army also guards, so we are calm. If I am not for myself, who will be? I must guard the home and my community here.”
The training itself is both tactical and transformational.
We asked S., “What, exactly, did you learn in the training process?”
He answered, “In this course, we really had a change of perception.” We…entered into the values of the IDF, feeling up close how much the IDF is a people’s army. They taught us how to fight in open terrain and how to deal with dangerous situations.”
More than 700 service members have joined rapid response units nationwide. IDF Brigadier General Pini Levy leads the effort, strengthening trust between the IDF and the Druze community.
“First of all, the Druze population is an amazing population,” he stated. “It is a population that is fun to sit and talk with, and fun to sit and get to know. These are high-quality people, … who really care about doing good within the State of Israel.”
General Levy believes that volunteering for the unit requires real sacrifice.
“People leave home, leave family, leave the workplace, and come for three difficult weeks of training. And when you talk to the guys here, you will see that today they are much better soldiers, they are trained in a much better way,” Levy noted.
Even its name reflects the purpose.
“Halacha L’Maaseh” is a name I gave at the beginning of the trainings, the meaning of which is “Tachles” or the bottom line, ‘Getting it Done.’ We perform work. We talk less, and we do,” the general said.
For these men, the bottom line is simple: never again, here. The field where the children once played still stands. The grass has grown back, although this town will not forget what happened.
We stood at the spot in the field where the missile struck, killing 12 children. You can still find some shoes of the victims, soccer balls. And there is also the spot where a young man was murdered, Guevara Ibrahim.
Out of that loss came a decision that the next attack would not find the community unprepared. Israel continues to choose preparedness, resilience, and hope. Instead of retreating in fear, they train their communities to defend themselves.
