Israel - Druze
The Druze, constitute a separate cultural, social, and religious community. There is a large Druze community in some of the occupied Palestinian territories, estimated at around 150,000 people, who are located entirely in the north. While the Druze religion is not accessible to outsiders, one known aspect of its philosophy is the concept of taqiyya, which calls for complete loyalty by its adherents to the government of the country in which they reside. The community, inclding some 120,000 Arabic-speakers living in 22 villages in northern Israel, is known for its loyalty to Israel, as in 1942, after the rulers of Jerusalem threatened to seize the Tomb of Jethro (which the Druze call Shu'ayb) in Tiberias, the Druze sided with the Jewish forces in the 1948 war. In addition, Druze soldiers have fought with Israel in every Arab-Israeli war. They are the only Arab group enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, and participate in Israel's border security and diplomatic corps.
In July 2018, when the Israeli Knesset passed a law with constitutional weight that enshrined Israel as a Jewish state, the Druze rose up against it, believing that the law made them second-class citizens and saw it as a betrayal of their dedication and service to Israel.
The cooperation in security matters between the Druze community and the Jewish community in Eretz Israel began during the British Mandate. In April 1948, a secret “blood pact” was forged between the Druze and the Jews of Israel when in effect, the Druze moved to fight alongside the Jewish defense forces. Through the mediation of Giora Zaid, the main contact of the Druze community, members of the Druze community were recruited to the IDF on the northern front and actively participated in the battles conducted on this front.
At the end of the summer of 1948, the General Staff decided to establish a regular minorities unit in the IDF, and its organization was based on an ethnic basis. In December 1948, a festive party was held in the village of Peki’in, in honor of the enlistment of a large group of members of the Druze community to the IDF. At the ceremony Yusuf Hosni Ali, one of the elders of the community spoke and congratulated them on their new path.
According to tradition, Druze have been living in the Land of Israel since the 11th century , however, the establishment of the Druze settlement took place during the rule of the Druze in Lebanon and the north of the Land of Israel, and especially during the time of Emir Fahr al-Din II of the Druze Beit Maan. At the end of the 16th century and in the first half of the 17th century , there were a number of Druze attacks on the Jews of the city of Safed . Another attack happened on July 4, 1838, when the Druze attacked the Jews and robbed them.
During the British Mandate, the Druze took a neutral position towards the conflict between the Jews and the Arabs and did not participate in the events of the 1920s and 1930s. The Druze's neutral position led the heads of the settlement to turn to the Druze with a proposal for good neighborliness and normal relations. During the events of 1936 - 1979, most of the Druze were far from the centers of the rebellion and were not affected by the extreme mindset of the leaders of the rebellion.
In 1957, the Druze in Israel were officially recognized as a religious community, something they were not granted in any other country, and from the same year they serve in the IDF for compulsory service. In 1961 a Druze religious council was established, as of 2015 it has sixty Druze clerics. In 1962, the Druze Courts Law was enacted, by virtue of which the Druze religious courts operate. The Druze enjoyed over-representation in the legislature. During the eighteenth term of the Knesset , their representation reached a peak of six Knesset members, two and a half times their rate in the population.
The Druze community in the Golan Heights, a region captured by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967, faces a unique situation regarding citizenship. In June 1967, Israel occupied a significant part of the Golan Heights, including the Druze villages in the north of the Heights, where today about 25,000 people live. The villages are: Majdal Shams , Restaurant , Buketa and Ein Kaniya.
Relations between the Israeli government and the Druze in the Golan Heights are generally favorable, thanks in part to the fact that in 1967 there was already a large Druze community in Israel that was integrated into the life of the state. In 1981 the Golan Law was passed which annexed the Golan to the State of Israel. The Druze in the Golan Heights accepted the law in sharp protest and announced a general strike , although 5 heads of Druze communities in the Golan already joined on January 11, 1978 the call of the heads of the Jewish communities in the Golan - to fully annex the Golan to Israel.
According to the status quo, most of the Druze in the Golan Heights are recognized as permanent residents of Israel, but not as citizens. The Druze in the Golan Heights have been offered Israeli citizenship since Israel annexed the territory in 1981. Many Druze residents have opted to retain their Syrian citizenship, primarily due to strong cultural and familial ties to Syria and a desire not to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the area.
Of the 25,000 Druze in the Golan Heights, 20,000 hold permanent residency status in Israel, which allows them to live and work in the country and grants them access to social services and benefits. Permanent residents can apply for Israeli citizenship at any time, although the process involves several steps, including demonstrating a basic knowledge of Hebrew and renouncing any other citizenship. The citizenship issue is deeply intertwined with the broader Israeli-Syrian conflict and the international community's stance on the status of the Golan Heights. The Druze community in the Golan Heights is often caught between their loyalty to Syria and the practical benefits of Israeli citizenship.
In May 2001 Druze MK Saleh Tarif ( Labor Party ) was appointed as Minister of Minority Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office and minister without portfolio in charge of the Arab sector. Tarif was the first Druze minister in Israel. In the 17th Knesset, the Druze-Israeli Knesset member Magali Wahaba served as acting deputy. The president of the country for three days, starting on July 8, 2007, this after on the occasion of her trip abroad, filled the place of Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik , who at the time filled the place of the fortified president Moshe Katsav . In doing so, Vahva was for a short time the first non-Jewish (Druzi) acting president of the State of Israel. During this period Vahve did not perform any action derived from his position as president.
Since the Druze do not accept intermarriage and marry within the community, most Druze do not leave the Druze villages and the few families that live in cities where the Druze population is small or does not exist at all, therefore it is difficult to point to actual Druze urban concentrations. The centers of the Druze settlements in Israel are in Carmel , the Galilee and the Golan Heights . At the end of 2011, the Druze numbered 129.8 thousand people, which make up about 1.65 percent of the country's population, and 8.3 percent of the Arabs in Israel, even though most of them do not consider themselves Arabs. The largest settlement was the " City of Carmel " ( Dalit al-Carmel and Asafia ), where 22 thousand people. In November 2008, the Knesset approved a law which cancels the union, and returns the situation to its original beginning on December 1, 2008. The unified municipality that was managed under a called committee headed by Gabi Ofir was disbanded. The fertility level in Ada continues to decrease, and in 2007 reached an average of 2.5 children per woman.
In Israel, the Druze are considered a religion in themselves, but in some Arab countries, including Lebanon , they are counted as part of the Muslim population. Most of the Druze living in Israel identify as Israelis and men have a high percentage of enlistment in the IDF , however, the Druze living in the Golan Heights do not enlist and prefer to identify with the Syrian Assad regime.
Due to the belief that this world is only a corridor to the next world, the Druze have no ambitions for independence and believe in loyalty to the country in which they live. Druze in Israel will enlist in the IDF, Druze in Syria will enlist in the Syrian army, etc. Therefore, it is possible to find situations in which Druze on both sides of the border fight each other.
Even before the application of the mandatory service law in the IDF to the Druze, Druze served in the IDF on a voluntary basis, as part of a regiment that included Druze, Bedouins and Circassians. The base of the battalion was formed by fighters from a Druze battalion recruited in Syria and Lebanon by the commander of the " Salvation Army " Kaukji in the War of Independence, as well as the Druze from Dalait al-Karmel, Usafia and the Galilee settlements. The battalion attacked Jewish settlements in the Battle of Ramat Yochanan between April 12 and 16, 1948, but afterwards, following talks between the battalion commander and Moshe Dayan , through the mediation of Druze dignitaries from the Galilee and the Carmel, the Druze accepted the offer to join the ranks of the IDF.
In 1979, the Druze force was established as a brigade, and the first Druze brigade was appointed in the IDF - Colonel Hail Salah . In 1982 , after an appeal by Druze officers, it was decided to open the possibility for the Druze to serve in other units in the IDF as well. Today, the Druze are in most of the IDF's troops, including the infantry , the armored corps , the combat engineering corps , the navy, and in elite patrols . Those interested in serving as professional officers can choose the academic reserve route. In 2015 the Harev Battalion was closed and its soldiers were dispersed in the various units and formations of the IDF.
The Druze girls as well as the religious Druze (those who came with the secret of the religion) are exempt from military service in Israel. The religious cannot pray in uniform, and the atmosphere in the army is not suitable for the laws of their religion, so the exemption was already given when the conscription law was enacted for the Druze. The rate of religious people of conscription age is very low, hence their high conscription percentage.
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