Druze in Israel

Israeli Druze
דְּרוּזִים יִשְׂרְאֵלִים
الدروز الإسرائيليون

Total population
130,600 (2012)
Regions with significant populations
Israel
Languages
Arabic (native) Hebrew (in Israel)
Religion
Druze

The Israeli Druze (Arabic: الدروز الإسرائيليون‎‎, Hebrew: דְּרוּזִים יִשְׂרְאֵלִים‎) are a unique religious minority of Arab descent located in Israel. In 2012, there were 130,600 Druze living in the country. In 1957, the Israeli government designated the Druze a distinct ethnic community at the request of its communal leaders. The Druze are Arabic-speaking citizens of Israel who serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Members of the community have attained top positions in Israeli politics and public service. Before the establishment of the State of Israel, the Druze were not recognized as a religious community and were discriminated against by the judicial system. They live mainly in the north of the country.

History

The Druze (Arabic: درزي‎‎, derzī or durzī, plural دروز, durūz; Hebrew: דְּרוּזִים‎, druzim; they call themselves Al-Muwaḥḥidīn, lit. "the monotheists") are an esoteric monotheistic religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. The religion incorporates elements of Ismailism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism and other philosophies. The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid "People of Unitarianism or Monotheism" or al-Muwaḥḥidūn "Unitarians, Monotheists." Sheikh Amin Tarif was the preeminent religious leader of the community until his death in 1993.

Self Identification of young Druze, 2008
Druze Israelis			94%
Other			6%

Military service and public office

Druze citizens are prominent in the Israel Defense Forces and in politics. The bond between Jewish and Druze soldiers is commonly known by the term "a covenant of blood" (Hebrew: ברית דמים, brit damim).

Five Druze lawmakers were elected to serve in the 18th Knesset, a disproportionately large number considering their population. Reda Mansour a Druze poet, historian and diplomat, explained: "We are the only non-Jewish minority that is drafted into the military, and we have an even higher percentage in the combat units and as officers than the Jewish members themselves. So we are considered a very nationalistic, patriotic community."

In 1973, Amel Nasser A-Din founded the Zionist Druze Circle, a group whose aim was to encourage the Druze to support the state of Israel fully and unreservedly.

Druze commander of the IDF Herev battalion

In 2007, Nabiah A-Din, mayor of Kasra Adia, rejected the "multi-cultural" Israeli constitution proposed by the Israeli Arab organization Adalah: "The state of Israel is Jewish state as well as a democratic state that espouses equality and elections. We invalidate and reject everything that the Adalah organization is requesting," he said. According to A-din, the fate of Druze and Circassians in Israel is intertwined with that of the state. "This is a blood pact, and a pact of the living. We are unwilling to support a substantial alteration to the nature of this state, to which we tied our destinies prior to its establishment," he said. As of 2005 there were 7,000 registered members in the Druze Zionist movement. In 2009, the movement held a Druze Zionist youth conference with 1,700 participants.

In a survey conducted in 2008, Ephraim Yaar of Tel Aviv University found that more than 94% of Druze youth classified themselves as "Druze-Israelis" in the religious and national context.

On 30 June 2011, Haaretz reported that a growing number of Israeli Druze were joining elite units of the military, leaving the official Druze battalion, Herev, understaffed. This trend has led to calls for its disbandment.

On May 15, 2015, it was announced that the Druze battalion Herev would be shut down thereby allowing Druze soldiers to integrate into the rest of the IDF, a wish that was relayed to IDF senior staff by leaders in the Druze community as well as former Herev battalion commanders. After the July 2015 Draft, the IDF no longer listed the Druze unit as an option. By September 2015, the battalion had been disbanded and its soldiers joined to other units.

Druze also serve in elite units of the IDF such as the Sayeret Matkal and there are three Druze combat pilots serving in the Israeli Air Force. Today, thousands of Israeli Druze belong to 'Druze Zionist' movements.

Religion

Druze Scouts march to Jethro's tomb.

The Druze revere the father-in-law of Moses, Jethro, whom some Muslims identify with Shuʻayb. According to the biblical narrative, Jethro joined and assisted the Israelites in the desert during the Exodus, accepted monotheism, but ultimately rejoined his own people. The tomb of Jethro near Tiberias is the most important religious site for the Druze community.

Amin Tarif was the qadi, or spiritual leader, of the Druze in Palestine and Israel from 1928 until his death in 1993. He was highly esteemed and regarded by many within the community as the preeminent spiritual authority in the Druze world.

In January 2004, the current spiritual leader, Sheikh Muwaffak Tarīf, called on all non-Jews in Israel to observe the Seven Noahide Laws as laid down in the Bible and expounded upon in Jewish tradition. The mayor of the Galilean city of Shefa-'Amr also signed the document. The declaration includes the commitment to make a "...better humane world based on the Seven Noahide Commandments and the values they represent commanded by the Creator to all mankind through Moses on Mount Sinai."

Settlement

IDF soldiers memorial, Daliyat Al-Karmel

The Druze in Israel live in a handful of sectarian villages and several mixed-religion Arab localities, in the Golan Heights, Upper and Lower Galilee, and Mount Carmel, as follows (population figures and percentage of overall population):

In Israel:

• Daliyat al-Karmel (15,000 – 96.9%)
• Yirka (14,750 – 98.9%)
• Maghar (11,600 – 57.8%)
• Beit Jann (10,600 – 99.8%)
• Isfiya (8,500 – 80%)
• Kisra-Sumei (7,000 – 94.5%)
• Julis (5,700 – 100%)
• Yanuh-Jat (5,300 – 100%)
• Hurfeish (5,250 – 95.8%)
• Shefa-'Amr (5,150 – 14.1%)
• Peki'in (4,150 – 76.5%)
• Sajur (3,700 – 100%)
• Abu Sinan (3,450 – 27.6%)
• Rameh (2,200 – 30.4%)

In the Golan Heights:

• Majdal Shams (9,700 – 99.9%)
• Buq'ata (5,900 – 99.8%)
• Mas'ade (3,100 – 99.9%)
• Ein Qiniyye (1,735 – 98.9%)

In the Golan Heights

See also: Druze in Syria

There are four Druze villages on the Golan Heights which nowadays have about 20,000 residents. In the late 1970s, The Israeli government offered citizenship to all non-Israelis living in the Golan Heights, which would entitle them to an Israeli driver's license and enable them to travel freely in Israel. Most continue to regard themselves as Syrian citizens, with less than 10% having accepted Israeli citizenship. Those who apply for Israeli citizenship are entitled to vote, run for Knesset and receive an Israeli passport. For foreign travel, non-citizens are issued a laissez-passer-by the Israeli authorities.

As Israel does not recognize their Syrian citizenship, they are defined in Israeli records as "residents of the Golan Heights." In 2012, due to the Syrian Civil War, young Druze have applied for Israeli citizenship in much larger numbers than in previous years. Residents of Majdal Shams are not drafted by the Israel Defense Forces. Public support for the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad has historically been high among Golan Druze. Assad's government is seen as a vital ally in their resistance to Israeli occupation, and has secured agreements with the Israeli government to permit Golan Druze to conduct trade across the border with Syria. Some tensions have recently arisen in the community due to differing stances on the Syrian Civil War, though open public support for the Syrian opposition is relatively uncommon.

In the 2009 elections, 1,193 residents of Ghajar and 809 residents of the Druze villages were eligible voters, out of approximately 1,200 Ghajar residents and 12,600 Druze village residents who were of voting age. During the 2011 Syrian uprising, several rallies of Golan Heights Druzes were held in support of Syrian leader al-Assad.

See also

• List of Israeli Druze
• Religion in Israel