Druze in Israel
Israeli Druze or Druze Israelis are an ethnoreligious minority among the Arab citizens of Israel. Arabic is their primary language and Arab culture is an integral part of their identity. In 2019, there were 143,000 Druze people living within Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; they comprise 1.6% of the total population of Israel. The majority of Israeli Druze are concentrated in northern Israel, especially in Galilee, Carmel and the Golan areas.
Before the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, Druze people were not recognized as a religious community, and were discriminated against by the local judicial system of the time. In 1957, the Israeli government designated Druze Israelis as a distinct religious community at the request of Druze leaders. Alongside the Jewish majority and the Circassian minority, the Druze minority is required by law to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Members of the community have also attained top positions in Israeli politics and public service. As is the case for the Circassian community, only men from the community are drafted, while women are exempted, in contrast with Jewish women, for whom military service is mandatory.
Druzism, the Druze ethnic religion, developed out of Isma'ilism, a branch of Shia Islam, but the Druze do not consider themselves Muslims. Druze Israelis are native Arabic-speakers; a 2017 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center reported that the majority of Israel's Druze also ethnically self-identify as Arabs. Israel has the world's third-largest Druze population, after Syria and Lebanon; survey data suggests that Israeli Druze prioritize their identity first as Druze, second as Arabs, and third as Israelis.
Religious development
The Druze religion branched off from the religion of Islam, and is now considered its own religion separate from Islam. The religion originated in the 10th and 11th centuries in Egypt, with aspects of Hindu and Greek philosophy incorporated into the tenets of Islam. Conversions are not permitted in the Druze religion, because they believe that the first generation after the establishment of the Druze religion had an opportunity then to join the religion, and everyone alive today is reincarnated from that generation. Much like the Abrahamic faiths, the Druze religion is monotheistic, and recognizes many prophets, including Jesus, John the Baptist, Mohammed, Khidr, and Moses. The most respected prophet in their religion is Jethro, Moses' father-in-law.The Epistles of Wisdom is the foundational text of the Druze faith. The Druze faith incorporates elements of Islam's Ismailism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism, Christianity, Hinduism and other philosophies and beliefs, creating a distinct and secretive theology known to interpret esoterically religious scriptures, and to highlight the role of the mind and truthfulness.
Within the Druze community, there are two different sub-groups. There is the al-Juhhal, or the Ignorant, and al-Uqqal, the Knowledgeable. The al-Juhhal group does not have permission to view the holy texts, and they do not attend religious meetings. About 80% of the Druze people fall into the category of the Ignorant. The al-Uqqal must follow ascetic rulings including following a dress code. The most powerful 5% of the Knowledgeable group are where the spiritual leaders of the religion come from. As for important rules that the Druze must follow, they are not allowed to drink alcohol, eat pork, or smoke tobacco, similar to the dietary laws in Islam. Polygamy is prohibited, and men and women are viewed as equals. Many of the Druze living in Israel fully participate in Israeli society, and many of them serve in the Israeli Defense Forces.
The Druze revere the father-in-law of Moses, Jethro or Reuel, a Kenite shepherd and priest of Midian. In the Exodus, Moses' father-in-law is initially referred to as "Reuel" but then as "Jethro". 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 and they gather there every April.
Amin Tarif was the qadi, or spiritual leader, of the Druze in Mandatory Palestine from 1928 and then Israel 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".
History in the Levant
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. The religion incorporates elements of Isma'ilism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, and other philosophies. The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid – 'People of Unitarianism or Monotheism' – or al-Muwaḥḥidūn, 'Unitarians, Monotheists'. Amin Tarif was the preeminent religious leader of the community until his death in 1993.Historically the relationship between the Druze and Muslims has been characterized by intense persecution. The Druze faith is often classified as a branch of Isma'ili. Although the faith originally developed out of Ismaili Islam, most Druze do not identify as Muslims, and they do not accept the five pillars of Islam. The Druze have frequently experienced persecution by different Muslim regimes such as the Shia Fatimid Caliphate, Sunni Ottoman Empire, and Egypt Eyalet. The persecution of the Druze included massacres, demolishing Druze prayer houses and holy places and forced conversion to Islam. Those were no ordinary killings: they were meant to eradicate the entire community according to the Druze narrative.
Historically, there have been conflicts in the relationship between the Druze and Jews. Anti-Jewish bias is manifest in the Druze literature such as the Epistles of Wisdom; for example, in an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druzism, Baha al-Din al-Muqtana, probably written sometime between AD 1027 and AD 1042, accused Jews of killing the sacred prophets. On the other hand, Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish traveler from the 12th century, pointed out that the Druze maintained good commercial relations with the Jews nearby, and, according to him, this was because the Druze liked the Jewish people. Yet, the Jews and Druze lived isolated from each other, except in a few mixed towns such as Deir al-Qamar and Peki'in.
Conflict between Druze and Jews occurred during 17th century Druze power struggle in Mount Lebanon, and Druze destruction of Jewish settlements of Galilee such as the 1660 destruction of Safed and the 1660 destruction of Tiberias. The 1834 looting of Safed was a month-long attack on the Jewish community of Safed in the Sidon Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire by Arabs and Druze during the Peasants' revolt in Palestine. It began on Sunday, June 15, the day after the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and lasted for 33 days. It has been described as a spontaneous attack on a defenseless population during the armed uprising against the rule of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, the Ottoman governor. The event took place during a power vacuum while Ibrahim Pasha was fighting to quell the wider revolt in Jerusalem.
During the Druze revolt against the rule of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, the Jewish community in Safad was attacked by Druze rebels in early July 1838. The violence against the Jews included plundering their homes and desecrating their synagogues.
Druze in Israel live in Mount Carmel, south of Haifa, and in Galilee. The Druze settlement on Mount Carmel is relatively recent, although the precise timeline remains uncertain. Scholars acknowledge one tradition suggesting they settled at Isfiya, following the downfall of the Lebanon-centered House Ma'an. Daliyat al-Karmel's populace comprised refugees from Aleppo who arrived during the early 19th century.
The 1922 census of Palestine lists 7,028 Druze in Mandatory Palestine. The 1931 census shows an increase with 9,148 Druze.
Attitude towards conflict between Jews and Palestinian Arabs
Before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Druze lived in the Galilee and Mount Carmel, either in exclusively Druze villages or in villages mixed with Christians, where they had coexisted for centuries. Historically, the relationship between the Druze and their Christian neighbors was better compared to their relationship with their Muslim neighbors, especially Bedouins, in neighboring villages. According to historian Ilan Pappé, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, in villages partly inhabited by Druze, Christians were generally exempt from expulsion. Following the establishment of the State of Israel, Muslim refugees from neighboring villages that had been displaced during the war settled in mixed Druze-Christian villages such as Abu Snan, Rameh, and Maghar.During the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, the Druze in Mandatory Palestine were under pressure from both the Jewish Yishuv leadership and from the Palestinian Arab Higher Committee, and found it difficult to form an opinion about the conflict between the Jews and the Palestinian Arabs. Noble Druze men from nearby countries visited Druze villages in Palestine and preached neutrality. During the early days of the conflict, a meeting of all the noblemen from all the Druze villages was conducted in Daliyat al-Karmel, where they all agreed not to take part in the riots instigated by the Arab Higher Committee. This decision was backed by Druze leaders in Jabal al-Druze. In the Druze community, there were opposing trends: In mixed Druze and Muslim villages such as Isfiya, Shefa-'Amr, and Maghar, where old sectarian disputes between Druze and Muslims shaped local dynamics, and in Druze villages near Haifa and the Jewish settlement in the western Galilee, the local Druze leaders tended to prefer the Jews in the conflict; at the Druze villages deep in Arab areas, the local leaders were more careful with support of the Jews. Yanuh and Jat were among several Druze villages located in the military zone of Arab Liberation Army of Fawzi al-Qawuqji. Josh Palmon was tasked by the Jewish Agency for Israel to manage the relationship with the Druze. He initially led a preventive approach with the Druze, aimed at making sure the Druze would not join the Arab Higher Committee.
The contacts between the Druze and the Jewish leadership were made through Labib Hussein Abu Rokan from Isfya and Salah-Hassan Hanifes from Shefa-'Amr. Hanifas managed to bring the Druze village Yarka to co-operate with the Jews.