Grapevine November 10, 2023: Recognizing Druze inclusion and sacrifice

In addition to the letter that he sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting that the Nation-State Law be revised to ensure equality for Israel’s minority populations, Druze leader Sheikh Mowafak Tareef also raised the issue in person with President Isaac Herzog when the latter paid a condolence call on the families of two Druze officers who fell in battle. Lt. Col. Salman Habak, who was among the first to fight Hamas terrorists on October 7, and later moved with his forces to Northern Gaza, where he was killed; and Lt. Col. Alim Saad who was killed in battle along the Lebanese border.

Both men were married residents of Yanuh-Jat, and left behind widows and young orphaned children. Each was known for being an inspiring commander, who cared for his men, and who was staunchly patriotic. The Druze are very circumspect about making their traditions public, but one thing that is known is that they have a rule about fierce loyalty to their host countries.

This has created a degree of family friction between Israeli Druze and their relatives in Syria, although they do communicate, and wave to each other from safe distances. Following Habak’s death, his relatives and friends disclosed how angry he had been at the enactment of the Nation-State Law which causes the Druze community to feel excluded, despite the fact that they have given so much to Israel’s security and defense,  as well as to diplomacy, politics, and journalism.

Herzog told the grieving families and members of the Druze community in general, that he had come in the name of the whole nation of Israel to try to comfort the families in their sorrow.

Answer the call.... to farm

■ A HUGE number of people have responded to the call by farmers to come and pick and pack fruit and vegetables. Among those who answered the call is Jerusalem lawyer Isachar Bar Hillel, 76, who says “I’m too old to be a soldier, but I wanted to do something to help.” In particular, he wanted to help farmers near Gaza, because he feels that their needs are more urgent. So far, he has been to farms on two moshavim near Netivot – and he hasn’t gone alone.

He has room in his car for four passengers, so he took four lawyers from his firm, including his daughter, and they went to pick oranges at a moshav near Netivot under the guidance of the owner of the farm. A week later, they picked and packed cherry tomatoes. Bar Hilel intends to take four lawyers to the south every week to help the farmers.

This was not his first foray into agriculture. When he graduated High School, he joined the Nahal Brigade, and spent three months on Kibbutz Ein Tzurim picking cotton. He realized that this was not what he wanted in life and went back to the army full time, completed an officers course, and served in the Six Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and later in Lebanon.

Like the farmers, he is currently short-staffed, because one of the lawyers in his office is serving in the army. But Bar Hillel believes that the needs of the farmers are more important than his own.

Fleur Hassan-Nahoum's new position

■ IN SEPTEMBER of this year, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Israel’s special envoy for innovation. The Ministry was impressed by what she had done as a co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council. Realizing that she could not go beyond her present role in local politics, Hassan-Nahoum accepted the appointment, and was looking forward to visiting the Gulf States this month to start work.

But then came the war, and municipal elections were postponed for several months, and her appointment did not immediately take effect. But that did not deter her. When an invitation came to be the keynote speaker at the Texas Association of Business (TAB) on December 7, she replied in the affirmative, adding yet another link in the chain of Israel-America cooperation.

“Fleur is instrumental in implementing the Abraham Accords, which have changed the course of the Middle East,” said TAB CEO Glenn Hamer. “The Deputy Mayor is a mastermind, not only in public policy, but in innovation and communications. We are honored to have her speak at the TAB Policy Conference.”

“Texas and Israel are bound by economic and cultural ties. Following attacks from Hamas, TAB came out in strong support of Israel and maintains that peace is vital to a country’s ability to flourish economically,” said TAB Board Chairman Massey Villarreal. “We look forward to hearing how we can further strengthen ties between the Start-Up Nation and the Scale-Up State.”

Hassan-Nahoum, who is a dynamic public speaker, has been appearing regularly on CNN, BBC, and on Spanish language networks Telemundo, and CNN Argentina Univision to state Israel’s case.

greerfc@gmail.com