How has Israel's Druze community been faring after the Majdal Shams attack?- interview

Druze have lived in the Middle East, including pre-state Palestine, since the beginning of the second millennium.

There are an estimated one million Druze worldwide, with the majority situated in Syria and Lebanon. They live mostly in several countries separated by borders drawn after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1920s, according to the Pew Research Center. Tiny communities also exist in Europe and North America.

In Israel, there are 150,000 Druze – a huge, 10-fold jump since the establishment of the state in 1948, when they numbered 15,000. Further back, according to several sources, the 1922 census recorded less than half that amount (7,028) in Mandatory Palestine, mostly in Acre, Haifa, Tiberias, and Safed.

A unique religious and ethnic group, their esoteric religion dates back to the 11th century and incorporates elements of Islam, Hinduism, and classical Greek philosophy.

“The Druze religion has its roots in Ismailism, a religio-philosophical movement that founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt in the 10th century,” the Jewish Virtual Library explains. “During the reign of al-Hakim (996–1021), the Druze creed came into being, blending Islamic monotheism with Greek philosophy and Hindu influences. Active proselytizing of the new creed was brief; since about 1050, the community has been closed to outsiders,” it says, noting that the Druze religion opposes mixed marriages and conversion.

Famously loyal to the country in which they reside, Druze have been serving in the IDF since the Israeli state was born. At first, they served as volunteers; in the 1950s, they became subject to the draft.

The bond between the Druze and the Jews in Israel began well before 1948. Many Druze supported and helped protect the early Zionist settlers in the late 19th century, and some even joined the Hagana – the precursor of the IDF. They fought alongside the Jews in the War of Independence.

Israel’s Druze citizens constitute about 2% of the population, with a “covenant of blood” commonly used to describe the bond between Jewish and Druze IDF soldiers.

The Druze still live mainly in the Northern District, while about 19% reside in the Haifa area. Although their language and culture are Arabic, they were designated in 1957 as a distinct ethnic minority at their leadership’s request. In its early years, the State of Israel supported the community by “granting the Druze the status of an official religious community, with their own religious council and courts” that year and “by supplying their villages with a generous measure of roads, water pipelines, and agricultural credit and guidance” as noted by Howard Sachar in A History of Israel from the Rise of Zionism to Our Time.

The Druze in Majdal Shams, located in the Golan Heights, are distinct from the Druze who live further south, within Israel's pre-1967 borders. Before Israel captured the Golan during the Six-Day War, the Druze in that region were Syrian. Since then, many have declined Israeli citizenship out of fear for their family members in Syria; very few have volunteered to join the IDF. However, despite this distinction, the number of Druze in the Golan accepting Israeli citizenship and serving in the IDF has been slowly rising.  

In 2018, the Knesset passed the Nation-State Law, which declares Israel to be the nation-state of the Jewish people. The law offended many Druze and other Israeli minorities.

ON JULY 27, 2024, the Druze community was thrust unwittingly into the spotlight due to a heartbreaking terrorist attack.

Twelve children and teenagers lost their lives at the hands of Hezbollah, who fired a rocket from Lebanon toward northern Israel that landed in a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. Dozens more children were wounded.

Three days later, the IDF assassinated Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s top commander, in an airstrike in the Beirut suburbs. According to the Israeli military, Shukr was responsible for the Majdal Shams attack.

The Magazine interviewed Majdal Shams Mayor Dolan Abu Saleh in the aftermath of the attack. The interview, translated from Hebrew, has been slightly edited for clarity.

Do the Druze, especially the residents of Majdal Shams, feel that Israel’s military response to the attack in July was sufficient?

The residents of Majdal Shams did not demand revenge, nor did they ask for a response that would harm the innocent and cause further escalation. We want peace and stability, as well as strategic security based on clear terms with an international guarantee.

What about Israel’s handling of the current war in general?

Israel is an advanced country in terms of military capabilities, but in wars there are no winners, only losers. For nearly a year, the Israelis have been living with uncertainty; the complexity of the fighting in Gaza and the disproportionate harm to civilians and children, who are in a very difficult situation, have completely destroyed the country’s image.

On the one hand, Hamas uses the civilians in Gaza as human shields; harming them serves the interests of the terrorist organization because it ultimately harms the image of the State of Israel at the international level. Hamas succeeds with this tactic time and time again. On the other hand, Israeli society is bleeding because of the horrific massacre that happened on October 7, the kidnapping of the hostages who remain in the hands of the terrorists in Gaza, and the situation in the North, which is attacked daily by Hezbollah.

At the end of the day, this is clearly the situation in which Israel finds itself.

Are the children of Majdal Shams continuing to play outdoors?

Without a doubt, the heavy disaster has left the children and their parents very afraid. Their trust in the Israeli defense systems has been shattered and will be very difficult to repair. The children play outside in small groups, crying for their brothers, sisters, and friends who were brutally murdered by the Hezbollah missile.

What is the relationship of the Druze community in Israel with their co-religionists in Lebanon and Syria? Is there friction because of the loyalty of the Israeli Druze to the State of Israel?

The connection is very strong.

The Druze in Israel have relatives in Lebanon and Syria, and their loyalty to the country they live in has never been a reason for friction between them. It is known that the Druze everywhere in the world are loyal to the country they live in.

Do the Druze in Israel feel secure about their future?

Despite the sympathy shown by Israel to the Druze because of their contribution to its security, the Druze still feel that they face discrimination and suffer from a clear inequality in the distribution of resources and land reserves. To this was added the Nation-State Law, which leaves the Druze in particular, along with all minorities in the State of Israel, further convinced that they will never be considered equal to the Jews.

This means that the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel has become a piece of nostalgia, a document that has several sections that don’t count in the eyes of a legislator who tends to benefit one group while discriminating against another.

Is there a message you would like to convey from your community?

We Druze are a very strong, educated, and civilized community, especially because of our belief that all human beings are equal and have the right to live in security, with their human rights preserved and their duties regarding the freedom of others constituting a moral obligation toward those people who also want to live in peace.

‘Technological revolution’

Meanwhile, so much has changed for the community over the decades.

Four years ago, the Druze High-Tech Empowerment Center (DTEC), the first of its kind, broke ground in Usfiya, a Druze-majority village in northern Israel, governed by a local council. It was the brainchild of Koftan Halabi, a prominent Druze leader and founder of the Technological Institute for the Empowerment of the Druze Soldier.

As a result, “I can proudly say that more than 120 graduates of the center, named after late Druze leader Sheikh Amin Tarif, have begun working at hi-tech centers,” Halabi told the Magazine. “They include 34 software testers for quality assurance; 15 network administrators with Cisco, the worldwide leader in IT and networking; 25 cyber specialists working with Microsoft; 20 cyber security specialists working with the Technion; and 30 Ministry of Labor software testers.”

On September 12, there will be a special ceremony for 20 recent graduates of the cyber security program.

ACCORDING TO Halabi, 83% of young Druze men in Israel serve in the IDF, and 90% of the young women participate in Sherut Leumi (National Service) or the army. Over the years, 478 Druze soldiers have been killed in combat, including 11 who have fallen since Oct. 7.

Halabi was among a dozen recipients of the 2023 Volunteer Award from President Isaac Herzog last June.

“The young Druze people now have the potential to participate not only in the security of the State of Israel but also in its prosperity and development,” Halabi told the Magazine. “I have acted and will continue to act diligently for the State of Israel and the Druze community.”

The Druze Veterans Association for the Advancement of the Israeli-Druze Soldier explains in its literature, “The establishment of the technological institute for empowering Druze soldiers is perfectly aligned with the national mission declared by the State of Israel, and reflects the association’s aspiration to act significantly to reduce the economic and social gaps that exist among minority communities and the Jewish public” regarding higher education and integration into the economy and industry, especially in various hi-tech and technology fields.

The economic and social gaps “are not due to discrimination. Israel is not a racist state. Our children just fall through the cracks,” Halabi said. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and launched what he refers to as a “technological revolution.”

As reported last month in The Jerusalem Post, this past summer, after the Majdal Shams attack, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv announced a cooperative project with DTEC, pledging more than NIS 187,000 ($51,000). This marks the first cooperation between the Druze community and the Taiwanese government.

Halabi was angry when, in 2018, the Knesset passed the Nation-State Law. Nevertheless, he continues to be active in hasbara (Israeli diplomacy) efforts.

“The Druze in Israel will continue to be loyal citizens. We love the country and will continue to contribute to it,” he said.

“I am going to Washington to represent the Druze community at the important Israeli American Conference summit this month and to present to the international community the Druze contribution to the security of Israel,” Halabi said.

“The community is a part of the State of Israel and will remain so forever.” 