As Druze fight alongside Jewish soldiers, Israel looks back on controversial Nation-State Law

by News Feed Editor | Dec 11, 2023 | Religion

(RNS) — As thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv Nov. 24 to celebrate the return of the first batch of hostages freed amid Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the crowd broke into applause at the sight of a group of men, sheikhs in long, flowing robes and white turbans.These were not leaders of Israel’s Arab Muslim minority but of the Druze — adherents to a syncretic religion native to the Levant that broke from Shia Islam in the 11th century and holds reverence for not only Muhammad, Jesus and figures of the Hebrew Bible such as Jethro, but also for Greek philosophers like Pythagoras and Plato as prophets.
Today, the Druze community is estimated at 800,000 spread over Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. The vast majority of Druze live in southwest Syria, followed by Lebanon and then Israel, which is home to around 150,000.
In the more than 50 days since war broke out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Druze minority joined their Jewish countrymen in participating in the war. Of the 104 IDF soldiers who died in combat since the war began, at least six have been Druze, say community members.
“In this war, the Druze view themselves as proud Israelis,” Anan Kheir, a lawyer and community activist from the majority-Druze village of Peki’in in northern Israel, told R …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn(RNS) — As thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv Nov. 24 to celebrate the return of the first batch of hostages freed amid Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the crowd broke into applause at the sight of a group of men, sheikhs in long, flowing robes and white turbans.These were not leaders of Israel’s Arab Muslim minority but of the Druze — adherents to a syncretic religion native to the Levant that broke from Shia Islam in the 11th century and holds reverence for not only Muhammad, Jesus and figures of the Hebrew Bible such as Jethro, but also for Greek philosophers like Pythagoras and Plato as prophets.
Today, the Druze community is estimated at 800,000 spread over Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. The vast majority of Druze live in southwest Syria, followed by Lebanon and then Israel, which is home to around 150,000.
In the more than 50 days since war broke out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Druze minority joined their Jewish countrymen in participating in the war. Of the 104 IDF soldiers who died in combat since the war began, at least six have been Druze, say community members.
“In this war, the Druze view themselves as proud Israelis,” Anan Kheir, a lawyer and community activist from the majority-Druze village of Peki’in in northern Israel, told R …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]