One of the major minorities residing in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and the Golan Heights—Syrian land that Israel has occupied—is the Druze population, which has experienced attacks. Strong ties still exist between Druze in many nations. However, they not only have found themselves in a complicated situation throughout this tussle between the Arab world and Israel since its creation but also have been victims of lack of recognition because of them being selectively included by different sides during conflicts.
The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethno religious minority who identify primarily as Arabs. The Druze religion originated in the 11th century from Ismaili Shia Islam, although it has since expanded to incorporate elements of Hinduism and other ancient ideologies. The religion acknowledges traditional figures from Islam, Christianity, and Judaism while holding the belief in reincarnation. They follow an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethno religious religion. Although Druze are unitarians, they acknowledge a wide range of prophets, such as Moses, John the Baptist, Mohammed, Khidr, and Jesus. However, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, is their most revered biblical prophet. The minority has mostly maintained its distance from the surrounding populations, refraining from proselytizing and discouraging inter-faith marriage.
Despite opposition from the UN and the international community, Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after seizing most of the territory during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The Golan, which overlooks the plains of northern Israel and southwest Syria, is strategically significant because only the United States recognizes Israel's sovereignty over it. Following the start of the occupation, Israel established illegal settlements in the Golan, forcing many Syrians to flee their homes. There are currently 20,000 Druze living there. In Israel, there are an estimated 150,000 Druze who are citizens. With the phrase "blood covenant" being used to characterize the bond between Israeli Druze and Israeli Jews, they are drafted into the Israeli military and primarily identify as Israelis. Many Druze have participated in Israel's battles against the Palestinians and its Arab neighbors as a result.
The Israeli military's Herev, or sword battalion, was made up mostly of Druze soldiers for over forty years. Israeli Arabs, on the other hand, are excused from military duty. In addition, they have grown to be well-known members of the Knesset, where they have a disproportionately large number of seats compared to the size of their community, and the Israel Defense Forces. Male Druze citizens are required by Israel to enlist in the IDF. The vast majority of their population declares complete allegiance to their own states and country and supports military conscription. About half of the Druze men who participated in our poll said they were serving in the Israeli military at the time (45%) or that they were serving now (15%). Druze women are exempt from serving. Unlike most other communities, ethnic groups, or religious groups, they also have a more positive opinion of the two-state solution, a Pew research study found.
This loyalty shown to the Israelis by the Druze sometimes gives them access to easy aid like after Hezbollah started attacking Druze settlements. With most youngsters choosing to get Israeli citizenship, such moves make the citizenship more attractive to the younger generation. The number of Druze in that region who go on to become citizens of Israel increased dramatically after the Syrian Civil War and October 7. Some Druze in Israel, on the other hand, are in the police and military and have fought in the battle against Hamas. Many of them have attained top positions in the government and IDF. Considering, the Israelis let the Druze identify themselves as a separate community with their own national identity and flag within Israel, it increases their loyalty for which they are paying the price by repeated attacks from Hezbollah.
The Druze, as a community, are unique to people being familiar with other Middle Eastern conflicts which bear great resemblance to other communities, especially like Kurds and Balouchs, who have fallen prey to spread of the community into different nation-states without getting fair representation after the colonists redrew boundary lines post their departure.
Image Source: The Times of Israel
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