ISRAEL’S SMALL DRUZE COMMUNITY, long seen as “loyal” to
the state, is on a collision course with the right-wing government of
Binyamin Netanyahu over a new law guaranteeing superior citizen-
ship rights for Jews, according to analysts.
Israel has traditionally cited the Druze, a secretive religious sect
whose men serve in the Israeli army, as proof that non-Jews can
prosper inside a self-declared Jewish state.
However, recent weeks have seen an unprecedented outpouring
of anger from large segments of the Druze community over a na-
tion-state law passed in July by the Israeli Knesset.
The new legislation has been widely criticized for making explicit
the privileged status of the Jewish majority, while omitting any ref-
erence to “democracy” or “equality.”One Druze scholar, Rabah Halabi, said his
community’s response had been like a mini-“in-
tifada”—the word Palestinians used for two
lengthy uprisings against the occupation.
“Much of the Druze community are in a state
of shock,” he said. “They thought that by prov-
ing their loyalty they would be treated as equals.
But now they are being forced to re-evaluate, to
accept that this view was mistaken.”
Halabi, who has written a book on Druze
identity, added: “Their illusions are being shat-
tered. It looks like a process of awakening has
begun that will leave both sides bruised.”
The new law, which has a constitutional-like
status, has angered the fifth of Israel’s popula-
tion that is not Jewish, mostly descended from
Palestinians who survived a campaign of ethnic
cleansing in 1948. This Palestinian minority
eventually received citizenship.
But unlike the Muslim and Christian commu-
nities, the 120,000-strong Druze sect in Israel
has long been showcased as “loyal” and plays
a key role in the army, especially in combat du-
ties in the occupied territories.
Druze leaders have angrily pointed to the dis-
proportionate sacrifices made by their commu-
nity, including more than 420 Druze killed while
in uniform.
The Druze also enjoy an outsize influence in Israeli politics. Al-
though comprising about 1.5 percent of Israel’s population, they
have five legislators in the 120-member Knesset, four of them in
Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
Unusually, the figurehead of the protests has been a retired and
much-decorated Druze general, Amal Asad. He led the speakers
at a rally in Tel Aviv on Aug. 4, attended by more than 60,000 Druze
and Jewish-Israeli sympathizers, including many former senior se-
curity officials. The protest demanded that the new Basic Law be
annulled or amended to confer equal rights on all citizens.
Another key Druze figure, spiritual leader Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif,
told the crowds: “Despite our unreserved loyalty, Israel doesn't see
us as equals.” Crowds chanted “Equality! Equality!” and banners
bore the slogan: “If we are brothers, we must be equals.”
Druze legislators and Palestinian leadership organizations in Is-
rael have separately petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to over-Nation-State Law Privileging Jews Angers
Israel’s Druze Citizens
By Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook is a journalist based in Nazareth and a winner of the
Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. He is the author of
Blood and Religionand Israel and the Clash of Civilisations(avail-
able from AET’s Middle East Books and More).12 WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS OCTOBER 2018The Nakba Continues
A former Israeli Druze officer (r), dressed in half an IDF uniform, holds a banner that reads
in Hebrew, “Bibi, look at the absurdity that you have created with your law,” as members
of the Israeli Druze community and their supporters protest on Aug. 4 in Tel Aviv against
the “Jewish nation-state law.”JACK GUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGEScook_12-14.qxp_The Nakba Continues 8/29/18 4:08 PM Page 12