"When we are in uniform, they treat us well": the Druze of Israel no longer feel like blood brothers – Israel News



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Wednesday, Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted a half excuse, a half excuse. "After conversations with many of our Druze brothers, it seems that the way in which the nation-state law was legislated hurt them and those who linked their fate to the Jewish state."

As party leader Habayit Hayehudi said: "These are our blood brothers who stand side by side with us on the battlefield and have concluded a life covenant with us. We, the Government of Israel, have a responsibility to find a way to fix the loophole. "

It seems that for years nothing has been said about the Druze who do not include the words "blood", "brothers" and some form of "covenant" ( once it was more commonly a "blood covenant" today it's more often than not an "alliance of life".)

The good news is that Druze do not buy that anymore. "It's a word of mouth service," said Munib Fares of Hurfeish Town, north of Druze, just after seeing Bennett's tweet. "What do you think, the Druze are stupid? We're no longer stupid, it's a different generation." Where were you during the vote, Bennett?

In the pastry shop of his wife and his wife Nasim, in the town of Mount Meron, near the Golan Heights, Fares threw the question in the air – and it went unanswered.

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The nation-state law pbaded in the Knesset last week irritated the Druze community. The struggle began when the three Druze deputies – Akram Hasoon (Kulanu), Saleh Saad (Zionist Union) and Hamad Amar (Yisrael Beiteinu) – petitioned the High Court of Justice for the new law. In addition, a forum of reserve army officers formed to fight against legislation.

Finally, an emergency meeting was held Thursday night at Saad's home, which included Tzipi Livni, of the Zionist Union, who was recently exploited as the next leader of the opposition. . It also included the spiritual leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Muwafak Tarif. And of course, there were angry messages on social media.

For years, the Druze felt that they deserved special status in Israel, in part because they are enlisted in the military; they are not volunteers. Now, many of them feel betrayed and say that the country treats them as second clbad citizens – like other minority groups.

Fares, a former journalist who has worked for years for the Channel 1 public channel, says the new law "has no value, it's a purely populist law." another attempt by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to overtake Bennett by the right. "

Fares thinks that the agitation has been exaggerated, but he considers that the law undermines Zionist and democratic values. "He erased the principles of the Declaration of Independence." Netanyahu is no smarter than [Menachem] Begin and [Ze’ev] Jabotinsky, "said Fares, referring to right-wing leaders of yesteryear.

"This is particularly an attack on the Druze and all those who serve the country according to the law.This does not do honor to the nation, not to the way we look outside of Israel either. "

Fares' expectations of the country's leaders are very weak; he says that the new law "will disappear from the agenda, and Netanyahu will find something new, he always invents something new to scare us."

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets officials including members of the Druze Knesset, July 26, 2018. "title =" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets officials including members of the Druze Knesset, July 26, 2018 . "srcset =" https: // www .haaretz.com / polopoly_fs / 1.6317403.1532716175! http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317403.1532716175/image/3287497839 /image/3287497839.jpg_gen/ derivatives / size_640xAuto / 3287497839.jpg 640w, https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317403.1532716175! /image/3287497839.jpg_gen/derivatives/size_748xAuto/3287497839.jpg 748w, https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317403.1532716175//image/3287497839.jpg_gen/derivatives/size_936xAuto/3287497839.jpg 936w, https: //www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317403.1532716175! /image/3287497839.jpg_gen/derivatives/size_1496xAuto/ 3287497839.jpg 1496w "height =" "/>



 
<figcaption clbad= Haim Zach / GPO


"Does not steal the feeling"

What can the Druze do? Fares "mentions" all the Druze who, 30 years ago, tried to disconnect from Arab nationality and gave their children [Hebrew] names like Rami, Dudu, Osnat and Rinat in the hope to erase the Arab nationalism. Jews. "He proposes that they return to their roots after these sputum on their faces. What's wrong with Ahmed, Elias, Fatma and Tuhfah?

Nasim Fares said the two were at a graduation ceremony for their son who completed a medical school in the army. They showed pictures of one of their grandchildren, 4 months old, saluting (with the help of his mother) in front of the parade square while the Israeli anthem was being played.

"I'm proud," she said. "Do not steal the feeling of belonging to the country from us, I am an Israeli druze in every respect, just like my children and my grandchildren.This is not only the country of the Jews . "

Hurfeish is filled with soldiers and officers, including those on the reserves. At the entrance to the city, next to the road leading to the cemetery, is a large sign with images of Kamil Shanan, Hurfeish, and Hael Sathawi, Maghar. These are the two Druze policemen who were killed last year by three Israeli Arabs just outside the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem.

For F., a resident of Hurfeish who serves in the security forces, the law of the nation-state is less disturbing than the state of the city. "We pay a heavy price, but we like it," he said. "There is no house here without an Israeli flag."

Last year was the first year since 1995 that some land was released for construction. "The community suffocates, like all Druze communities," he said. "They do not even settle the road."

Yet he supports the new law. "The Arabs are multiplying too much," he said. "Eventually, they begin to take control of the Arab law in the south with polygamy."

  Druze dignitaries at the Graduation Ceremony of a Flight Course at Hatzerim Air Base, June 28, 2018.

Eliyahu Hershkovitz



His friend, Osama al-Kadi, stated: the Jewish people even before the founding of the state and the imposition of the mandatory bill in 1956. We are loyal citizens of the country, serving in the security forces, working and paying taxes, carrying the burden and fulfilling all our civic obligations.

"Thus, when the basic law that defines the national values ​​of the State of Israel makes no mention of the Druze community in Israel, it creates a sense of disappointment, disrespect and lack of respect. discrimination in the law against us. "

"Why a stab in the back?"

A few kilometers south of Hurfeish is the Druze town of Beit Jann, which in recent years has made the headlines of the national ranking of high school graduates who have obtained a certificate of registration. Surprising about this success, Beit Jann is also close to the bottom of Israel's socio-economic indices.

"They could use us as an example and a model instead of pushing us into the corner," said Ali Azu of Beit Jann, a pensioner who has already worked for the prison service.

Last week, Azu posted on Facebook a collage consisting of four photos: two of the Druze army officers and two of the Likud deputies, Oren Hazan and David Bitan. The text expresses regret that both officers were the victims and that the two members of the Knesset, who are the subject of a police investigation, "are the ones who decide the law of the Knesset. nation-state ".

"We, the Druze, we clbadify as before July 18 and after July 18," says Azu, ie before and after the law.

Before the law, "we were the spearhead of all areas, education and defense. After that, there is bitterness, great disappointment and uncertainty that require decisive decisions as to the continuation of the partnership, "he added.

"Many young people already think about it, if we are in a low-level caste, that of the untouchables, we have no reason not to follow the same path as [Joint List MK] Ahmad Tibi and to support him At least he respects us. "

  The Druze town of Peki & # 39; in north, July 26, 2018. "title =" The Druze town of Peki & # 39; in north, July 26, 2018. "srcset =" https: // www .haaretz .com / polopoly_fs / 1.6317406.1532716508! http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317406.1532716508! /image/3978332911.jpg_gen/derivatives/ size_640xAuto / 3978332911.jpg 640w, https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317406.1532716508! /image/3978332911.jpg_gen/derivatives/size_748xAuto/3978332911.jpg 748w, https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317406.1532716508!/image/3978332911.jpg_gen/derivatives/size_936xAuto/3978332911.jpg 936w, https: //www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6317406.1532716508! /image/3978332911.jpg_gen/derivatives/size_1496xAuto/3978332911. jpg 1496w "height =" "/>



 
<figcaption clbad= Rami Shllush


Among the group of Druze religious higher up the street, one said: "We We did not expect from the country we served for 70 years to treat us in this way, to be separated, that the Jew is sacred. "He says his parents are from Syria; he does not want to come back. "But why a stab in the back?"

Another man said, "In Arabic, there is a saying: Give a balloon more and more air and in the end it will explode."

In the Kisra Samia community in Upper Galilee, people do not try to be polite anymore. Anger, as in other Druze towns and villages, is directed not only by the government and the country, but also by the Minister of Communications, Ayoub Kara, of Likud. Many residents said that Kara no longer represents them but was afraid to give their names.

"He should not try to enter the village," said one of them. "It's not really druze," added another.

"It's the height of racism – in previous governments, that would not have happened," said Mahmoud Shakur of Kisra. One of his sons serves in the army and another is on the verge of enlisting, but military service is no longer to be taken for granted, he added.

"My children are treated worse than the Arabs, and I will not let them enlist, for what, why contribute to the country?" He said.

"They can study or work for three years, save money and build a house. Like those of Umm al-Fahm, "he added, referring to an Arab city" What, we are blood brothers when someone dies but now we are second clbad? " "

Hisham Asad, a young man who became more religious after finishing his military service a few years ago, tried counting the number of disabled veterans living in the city.

"When we are in uniform, they treat us well," he said. "After our release, we are dirty Arabs, they forget that we have protected them."

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