August 6, 2024

The Druze: Israel's smallest religious minority

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by Dominique Hoffman, Ass. Director of the Philos Leadership Institute

Who are the Druze? The Druze, Israel’s smallest religious minority, have been on the global stage following a tragedy in a Druze town in the Golan Heights.

On July 27, an Iranian-made missile launched from Lebanon hit a children’s soccer field in the remote Druze village of Majdal Shams in Israel’s Golan Heights. Twelve children playing soccer were killed. Dozens more were wounded.

The attack on Israel sent shock waves. It was not lost on the world that the target of this attack was not the Jews but the indigenous Arab Druze community. The tragedy of Majdal Shams triggered an ongoing series of high-profile Israeli strikes against terrorist leaders, including Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed allegedly by Israel in Iran. The Iranian regime has vowed revenge, which could lead to severe escalations in the region.

Who are the Druze?

The Druze are an ancient Arab and Arabic-speaking ethnoreligious minority in the Middle East, making up ~1 million inhabitants across many modern nation-states, including modern-day Israel, Lebanon, and Syria.

Druze are not permitted to marry outside their community, and the ethnoreligious group does not allow conversion to their faith.

Because of the secrecy surrounding the community, this minority has remained tight-knit and homogeneous while remaining fiercely loyal to their national identities.

Where do their loyalties lie in Israel’s conflicts?

In line with their faith’s teachings, Druze maintain loyalty to the nations under which they hold national citizenship. While Druze are Arabs, most of the 150,000 Druze who live in Israel today are fiercely loyal to the state of Israel. The majority of Druze men who are citizens of Israel serve in the IDF, while Druze women are exempt from military service yet may enlist if they choose.

The Druze of the Golan Heights

National loyalties are more complicated for the ~27,000 Druze in the Golan Heights. In 1981, Israel officially annexed the Golan following the redrawn lines after the Six Day War, and many Druze consider themselves to be “occupied” by Israel but not Israeli.

Israel’s northern Druze identified as Syrian before the Six Day War, and many maintain loyalty to Syria today. However, this loyalty has shifted for the younger generations following the Syrian Civil War.

The Druze faith

The Druze faith originated in Egypt in the 11th century as an offshoot of Ismaʿīlī Shiʿism. The distinctive and mysterious faith has evolved to incorporate the teachings of:

  • Christianity
  • Judaism
  • Gnosticism
  • Neoplatonism
  • Zoroastrianism
  • Gandharan Buddhism
  • Manichaeism
  • Pythagoreanism… and other philosophies

 

A flashpoint in the larger regional conflict

The attack on Majdal Shams marked the deadliest escalation from Iranian-backed terrorist militias against Israel since the October 7 massacres committed by Hamas in southern Israel.

Since 10/7, fear of Israel’s northern border opening into another war with Iran through its proxy Hezbollah has been maintained.

The Majdal Shams provocation came a week after a Houthi missile from Iran’s terror proxy in Yemen hit Tel Aviv, killing at least one and injuring at least eight others.

 

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