Loyalty of the Druze

This is a picture of an Israeli Druze soldier looking out of an outpost overlooking Lebanon. Who do you ask are the Druze? They are a distinct ethnic minority within Israel that broke off of Islam in the year 1014 AD. They are a closed and secret faith that believes in 5 secrets never revealed to non-Druze. A Druze does not start off religious; rather, become religious with time. If one chooses to become religious, the "secrets" of the faith are slowly revealed. Nobody can become a Druze, you must be born one; therefore, a person who marries outside of the Druze faith will be excommunicated from the community, never allowed to return. According to one Druze, there have only been 2 cases documented in Israel. Interestingly, to Druze value the land in which they live more highly than the unification of their people. Therefore they have no aspiration for a sovereign nation and even fight against each other from their respective countries.

To most, living a secret religious life is a concept entirely foreign and even a little scary. We look at the Druze and do not understand who would choose to live like this. However, despite the secretive religion, the Druze people remain an incredibly loyal allied to the State of Israel. Druze men between the ages of 18-21 even serve obligatory military service in the IDF. This means that the Druze serve honourably in combat units with their fellow Israeli soldiers. Think about it? Non-Jewish soldiers given the confidence of the Israeli government to monitor vital areas of security and to fight alongside their fellow soldiers. As a result, the Druze are very respected in Israeli society.

Back to the picture: The unit, which is made up of 5 Druze soldiers was ordered to monitor the Lebanon-Israel border after a barrage of Kassam rockets fell over Israel the day earlier. (The rockets where not from Hezbollah, rather, a rogue militant organization affiliated with Hamas who were trying to spark a second-front war). They spoke about the difficulties of monitoring the border. The soldiers are often teased and tormented by Hezbollah supporters barraging them with comments like: "Kill the Jews" and "You are a mockery to Islam". The soldiers told the group that they had to be careful because often Hezbollah will use this antagonism to see if the soldiers will come closer to the border, if they do, they risk being kidnapped by militants.

Suffice to say, I was deeply impressed by the loyalty of the Druze. I cannot fathom being a non-Jew fighting my own people living in Syria or Lebanon. Despite these difficulties, the Druze soldiers serve with loyalty and pride.