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Did you know that the Druze fight side by side with Jews in Israeli army?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Druze
The Druze (Arabic: درزي, derzī or durzī*, plural دروز, durūz, Hebrew: דרוזים* druzim) are an esoteric monotheistic religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. The religion incorporates elements of Ismailism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism and other philosophies. The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid "People of Unitarianism or Monotheism" or al-Muwaḥḥidūn "Unitarians, Monotheists." Sheikh Amin Tarif was the preeminent religious leader of the community until his death in 1993. [6]
Military service and public office
See also: List of Arab members of the Knesset
Druze citizens are prominent in the Israel Defense Forces and in politics. The bond between Jewish and Druze soldiers is commonly known by the term "a covenant of blood" (Hebrew: ברית דמים, brit damim). [8] Five Druze lawmakers were elected to serve in the 18th Knesset, a disproportionately large number considering their population.[9] Reda Mansour a Druze poet, historian and diplomat, explained: “We are the only non-Jewish minority that is drafted into the military, and we have an even higher percentage in the combat units and as officers than the Jewish members themselves. So we are considered a very nationalistic, patriotic community.”[10]
In 1973, Amel Nasser A-Din founded the Zionist Druze Circle,[11][12] a group whose aim was to encourage the Druze to support the state of Israel fully and unreservedly.[13] Druze commander of the IDF Herev battalion
Majalli Wahabi was the acting President of Israel in February 2007.
In 2007, Nabiah A-Din, mayor of Kasra Adia, rejected the "multi-cultural" Israeli constitution proposed by the Israeli Arab organization Adalah: "The state of Israel is Jewish state as well as a democratic state that espouses equality and elections. We invalidate and reject everything that the Adalah organization is requesting," he said. According to A-din, the fate of Druze and Circassians in Israel is intertwined with that of the state. "This is a blood pact, and a pact of the living. We are unwilling to support a substantial alteration to the nature of this state, to which we tied our destinies prior to its establishment," he said.[14] As of 2005 there were 7,000 registered members in the Druze Zionist movement.[15] In 2009, the movement held a Druze Zionist youth conference with 1,700 participants.[16] In a survey conducted in 2008, Yussuf Hassan of the Tel Aviv University found that more than 94% of Druze youngsters classified themselves as "Druze-Israelis" in the religious and national context.
On 30 June 2011, Haaretz reported that a growing number of Israeli Druze were joining elite units of the military, leaving the official Druze battalion, Herev, understaffed. This trend has led to calls for its disbandment.[17] Military service is a tradition among some of the Druze population, 83 percent of Druze boys serve in the army, according to the IDF's statistics.[30] According to the Israeli army, 369 Druze soldiers have been killed in combat operations since 1948.[31]
[edit] Bedouins and Israeli Arabs
Bedouin soldiers in 1949
Israeli Arab soldiers, serving in the Galilee in 1978
Bedouin Desert Reconnaissance Battalion, visiting an Arab school
By law, all Israeli citizens are subject to conscription. The Defense Minister has complete discretion to grant exemption to individual citizens or classes of citizens. A long-standing policy dating to Israel's early years extends an exemption to all other Israeli minorities (most notably Israeli Arabs). However, there is a long-standing government policy of encouraging Bedouins to volunteer and of offering them various inducements, and in some impoverished Bedouin communities a military career seems one of the few means of (relative) social mobility available. Also, Muslims and Christians are accepted as volunteers, even at an age greater than 18.[32]
Rather than perform army service, Israeli Arab youths have the option to volunteer to national service and receive benefits similar to those received by discharged soldiers. The volunteers are generally allocated to Arab populations, where they assist with social and community matters. As of 2010 there are 1,473 Arabs volunteering for national service. According to sources in the national service administration, Arab leaders are counseling youths to refrain from performing services to the state. According to a National Service official, "For years the Arab leadership has demanded, justifiably, benefits for Arab youths similar to those received by discharged soldiers. Now, when this opportunity is available, it is precisely these leaders who reject the state's call to come and do the service, and receive these benefits".[35]
Although Arabs are not obligated to serve in IDF, any Arab can volunteer. A Muslim Arab woman is currently serving as a medic with unit 669.[36]
Cpl. Elinor Joseph from Haifa became the first female Arab combat soldier for IDF. Elinor said:
...there was a Katyusha [rocket] that fell near my house and also hurt Arabs. If someone would tell me that serving in the IDF means killing Arabs, I remind them that Arabs also kill Arabs.[37]
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