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Source: https://www.jns.org/what-israel-owes-the-druze/
What Israel Owes the Druze
(JNS) Sarah N. Stern - Looking out over the Druze military cemetery in Shefa-Amr (Shefar'am) in northern Israel, one sees row after row of graves of brave soldiers who did not hesitate to make the ultimate sacrifice for the State of Israel. The Druze community, a small but fiercely loyal religious minority in Israel, has stood shoulder to shoulder with Jewish Israelis since Israel's founding in 1948. Druze men have proudly served in the Israel Defense Forces in disproportionately high numbers. Many have risen to positions of command. Far too many have fallen in battle. The Druze are Arab, not Jewish, with their own unique faith and culture. By choice and conviction, they have thrown in their lot with the Jewish state. In villages in the Galilee and the slopes of Mount Carmel, Druze families raise children with the expectation of service to the country as a whole. Israel has few allies as devoted, brave and steadfast as the Druze. The writer is founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET).