On Thursday, Oct. 24, Col. Rassan Alian, a Druze officer from the village of Shfaram, was appointed commander of the Golani Brigade. While this is not the most senior position that a member of this community has filled in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), many see his promotion as a symbolic and significant step forward in the relationship between the state and this community. After all, the Golani Brigade has always been considered an integral part of the Israeli mythos. It is one of the most popular and requested combat units in the IDF.
The story of the Druze community in Israel is unique, consisting of unconditional loyalty on the one hand, with ongoing, incomprehensible discrimination on the other. Some 120,000 Druze now live in Israel in 22 villages in the northern part of the country. While the Druze residents of Majdal Shams and Mas’ade in the Golan Heights consider themselves Syrians who were forced to live in Israel, most members of the community, living in the Upper Galilee and on the slopes of Mount Carmel, have forged a blood alliance with Israel, which has persisted from the establishment of the country until today.
The leader of the community, Sheikh Amin Tarif, who died exactly 20 years ago, tied the fate of his community to Israel even before the establishment of the state. While serving as representative of the Druze community to the British Mandate authorities, he claimed openly that British rule in Palestine would be temporary, until a Jewish state is created. When the state of Israel became independent, Tarif decided that it was incumbent upon young Druze to serve in its army and to assume all the responsibilities of citizenship. Since then, military service has become an integral part of the lives of most Druze.
According to figures from the IDF, the number of young Druze who serve in the IDF stands at 83%, which is higher than the percentage among the Jewish population. The relative number of Druze officers, noncommissioned officers and soldiers serving in the regular army is very high in proportion to the relative size of their community within the country’s total population. Most young Druze consider enlistment in the IDF as more than just an obligation and a necessary expression of their national loyalty. They see it as the sine qua non for advancement and integration into the country’s civil society.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
