While Israel is completely absorbed by the coronavirus outbreak, the Druze and Circassian communities have reached a new pressure point. On May 3, the Druze community responded by launching what they call a “month of rage” to protest their dire circumstances. The protest includes a strike until further notice in all Druze villages, including in schools and other educational institutions. On May 5, dozens of activists blocked a highway in the north of the country, as a sign of protest. Leading this general strike is the “Forum of Mayors of Druze and Circassian Local Authorities.” On May 3, they gathered in Jerusalem, in front of the prime minister’s office, carrying signs with slogans like, “Did you betray me, brother?” and “We will not be the next Southern Lebanon Army.”

This mention of the SLA is particularly painful to Israeli leaders. It refers to a militia sponsored by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which operated in southern Lebanon from the late 1970s until Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000 and the abandonment of the SLA by Israel and the IDF. With these signs, the Druze and Circassians are saying that they feel just as betrayed as those Israeli allies in Lebanon.

The outrage that the community feels is a direct consequence of the political chaos in Israel, which has already lasted for over a year. The coronavirus pandemic only intensified the growing sense of urgency. For several decades now, budgetary funding for the Druze community at large and their various towns and villages in particular has been included in a series of five-year plans for the community. The last of these, which was approved in June 2015, amounted to 2 billion shekels ($570 million). When the plan expired in December 2019, Israel was already in the midst of the current political chaos. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s transition government did want to pass a new “five-year plan,” his legal advisers cautioned him against it, arguing that it could be interpreted as an election bribe.

Nevertheless, the government did approve the transfer of 230 million shekels ($65.5 million) to the Druze community as a stopgap measure for the next three months, until a new government is formed. Then the coronavirus struck, and even that sum wasn’t transferred to the Druze community. Hamoud Jabbar, head of the Forum of Mayors leading the protest, told Al-Monitor, “We are in a state of total collapse. Municipal property taxes dropped sharply as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, leaving us without a cent. We have no money to collect garbage, pay for electricity or cover routine costs. We are talking about 16 local authorities that are on the verge of bankruptcy.”