The Druze Dilemma: Integration vs. Resistance in Israeli Military Service

A report by Nada Andraos, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

In the occupied Palestinian territories, approximately 143,000 Druze currently reside, constituting 1.6% of the population. In Israel, Druze are considered a significant religious and ethnic minority.

Some Druze have served as members of the Knesset and have held government, ministerial, and diplomatic positions. Unlike most Arabs in Israel, military service is mandatory for Druze.

Although the majority of Druze from the 1948 territories, located in the Galilee and Haifa regions, have increasingly integrated since the occupation and automatically received Israeli citizenship, and a portion of their youth have joined the Israeli army, there has been a notable rise in political, cultural, academic, and religious movements within the community, both inside Israel and abroad, opposing the Israeli state.

These movements have contributed to the growth of a Druze public opinion resistant to Israeli policies, reclaiming a Palestinian Arab Druze identity.

In recent years, active Druze groups have refused compulsory military service and have received legal support for their stance. This has led to an increase in the proportion of Druze refusing mandatory service to about 50%, according to a study conducted by the annual Herzliya Conference.

These individuals view military service and fighting in the Israeli army against Palestinians as conflicting with their national identity loyalty.