ICEJ Supports Druze Communities throughout Israel
By: Kayla Muchnik

Over the decades, the ICEJ has seen the great importance of assisting all the different peoples living in the Land of Israel, including minorities, in order to strengthen Israeli society as a whole. This has led the Christian Embassy to forge a close partnership over the past eight years with Druze leaders in the North, which is not only lifting the Druze community but also has become a strong point of reconciliation between Jews and Arabs overall.

First of all, you may ask: “Who are the Druze people?”

The Druze are a unique people indigenous to the Middle East who claim descent back to Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses in the Bible. Many centuries ago, they fled the deserts of Midian and found refuge on several high mountain ridges in today’s Israel, Lebanon and Syria – including the Carmel, Galilee and Hermon ranges. Although they speak Arabic, they retain their own ethnic identity. In addition, the Druze are not Muslims but have their own secretive religion which some scholars say contains a mix of Islam, Gnosticism and Greek philosophy. And in general, they tend to be very loyal to the rulers in the land where they live.

The Druze in Israel make up only 1.6% of the population. The Carmel and Galilee Druze (and increasingly the Druze on the Hermon) are very loyal to the State of Israel and in fact they consider it a great honour to serve in the Israeli army to defend their homeland.

A small ICEJ delegation travelled to northern Israel recently to visit several Druze communities and see how some of our ongoing social projects were faring. Our first stop was a Druze elementary school, where we saw teachers interacting with students by singing and dancing to help the children learn in a fun yet memorable way. Some of these young Druze students have a strong desire to further their education at the university level. However, many of their families cannot afford the costs. Therefore, the ICEJ has given scholarships to a number of Druze students in recent years to help them continue their education after high school.

One young Druze lady named Maram Mansor, from Isfiya, was on hand to say that thanks to an ICEJ scholarship she is studying Mathematics, Arabic Language, and Literature at Haifa University. She was most grateful, saying: “I was always dreaming when I was in high school, I really wanted to be a Mathematics teacher. But I was afraid because of my financial status. But now I know that no one has to worry as long as we have generous people and organisations like the International Christian Embassy. So thank you so much… You have made our dreams come true!”

Meanwhile, Maimoon Azmi, also from Isfiya, has been working for the Ministry of Finance for over 13 years now, and credits his success to an ICEJ scholarship. “Thanks to the International Christian Embassy, I had the opportunity to go and study for my first degree… It opened a lot of doors for me. I don’t know if I would have finished school without this scholarship.” 

The next stop was at a Druze middle school, and upon our arrival the students lined the entryway with drums and other instruments to offer us a warm musical welcome. After the grand entrance, another group of students performed a traditional Druze dance in colourful national costumes. This was all meant to say thanks for the support of the ICEJ and several local welfare organizations who are helping with special projects at their school.

After these performances, we stepped into the classrooms to see the students learning through interactive games on the new computers donated by the Christian Embassy. Nicole Yoder, the ICEJ’s Vice President for AID and Aliyah, had the honour of cutting a ribbon celebrating the five new classrooms now equipped with computers. One student named Reem explained how playing games on the computers are helping her to learn English.

After we engaged with the students, Druze community leaders presented our delegation with a beautiful gold plaque to express their appreciation for all the support Christians around the world have been giving to Druze students and communities throughout Israel.

Bahij Mansour, Mayor of Isfiya, also offered his thanks, saying: “We have 17 Druze villages in the state of Israel, and in every place we have something that the Christian Embassy has created. A library, a scholarship, many things. We think the Christian Embassy is taking amazing steps to improve the education system in our community. It is an amazing contribution that you are bringing.”

We ended our visit sitting around a large table with several Druze leaders and enjoyed their spectacular hospitality and a delicious meal of fresh salads, side dishes, meats, dessert and coffee. Several of our Druze hosts shared one word to describe their special people: The Druze people are… “proud”… “brave”… “amazing”… “strong”… “adventurous”… “loyal”… and “peace-loving”.

The Druze are an important part of Israeli society, and we are grateful for the opportunity to help support and strengthen them for a better future here in the Land of Israel.

Partner with us in giving a hope and a future to the children of Israel!