New middle school curriculum to highlight Druze society and its ties to State of Israel

The Israeli Education Ministry announced a new school curriculum titled “Druze Society: History, Heritage, and Culture,” highlighting “the historical partnership between the Druze and the State of Israel and explore its essence and challenges.”

The curriculum will place a “special emphasis” on Druze service in the Israeli military and other security units dedicated to protecting the State of Israel. Designed as an elective course for middle school students (grades 7 to 9), it will be offered in both secular and national religious Israeli Jewish schools.

The Druze community, numbering approximately 140,000 people, constitutes less than 2% of Israel's total population and speaks Arabic. The Druze culture and faith differ from the Christian and Muslim Arab Israeli communities. The majority of the Druze Israelis live in the northern Galilee region and the Carmel Mountain region near Haifa.

Unlike most Arab Israelis who are exempted from military service, the majority of Druze Israelis serve in the Israeli military and police forces. Some Druze officers in the IDF have reached high military ranks and the Druze soldiers are known for their professionalism and dedication to the State of Israel.

Israeli Minister of Education Yoav Kisch praised the strong bonds between Israel and the Druze community.

“The blood alliance with our Druze brothers is a cornerstone of the shared Israeli story” Kisch stated, adding that the new curriculum would stress “the courageous Druze society and its deep commitment to the State of Israel.”

Adham Nasr Aldin, a community organizer in the Israeli Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, welcomed the new curriculum, noting the tragic circumstances that have led to the new development.

“I am very happy this is happening, but it’s very sad that a war was needed. I wish it had happened before,” Aldin said. “Israeli society is a Jewish society, but it doesn’t go the other way.”

He also said that many Israeli Jews do not know much about the Druze community.

A disproportionate number of IDF Druze soldiers have fallen in battle against the Iranian-backed terror proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu honored fallen IDF Druze soldiers during a visit to the village of Julis.

"I came to talk as the prime minister and as a brother, and I will refer to the two foundations of the longstanding partnership between us: A covenant of blood and a covenant of life,” Netanyahu told Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, who leads the community in Julis

The prime minister stressed that all sectors of Israeli society had contributed to the defense of Israel since the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre last year.

“There is no life without the willingness to fight for life. To fight means both to lose the best of our sons, sometimes our daughters as well, against the wild people around us, who have slaughtered us – Jew and non-Jew alike. Jews, Druze, Circassians, Christians, Bedouin and Muslims – they would slaughter everyone if they could. This is what they wanted on October 7,” Netanyahu said.

While ties between the Druze community and Israel are generally close, there have been some tensions. In 2018, the Druze community protested when the Knesset passed the "Nation-State" law, which declares that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people.

While the controversial law reiterates what is already stated in Israel’s Declaration of Independence, many Druze argue that the legislation has discriminated against members of their community and other minorities in the Jewish state.

Nevertheless, the Druze remains overwhelmingly local to the State of Israel.

Melhem Asad, a Druze Israeli became a hero when he defended Israel during the recent antisemitic pogroms in Amsterdam following a soccer game between the Dutch team Ajax and the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Arab-Israeli activist Joseph Haddad praised Asad's heroism on social media.

“Melhem Asad, a longtime fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv” attending the game in Amsterdam “took an active part in searching for and rescuing Jews from the lynchings of the terror-supporting immigrants,” Haddad wrote on 𝕏.