Amal Educational Network Strengthens Bonds Between Druze and Jewish Communities Amidst the War in Gaza

The ongoing war in Gaza has highlighted the deep connection between the Druze community and the Jewish society. However, it also highlighted the limited familiarity between the two groups who usually meet face to face only while serving together in the IDF. A new initiative aims to expose the Druze community to broader Israeli society and deepen their understanding of one another’s cultures. This group of administrators launched a project that would arrange meetings in Jewish schools where Druze reservists will introduce and discuss various topics, including Druze history and beliefs, the relationship between the Druze and Jewish communities, the Druze role in the War of Independence, and key figures in the Druze community in Israel etc.

Israel has the world’s third-largest Druze population, after Syria and Lebanon. Israeli Druze are an ethnoreligious minority among the Arab citizens of Israel. There are approximately 152,000 Druze in Israel who reside in 22 villages, mainly in the north of the country. They speak Arabic and identify as Arabs but not as Muslims. 9 months into the war in Gaza, the Druze lost 10 soldiers and many more have been wounded. Some Druze claim that despite their loyalty to the State of Israel, they are not being treated as equal citizens. This sentiment has increased since the approval of the nationality law in 2018, and it has erupted in recent years in clashes due to the destruction of illegal construction.

In recent weeks, Druze principals have visited five of our schools: Amal Max Payne, Amal Holtz Air Force Academy, Amal Energetic operated by Israel’s Electric Company, Amal Ya’Ad Ashdod, and Amal Petah Tikva Beit. The feedback from these meetings has been overwhelmingly positive, and we have agreed with the group’s representatives to continue promoting this initiative in all interested schools next year.

The Amal Educational Network remains committed to fostering such initiatives and will continue leveraging its role as a democratic and value-based educational network to promote a shared life of respect, equality, and shared destiny for all groups in Israeli society.