Earlier this month, Egypt released the jailed Israeli Druze spy, Azzam Azzam in a dramatic prisoner swap, in which Israel released six jailed Egyptian students accused of planning attacks against Israelis.
Meanwhile, a special Israeli ministerial committee headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday approved the release of 170 Palestinian prisoners. Israel had promised the release to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in exchange for the release of Azzam Azzam.
Following his release, Azzam Azzam told the Israeli premier, “Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much, I love you very much and I don’t know how to express this. This is only thanks to you. I don’t have the words to thank you for your determination. I told my brothers that if I’m not released while Arik Sharon is Prime Minister, I would never be released. I am fortunate and proud to have been born in Israel.”
Many aspects of this spy saga and prisoner exchange were covered by Egyptian and Israeli press, but not much is known about Azzam Azzam’s secretive religion.
The Druze are a small and very distinct religious community residing mainly in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and Jordan. Their “secret” faith is known as an off-shoot of Islam, and has adapted for itself some principles of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The religion does not seek to convert others and does not accept intermarriage. While ownership of land is extremely important for the community, in each country where a Druze community resides, it serves the government of that particular state. This last factor has obviously been very significant in defining the relationship between the Jewish State and the local Druze community.
The Druze moved from Egypt to Lebanon during the 11th century. A generation later, they spread to the areas of Mount Carmel in present day Israel and to Syria. The Druze use the Arabic language and follow a social pattern very similar to the Arabs of the region. They are not considered Muslim by most Muslims in the region, though some Druze say that their religion is an Islamic one.
In Israel, the Druze vote in elections and usually identify themselves as Israeli citizens, a number prefer to identify themselves as Arabs, but not specificlly as Palestinians. However, many Druze living in the occupied Golan Heights consider themselves Syrian and refuse Israeli citizenship, while the remainder consider themselves Israeli. Israeli Druze also serve in the Israeli army, voluntarily since 1948 and, upon their request, compulsorily since 1956.
Recently, a movie about the Druze community and family hit Israeli movie theaters. “The Syrian Bride” tells the story of a young Druze bride caught in the middle of conflict. Mona’s wedding was the saddest day of her life, since she knew that once she crosses the border between Israel and Syria to marry Tallel, she will never be able to go back to her family in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the occupied Golan Heights.
This is the story behind a newly co-produced Israeli-French-German movie that has won international awards. “The Syrian Bride” was shot on location in the Golan Heights and in other locations across Israel. “The Syrian Bride” was directed by an Israeli Jew and co-written by a Palestinian.
The movie, focused on a Druze family divided by the Israeli-Syrian border, along with other films, was not allowed to take part in the recent Cairo International Film festival, even though it tells the story of the suffering of a young Druze woman and exposes the racism of the Zionists.
It is newsworthy to mention that Egyptian publicist Ahmed Muataz slammed the decision not to allow films by Israeli Arabs to participate in the international film festival held earlier this month in Cairo and called the decision a "death sentence for Israeli Arab artistic circles."
“In Egyptian eyes, the Arabs in Israel have become a target for suspicion, doubt, accusation and hatred," Muataz wrote in Al-Ahram al-Arabi.
The decision to ban Israeli Arab movies was made by the festival's director, Sharif al-Shobashi, because the films are financed by the Israeli government. Shobashi's verdict was based on the decision by the Egyptian Artists Union, according to which there is to be no normalization of ties with Israel in any form of cultural activities.
"The decision puts the Israeli Arabs in the same boat with the Jews. It is a strange decision, considering the aspiration for Arab unity," wrote Muataz in response.
The perception of the Arabs in Israel as "suspicious objects," especially by their brothers in Arab countries, is not a new concept. It also gains momentum in some Arab newspapers, in which Israeli Arabs are described mainly as collaborators with the Jews and as people who have lost their Arab identity.
Despite the Druze loyalty to Israel, they have not gained an equal status among Israelis or among Israeli authorities. Although the Israeli army has given young Druze men equal opportunities, the infrastructure of the villages and the budgets they receive are certainly not equal to the rest of the population. What does this mean about the future of the Druze loyalty to Israel? What does this mean about the relations between the Druze and their Arab brothers?
