We gathered outside the train station at Hof ha Carmel; fifteen participants from Canada, the UK, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Maryland and New York. An announcement in the AACI (Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel) bulletin brought us there from Nahariya, Karmiel, Binyamina, Tel Aviv, Hod haSharon and Haifa on that breathlessly hot August morning to visit and learn about a culture that has been part of this area for a thousand years and a community that has been an integral part of Israel since before it became a state.
When we arrived we met the mayor of Dalia, Karmel Naser El Deen, who greeted us warmly and gave us a great deal of information about his town and other Druze communities here in the Western Galilee and elsewhere.
We learned about the history, achievements and, alas, some problems these wonderful people are dealing with now despite their deep commitment and services to Israel.
The Druze faith was established in Cairo in 1017, taking its popular name from Mohammad al Darazi, one of the founders. They call themselves Mowahhidoon, meaning Monotheists. While they do speak Arabic, read the Koran and revere major prophets of all three Abrahamic religions and other sages, their primary book of faith is the Kitab al Hikma, and their primary uniqueness is the belief in reincarnation. Other differences include not observing the Ramadan fast, not performing the Hadj(pilgrimage to Mecca), not praying five times a day, and not barring women from religious leadership.
There are about 120,000 Druze in Israel, 15,000 of them in Dalia, belonging to only 100 families. Druze are not allowed to marry outside the faith. Our delightful and knowledgeable guide, Arif Hassoon, greeted almost everyone we met on our walks around the town, mentioning that most of them were his cousins, except when we met his brother and waved to his aunt! We also saw quite a few banners displaying the five attributes of the Mowahhid faith, corresponding to the five points of the Druze star.
There are Druze communities all over the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, and everywhere they live they are patriotic citizens of that country. Their Druze identity is one thing, but their nationality is another. Every young Druze man here enters the Israeli Defense Forces at eighteen unless he is a member of the religious leadership, and many young girls volunteer for national service – generally in their own communities.
Almost 400 Druze soldiers have fallen in the wars Israel has endured, and there is a beautiful and moving memorial to them, the Yad Labanim that we visited. We heard a most informative talk by Amal Naser El Deen, a former member of the Israeli Parliament, Minister of Defense, and founder of the Yad Lebanim in Dalia. Among the interesting things he told us was that his people are fierce soldiers and mountain people, both because they have always been a minority wherever they live, and because of their belief in reincarnation; that at the moment of death, the soul enters an unborn child to be reborn when that child enters the world.
Mr. El Deen also was the founder of the Druze Zionist Organization, and told us that even before the emergence of the state in 1948, Druze people, as a minority within a minority, supported and identified with the Jewish people because here they always had “the freedom to be Druze” – a privilege not granted in other countries of the area.
We also were addressed by Samech Natur, a scholar and historian who publishes a newspaper in Arabic and English for the Druze community.
Mr. Natur gave us many new and interesting insights into the history and character of his people and their commitment and contributions to Israel.
All this information, together with our walks around this ancient and picturesque town and our conversations with its people, made our day in Daliat al Carmel – Dalia on the Carmel, a memorable an enjoyable one.
Zelda
Dvoretzky was born in New Jersey and grew up in New York. She earned
degrees from City College of New York and the University of Michigan,
after which she wrote copy for the electronic and print media, and
worked in public relations, editing and teaching. She retired to Haifa
in 1997, is a member of Haifa Writers, Israel, an organization of
writers of poetry in English, and the Haifa Chamber Choir. Zelda stays
busy learning Hebrew, teaching English, and keeping in touch with
grandchildren, family and friends in Texas, California, and, of course,
Haifa.
When we arrived we met the mayor of Dalia, Karmel Naser El Deen, who greeted us warmly and gave us a great deal of information about his town and other Druze communities here in the Western Galilee and elsewhere.
We learned about the history, achievements and, alas, some problems these wonderful people are dealing with now despite their deep commitment and services to Israel.
The Druze faith was established in Cairo in 1017, taking its popular name from Mohammad al Darazi, one of the founders. They call themselves Mowahhidoon, meaning Monotheists. While they do speak Arabic, read the Koran and revere major prophets of all three Abrahamic religions and other sages, their primary book of faith is the Kitab al Hikma, and their primary uniqueness is the belief in reincarnation. Other differences include not observing the Ramadan fast, not performing the Hadj(pilgrimage to Mecca), not praying five times a day, and not barring women from religious leadership.
There are about 120,000 Druze in Israel, 15,000 of them in Dalia, belonging to only 100 families. Druze are not allowed to marry outside the faith. Our delightful and knowledgeable guide, Arif Hassoon, greeted almost everyone we met on our walks around the town, mentioning that most of them were his cousins, except when we met his brother and waved to his aunt! We also saw quite a few banners displaying the five attributes of the Mowahhid faith, corresponding to the five points of the Druze star.
There are Druze communities all over the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, and everywhere they live they are patriotic citizens of that country. Their Druze identity is one thing, but their nationality is another. Every young Druze man here enters the Israeli Defense Forces at eighteen unless he is a member of the religious leadership, and many young girls volunteer for national service – generally in their own communities.
Almost 400 Druze soldiers have fallen in the wars Israel has endured, and there is a beautiful and moving memorial to them, the Yad Labanim that we visited. We heard a most informative talk by Amal Naser El Deen, a former member of the Israeli Parliament, Minister of Defense, and founder of the Yad Lebanim in Dalia. Among the interesting things he told us was that his people are fierce soldiers and mountain people, both because they have always been a minority wherever they live, and because of their belief in reincarnation; that at the moment of death, the soul enters an unborn child to be reborn when that child enters the world.
Mr. El Deen also was the founder of the Druze Zionist Organization, and told us that even before the emergence of the state in 1948, Druze people, as a minority within a minority, supported and identified with the Jewish people because here they always had “the freedom to be Druze” – a privilege not granted in other countries of the area.
We also were addressed by Samech Natur, a scholar and historian who publishes a newspaper in Arabic and English for the Druze community.
Mr. Natur gave us many new and interesting insights into the history and character of his people and their commitment and contributions to Israel.
All this information, together with our walks around this ancient and picturesque town and our conversations with its people, made our day in Daliat al Carmel – Dalia on the Carmel, a memorable an enjoyable one.
zeldahaifa@gmail.com
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