Ever since the emergence of the conscription, Druze youth never failed in restlessly objecting the law which compels them to wear the military uniform of an occupying unit. They have always denied oppressing their fellow citizens on checkpoints. They denied mortifying Palestinian people. Most of them could revolt against the brainwashing strategies Israel has been creating to add Druze men to its military forces.  Those objecting people could clarify their stance. They totally succeed in choosing their identity. By refusing joining the Israeli army, they ensure their Arab roots.

 By refusing the conscription, they shut the fierce full mouths of the Israeli people who claim that they along with the Druze share the same critique on the Middle East conflict.  However, how did Israel succeed in enforcing conscription on Druze men in the first place? What was the reaction of the Druze youth organizations after passing the law of conscription, and how did it progress?  Why did the rising objection enormously appear recently?

Since the 1930’s, Jewish leaders worked on forming connections with Druze leaders. They have used a “divide and conquer” policy in order to discriminate between Druze and Palestinian Israelis. The state worked on providing Druze with financial and political support. Even in official documents, the state of Israel clarifies Druze as a specific independent ethnic group which is privileged to have a specific educational system. These approaches succeeded in penetrating the Druze Palestinian relation. Accordingly, some Druze leaders believed in applying conscription on Druze men which became into force in 1956.

It all started in July 1956 when the Israeli minister of defense Pinhas Lavon decided to implement a law which forces all young Arabs to join the Israeli Defense Service Law. However, this law was then modified and the conscription was only limited to young Druze under an agreement with Druze leaders. The law states that every Druze citizen above the age of 18 has to serve in the Israeli army for two years.

“How can I serve in Israel’s occupation army? I cannot stand at the border and stop its people from entering. I am an Arab.” These were the words of Seif Abu Seif, an 18-year-old Druze who was jailed after rejecting military service. Along with other revolutionary Druze youth, Seif rejected joining the Israeli army based on patriotic reasons.

Since 1956, the Druze society showed great objection to the idea of conscription. In his book “Good Arabs” Hillel Cohen sheds the lights on the early resistance of the Druze society. According to Cohen (2008), the opposition started through signing petitions and submitting them to the institution. In 1958 the Druze youth succeeded in establishing “Free Druze Young People Organization “ which played a great role in providing revolutionary Druze with a support system. This organization has also called to repudiate the military service. The Druze Palestinian poet Samih al-Qasim was one of the founders of the organization. Samih’s poems have been influencing the Druze youth ever since his emergence.

FDYPO became popular within the Druze community. The organization worked secretly at the beginning aiming to succeed in its goal to defeat conscription.  Later then, the members of the organization with the help of the communist party, succeeded in establishing the Druze Initiative Committee on March 15^th 1972. According to a number of studies conducted by Prof. Majid Al-Haj from the University of Haifa (2010), two thirds of the Druze youth will not sign up in the military service if skipping conscription is a choice. Besides, the “national strength survey “, a survey conducted by Israeli specialists in the annual Hertzila conference, has been warning the Israeli government that the state of Israel is losing the approval and the support of the Druze society.

Druze objectors have always been looking for civil and youth organizations which would protect their constitutional rights in objecting the conscription. Despite the fact that Israel has a well equipped political organizational structure, Druze youth are currently viewing the state as a regime which is made up of a nexus of alliances the state has been creating in order to gain and keep its illegal authoritarian power.

Throughout the years, Druze oppositionists have been enduring extreme approaches and brutal medications when they endorse their refusal to join the military administration. As indicated by Swaid (2014), progressive Druze have been given jail terms multiplied than those given to different refusers. Before completing the administration, Druze men end up agony against unemployment. However, as a part of the israelization strategy, Druze men are cherished with several work opportunities after serving for two years. In spite of the tempting offers provided to the Druze in order to engage themselves in military services, recent studies expect that the number of conscientious objectors is increasing rapidly, Nofal (2016).

A considerable lot of the Druze youth wouldn’t have had the valor to deny military administration and look to get exception without epic pretended driving efforts. Druze youth have begun propelling efforts since 2014. “Decline and your kin will secure you “is a standout amongst the most effective crusades. Druze youth, in those days, have assembled themselves and stunningly tore up military administration sees in broad daylight.

Profoundly sorted out crusades, aggregate strikes, and driving youth associations, alongside persistent media scope; are all sovereign causes which added to the emergence of a restricting Druze society. These autonomous factors have additionally helped in moving the cliché picture of the Druze which was professionally captured by the focal points of the Zionist administration.

After several years of being considered as Israeli Patriots , nowadays the Druze community in Palestine consciously acknowledge themselves as Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular. The Druze are no longer part of the Zionist movement which was something predictable by those who are fully aware of the Druze beliefs and values  that are based on being loyal , honest and contempt any act of betrayal, violence and Hypocrisy.

References

Nofal A. (2016). Why more and more Israeli Druze prefer prison to military service. Palestine Pulse. Retrieved from http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/israel-druze-reject-military-service.html

Strickland P. (2014). “Israel tried to brainwash us”, says Druze pioneer who refuse army service. The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved from https://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-tried-brainwash-us-says-druze-pioneer-who-refused-army-service/13047

Swaid S. (2015). The Druze and military service.  New Profile. Retrieved from

http://www.newprofile.org/english/node/204