Israeli officials pledge support of Druze community
As Druze celebrate holiday of Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu'ayb at Jethro's tomb outside of Tiberias, Minister Aryeh Deri and President Reuven Rivlin pledge funds to assist the Israeli religious minority.
“I told the leaders of the Druze community that we will offer all the tools necessary to help the community succeed and improve its quality of life,” said Deri, Minister of the Development of the Negev, Galilee and Periphery and chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, in a tweet. Tarif is the spiritual leader of the Israeli Druze community.
Jethro's tomb in Kfar Zeitim near Tiberias is religiously significant to the Druze community. A key figure in Druze culture, Jethro – known to the Druze as Shu’eyb – is known to Jews as Moses’ father-in-law.
On April 25, the Druze celebrated the holiday of Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu’ayb by making pilgrimages to Jethro’s tomb. President Reuven Rivlin attended the ceremony and addressed community members, discussing a recent government grant of NIS 2 billion over five years to develop the Druze and Circassian communities in Israel.
“This is an unprecedented project, and I as president will do everything I can to encourage the government to do its part so equality will not only be spoken about, but practiced,” Rivlin said.
“We talk a lot about the ‘blood pact' between the Druze community and the rest of Israeli society," Rivlin said. “I always emphasize that this alliance is ‘a covenant of life’, which has been built upon for many years, through the endless devotion of (Durze and Circassian) community members and their concern for Israel’s safety and well-being.”
According to a report released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics in April on the occasion of the Nabi Shu’ayb holiday, there are 138,000 Druze in Israel today, making up 1.6% of the population. At the time of Israel’s founding, the Druze made up 1.4% of the population with just 14,000 people.
Deri visited the Druze town of Isfiya for Israel’s Memorial Day last week, laying a wreath in memory of the fallen Druze IDF soldiers who “symbolize the brave covenant and shared destiny of the Druze and the State of Israel,” Deri said.
This story has been reprinted with permission from TPS
