The Israeli media announcement of the killing of the commander of the 401st Brigade, Colonel Ihsan Daqsa – who belongs to the Druze sect – in the battles taking place in the Jabalia region in the Gaza Strip sparked widespread controversy about the relationship of segments of Arabs, especially the “Druze,” with the Israeli military establishment. It also raised questions about complex issues related to identity and loyalty. And discrimination.
According to Adel Shadid, an expert on Israeli affairs, the promotion of Druze officers in the Israeli army comes in a complex historical and political context.
Shadeed explained that since the beginning of the 1950s of the last century, the Druze community went through a stage of brainwashing, whereby it was removed from the Arab-Palestinian framework and completely isolated from the Arab masses in terms of religious, judicial and educational institutions, and it became an independent identity completely separate from the rest of the components of Palestinian society.
Shadid pointed out that this isolation was accompanied by granting the Druze community some privileges, especially after the signing of what was called the “blood pact” between the spiritual leader of the community at the time, Sheikh Salman Tarif, and the Zionist movement, and based on that, the Druze began to recruit with the Jews in the Israeli army.
The expert points out an important paradox, as he says that although the Druze commit to military service at a higher rate than Jews, they suffer from the same discrimination that other Arab citizens in Israel face, such as the demolition of their homes.
In this regard, Shadid confirmed that thousands of Druze, as soon as they finished their military service in the army, suffered from Israeli decisions to demolish their homes, like all Arabs in Israel. Shadid said that perhaps the Druze Colonel Ihsan Daqsa – who was recently killed in Jabalia – would have faced the same thing as soon as the end of the war. His service in the Israeli army.
In his explanation of the promotion of Druze officers in the Israeli army, Shadid explained that this comes in the context of broader transformations witnessed by the Israeli army, which began with the army’s shift towards the “small, intelligent, professional army” model in the 1990s, which pushed large segments of secular Jews away from long military service. This opened the way for Druze and religious Jews to occupy senior positions in the army.
Shadeed pointed out the conflict of currents within the occupation army, explaining that: “The Druze see military service as a job opportunity and not a national goal, while religious Jews seek to transform the army into a tool to serve their Zionist ideological project.”
Despite the promotions that some Druze officers receive, Shadid asserts that their access to the highest positions in the army, such as the Chief of Staff, remains unlikely in light of the increasing control of the religious Zionist movement over the military institution. He said that reaching an advanced military rank requires the approval of Ministers Itamar Ben Gvir. Bezalel Smotrich.
He explained that racial discrimination within the Israeli army is not limited to the Druze only, but also affects other groups such as Ethiopian Jews. He said: “Not a month goes by without major quarrels occurring within the army, sometimes involving hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish soldiers, which reflects the depth of tensions.” Ethnic and religious within the military institution.”
