Druze identity : ‘’Respect’’ to confront modernity, to stimulate Israel identtity
The Israeli Druze community decided to engage in a program of actions, aiming at combining dynamically its identity with modernity.
Druze community, a society of RESPECT
This program is based upon an independent study conducted recently by a French expert. It resulted in defining the specific identity system, the “AND” of that Israeli minority:
Three basic notions, Principles, Transmission, Loyalty, contribute to create and deploy the focal identity concept which makes the Druze community as a society of RESPECT.
The study revealed also the vital necessity for the Druze community to confront now the worldwide tsunami of digitalization, globalization.
As a result, Druze want to adapt their community to the new coming world, together with reinforcing their identity heritage.
Druze identity, a force for adaptation to modernity
The nature of its religion could conduct the Druze community towards a secret society type. And consequently to limit possibility for opening on the outside world. In fact, that religion related to individual engagement and not to collective enforcement, based mainly upon ethic principles, represents a stimulating force for every Druze for community care, and personal discipline.
The strengths of millenary tradition, cultural, familial, food and clothing, philosophical, belief in reincarnation, marriage obligation intracommunity, could prevent the introduction of modernity. In fact, all those characteristics will become precious factors for keeping alive the Druze community as a society of transmission, together with integrating the general elements of modern civilization.
Druze identity, a source of richness for Israel identity
The historical behavior of respect of the country in which the community is living, has long conducted the Druze, as a minority, to participate to Israeli life and to follow its rules. This acceptance reaches its ultimate by shedding its blood for the nation. It led also the Druze to passively suffer some degree of discrimination. The identity concept “Respect” will become a lever to initiate an active relationship with the Israeli majority on the basis of mutual respect, to a higher level of equality.
The Druze community could bring to the Israeli society the best of its identity, ‘’Respect’’ at first, ‘’loyalty’’, ‘’principles’’, ‘’loyalty’’, then. It could help to regenerate in the Israeli DNA those components, threatened by the radical changes of the society.
The knowledge of Druze know-how to preserve identity when facing drastic evolution could complement Israeli own expertise.
Druze have an interior richness to bring to the Israel Nation.