The Druze: Misunderstood Patriotism?

FORTUNATELY, i was given the opportunity to write my blog post on the Druze of Israel. It's important to verify that I am refering the Druze community in Israel because after doing a little research and re-reading the chapter I discovered that there are Druze in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Rosenthal describes the group as so isolated. The entire chapter has an isolating tone to it. There is such a vast amount of i

nformation on the internet about this group of people, I was astounded! Every website drew me closer and closer in to this religious sect. Rosenthal is not sure where the Druze originated from either. Because they were persecuted by Muslims for their extremist views, early Druze fled all over the middle east. "For centuries, they were a maltreated minority in the Arab Middle East. Many Druze Israelis stress that they are a separate ethnoreligious group that became arabized...A lot of us have names that could be Muslim or Christian, but w

e're not Arabs (Rosenthal 307)." They have in fact been identified as a separate religious sect by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel, but who exactly are these people? Because the Israeli government officially recognizes them they have their own religious courts which "accord" equalit

y to men and women.

There are very strict religious rules and laws within the Druze community. They have always practiced "strict endogamy (Rosenthal 305)" and no new members are allowed to be admitted. This obviously strikes some concern has far as reproduction goes. For a group that is so patriotic and in touch with Israeli politics, it is a scary thought to think they have no regard for genetic mutations. It has been proven time and time again that there is SUBSTANTIALLY high risk of birth defects when members of the same gene pool (family) pro-create. Although history is my major, I cloesly study biology as well so this outraged me. I cannot go as far to say that the decisions made by the Druze

are foolish because it is what they believe, their faith. How can you tell someone they're wrong about the way they and their ancestors have lived for centuries? Even with scientific proof, if you believe it to be God's will, which way would you decide? It's vital to remember, like many other religious denominations, children are born into this. They grow, they learn, and they imitate. My professor brought up something in class yesterday that many history book fail to recognize. Life keeps happening. Whether there's a war outside your window, thousands starving, religious strife... whatever... life goes on. R

eality doesn't stop because groups don't want to acclimate and become more modern. They will continue to live life as they always have. So, with that said, the past of the Druze in Israel and their current political standing keep them in constant struggle with Arabs. As a matter of fact, they are resented by Arabs b

ecause the Druze are "so trusted and favored by the Jews (Rosenthal 309)." They obviously do not identity as being Arab and because of an incident in 2000 as well as past events, there is a building tension and hatred between the Druze and the overall Arab community. Druze have a strong sense and belief in nationalism, which explains why so many enlist in the Israeli.

I was able to find so many articles about this group I don't even know where to start! Most of them are not dated this year and the ones that are were far too short to write on. I'll be sure to share with you what I learned from several different news sources. The third, and by far most sensational story about the Druze that I read on Haaretz.com was titles Who will appease the Dru

ze? From the get-go, I was already hooked! Appeasing the Druze? Why is there a need? Aren't these beloved citizens? Always

doing exactly what the government wants them to do and staying in their neat little box?

The article WA

S bias and had a almost a cynical/sarcastic tone to it. The author, Lilly Galili, an Israel journalist, writes for Haaretz and other Israeli news sources. I was actually able to find quite a bit of information about her work and personal life. This, to me, made her seem like a reliable source of information . Remember, reliable does not mean un-bias :) Anyway, the article talks about how the Druze are hated over the Muslims within Israel. Isn't that in contrast with what Rosenthal said about this group? I THINK SO! After the events of October 2000 and when more than three thousands Druze went to Abu Snan to honor the girl Druze major general in the IDF, Muslim owned restaurant and shops were empty. This ties back into what I said at the beginning of this post:life happens. Something occurs that makes Muslims undesirable and business plummets! This usually isn't something people care to take a look at after lives have been lo

st. However, it's vital to recognize this pattern. After the rift and tension between the Druze and Arabs only got worse, local shopkee

pers and business owners in Peki'in learned of the order: do not buy from the Druze. Unlike most Palestinians, "Druze did not become refugees and their villages and lands remained intact (Rosenthal 308)." So throughout the Arab-Israeli War (47-49) Druze were caught in the middle. Easily, you can see how the tension began. BUT BACK TO THE ARTICLE:

Many Druze believe that the Israeli police force has a huge plan to completely dispel them from Perki'in. They feel humiliated and embarrased, but how could they not? The author believes that the Druze are being pushed to extremism. I found this to be a very interesting point of view, but also very strategic. Once deemed extremist, groups/organizations lose their credibility and are completely disregarded as being...well... crazy. There is an instance in the article where she is describing how the Druze feel when outsiders come to their community. Would you believe that THEY are the onces seen as outsiders? Within their own communities even! It's as though people just want to forget their existence because they do not desire to modernize. How does this speak to Israel as a soverign nation? More specifically, what does this say about Jews? To allow one extremist group, but try to e

xpell another seems wron

g on so many levels. Are the Haridem accepted because of the influence they have over the Israeli government? Or is it because they are JEWISH? The author of the articles places a lot of emphasis on the city of Peki'in, where many Druze reside. "People [who] come for entirely different purposes...listen to the lectures about the importance of Peki'in to Jewish tradition, but don't hear a word about the Druze...It's as though we don't exist-neither in history or in the present (Galili)." Does having a Jewish nation mean that Jews discriminate against all those who are not Jews? Are those who are ot Jews beneath you? In what way? I feel all the questions concerning the different people who live in Israel all go back to fundamental principles that the country was founded on. However, many of these questions have never truly been answered. A country in constant conflict makes more sense when you grasp the diversity of people who live there and how it connects with the principles that founded the country.

I found a video on youtube about Druze who are being threatened because of their loyalty to the state of Israel. Since when is nationalism the enemy?

To change gears for a second, I would like to call your attention to women's right's within the Druze community. Unlike many ther Middle Eastern countries, women are not oppressed and forgotten. I found THIS video on youtube that talks about Druze women

I found it very intersting that a community that does not wish to add members and is very rigid in their religious ways has such a western perspective on the status of women.

Haredim: A Divided People

I found a wonderful article to connect with the first chapter I read in Rosenthal concerning Haredim Jews. I chose to write on this chapter because I knew there would be a plethora of material to be discovered about these "extremist Jews". I had to keep in mind though, that there is little to no uniformity within Israel of the ultra-orthodox Jews. The article that I was able to find on Haaretz attempted to convey the the multiple division within and around the Haredi community. With little socioeconomic security, the people of Israel struggle to hold on to what jobs they can find to support their families. I really enjoyed the article because of its diversity and also its tolerance and respect for a vast number of different lifestyles. As many problems and internal strife the country of Israel endures, the fact still remains that it was founded on Jewish princicples. The reason I say Jewish principles and not Judaism, the religion, is because there is so much contreversy over who is Jewish. The question is not ONLY who is Jewish, but what does it mean to be Jewish and how Jewish are these individuals?

We touched on this in class just a little bit? How can there be any type of census, even if there was someone to conduct surveys, if your committment to the religion is not easily determined? Does being Jewish mean following the rituals? Keeping Kosher, honoring the Sabbath, Shabbot on Fridays.. ? Does it mean knowing the scriptures? Keeping up with prayers? Going to synagogue regularly? What about if your mother is Jewish, but you were raised by a Christian father? There are too many indescrepancies, too many unanswered questions, and too many everything else. To judge someone on their religiousity is un-religious in itself because you are stepping out of your place as God's follower and into God's place as the one entity ever allowed to judge you. Now, this is obviously just my opinion, but these core foundation questions are what keeps Israel so divided. I hope I don't sound negative... that is not how i intended to come off. I find Israel to be a phenomenal country and one that I cannot wait to visit! The issues of the country should be cloesly examined, however.

The article I read described the different types of Haredi Jews and citizens of Israel should not look to blame "Arabs" or "extremist Jews", but the government for abandoning them. The author of the article, Avirama Golan, states there is no connection between Haredi Jews who brea klaws by "stoning women" and the Haredi Jewish woman collecting her children as she walks toward her husband peacefully. He says there is no connection between the extremists who are trying to get their point across through violence and a Bnei Brak student. Has the government turned its back on its citizens? Or is there so many contrasting views that it just takes much more time to pass helpful legislation? It's also vital to examine the practices of Ashskenazi haredim Jews and how they are so easily identifiable. Following the most strict practice of Jewish law, the Haredim can be easily spotted. Rosenthal describes that "all men wear black kippot and cover them with black hats (184)." Women are warned to dress modestly, covering all skin from "collarbone to wrists (Rosenthal 184)." There is no actual wall that encloses the growing Haredi community, but the psychological walls are distinguishable. There is an apparent baby boom as pregnant women are seen in these communities pushing strollers with numerous children playing in the streets. In addition, the Haredi father who granted Rosenthal permission to interview him was exposed as having 10 children. In the beginning the chapter he describes their religiousity and views on various topics. While reading this, I was trying to tie in the chapters and articles I have read over the past couple of weeks. Is this the same country plagued with countless suicide bombers? Is this the same country where army and military personnel are forced to live a life in constant fear of sudden death? And finally, is this the same country where frivolous sexual activity is tolerated at a considerably young age? THIS IS THE SAME COUNTRY!! Look at its diversity!!

Haredim Jews live in Jerusalem, undeniably. This growing population has many issues facing them if their plan on remaining in Jerusalem. The capacity of the city cannot keep everyone forever. When "Benjamin Stein" was speaking of his oldest child, Leah, he went on tell Rosenthal how he envisions Leah's marriage choices. Choices is probably an inapropriate word to use since a profession matchmaker will be used. Genesis 1:28 instructs to "Be fruitful and multiply" so followers of this religion are expected to have many children, but where will all these children live? Surely, a big apartment will ne needed and Sarah confesses, "Really cheap ones are out in the settlements. But what goos is a big apartment is your neighbors want you dead? (Rosenthal 195)" With all the diversity in Israel, and I am speaking now of just the Jews, there is still a sense of universality: constant conflict with the "Arabs". How could I forget that so quickly?! When I say Arabs, I mean Palestinians. Speaking of which, I found a very interesting video on youtube.

This video is a Haredim Jews speaking about the dismantlement of Israel. He states that there is not a Muslim-Jewish problem, but a Israel-Palestine problem. He says that there is no reason Jews cannot co-exist with the Muslims. Zionism, he states, has an agenda and has stolen the symbols of Judaism to create the state. The video is very interesting and only adds to the diversity of the country. I wonder how many different views on the Jewish state there actually is. Also, I never thought I would find a Jew who opposed the state of Israel.

All in all, this has been one of my favorite chapters of the book thus far. The last thing I wanted to discuss in this blog post, was the story about "Josh" at the end of the this chapter. The story is about a young man who wanted to escape his Haredi community and the great lengths he has to go to just to find some inner peace. Even if you are born into one of these ultra-Orthodox communities, it may or may not be what you are destined to become. Many hve dreams of leaaving and finding something that better suits them at any cost. Josh for example, has to leave all his possessions and family behind. Everything he has ever known he will never be able to have again. On top of having to detatch himself from personal belongings, not always an easy task, he has to say goodbye to his family the basis of everything he has ever known. Would you be able to walk away from all you've known since birth for more knowledge? for a better life? But is it a better life? I can only imagine the turmoil this young man was experiencing upon his departure. The story ends with his father telling him that he basically been completely disowned from the family. WHAT!! Disowned from the family for wanting to do something different? I have to remember I have a Western way of thinkig and comprehending. I could never imagine my family holding me back from something I wanted to do. Josh's family doesn't see themselves as holding him back however. I'm sure they are thinking how dare he WANT to leave his family and religion.

What will be the consequence of his actions? We will see in the years to come.

Ethiopians: Lost Brother&Sisters

This was without a doubt the most surprisingly and intriging chapter I have read for this course all semester long. Ethiopian jews? I didn't even know they existed! Where did they come from? How many are there? How did they get to Israel? These are all the questions I asked myself when I first opened up the book to read the last chapter of the reading.

The government of Ethiopia was restricted who was allowed to leave the country. as the hold loosened, it was finally time for Ethiopian jews to return to their homeland. As one of the core principles of Zionism, collecting and returning all jews in diaspora was crucial to the fulfillment of its core principles. The story of how the jews ended up in Ethiopia and how they maintained their religion is a story of great will, persistence, and faith. At the time of their rescue, Ethiopian jews were caught in the middle of an incredibly bloody civil war as well as famine. Needlesstosay, the country was not in the best shape. The question of the matter is not how Jews got to Ethiopia, but how they adopted Judaism. Rosenthal describes a number of theories, but keep in mind they are just theories (Rosenthal 162). There is no accurate depiction of exactly how the religion was absorbed by the Ethiopians.

I was unable to find any current articles about the topic I chose to write on. There were definitely sources I researched, but none were current. By current, I mean in the last month or two. However, I didn find a number of really great, informative, and reliable websites that give a fascinating history of the Ethiopian jews.

Operation Solomon was the biggest rescue airlift in the shortest amount of time in history. That is QUITE impressive and amazing 1)for such a small country 2)for such an oppressed people. Operation Solomon is referred to as so because of the rfurst Ethiopian Israeli officer, Solomon Ezra who bribed Ethiopian officials to smuggle Jews out of Ethiopian villages (Rosenthal 157). Apprehensive passengers boarded nearly three dozen jets on their way to Israel after the Israel government have it the go. This air rescue IS ACTUALLY in the Guiness Book of World Records as the largest number of people on one plane. How absolutely astonishing!! As you can imagine, one may have mixed feelings on leaving their homeland. Not that it was a great place to be with all of its civil strife, but the immigrants had to leave behind all their belongings to ensure the maximum capacity of PEOPLE on the planes. In addition, many left behind other relatives, some of which will never make it to Israel.

There have been few jews that have sacrificed so much to be able to migrate to Israel. "Absorbing the Russians is a huge national challenge, but absorbing the Ethiopians is our national test of honor (Rosenthal 167)." All is not perfect however. The image of a misplaced person should still be fresh in the mind. Some of the Ethiopians who had the opportunity to go to Israel, as a mentioned above, left behind close knit families. There is a story Rosenthal describes also on page 167 about how some reunification was not always so joyful. Even with war, death, famine, and all unimaginable things possible, life goes on. People grow and have new experiences and a lot of the time change their beliefs. It is no wonder that if did not see someone from your family for 8 years that they would have become a completely different person than you remember. This could give such mixed emotions to anyone. How can this person you either married or watched grow and mature be someone else. They would still be part of your family right? And you still love them? These are the questions Ethiopian Jews ask themselves when they are reunited with family members they had been seperated from for so long.

The Ethiopian Jews have a special place in Israeli society. Maybe special isn't the correct word. What I mean is, there has never been another group like them, much like the African Americans of the United States. These "new Jews" were blacks in an all white society and were obviously not urbanized or been introduced to the wonders of industrialization. This is a topic that I can go on and on about for pages and pages!!! There's so much to discuss on this very different part of Israeli society.

As if DATING wasn't already difficult enough, right??

JUST TO BE CLEAR:

I am responding to the last question on the list of blog suggestions. I chose to just discuss the chapter rather than answering specific question so I could give a more broad view of my understanding of the reading. An overview of the chapter along with discussing what the author is trying to convey with her writing is essential to grasping the concepts presented. I obviously looked at the other questions and tried to incorportate them in my post.

I'd like to begin this discussion with a video I found. It is a female muslim lawyer talking about a new form of resistance. In her opinion, Arab men should harrass Israeli women. ubtitles are provided so the english-speaking may understand, so I hope not too much is lost in translation. Something I found particularly interesting was that she mentioned that most Arab countries do not have sexual harrassment laws. Can you imagine the United States without sexual harrassmet laws?! It is so embedded in American culture that I could not imagine doing anything without the mention of proper conduct with the opposite sex. No matter what job or profession you plan on doing, you will surely have something to read or a meeting on sexual harassment. The lack of sexual harassment laws says something about the character and pursuit of Arab men. This is not to glorify Israeli men, but I think this is an important topic to examine.

This is a huge difference between Arabs and Israeli's. WAY TO STATE THE OBVIOUS KRYSTAL!! I know, i know!! But according to Rosenthal, there was no term in Hebrew for sexual harassment until Israel passed a law against it. The law seems to be very black and white. There isn't much room for other translation or manipulation. Even consensual sex between superiors and subordinates is forbidden. A complaint can be filed against a man or women for sexual harassment if this law is disobeyed EVEN IF IT WAS CONSENSUAL.

It'd difficult to determine how well this law is enforced. Army regulations obviously prohibit sexual relations between superios and subordinates, but a lot of the time they are notenforced. However, in 1999 the prmotion of an army official was blocked when he was accused of having sexual relations with a 19 year old soldier. Does that mean it's open to interpretation? The law leaves room for what Israeli law believes to be acceptable. Gay-bashing is completely illegal however. ILLEGAL!! A country that is in such immense turmoil 24/7 seems tobe the most developed in terms of equal rights. Equal rights for whom is the question though. Definitely not for Arabs. Israeli law on sexual harassment is seen by Israeli men as being a bit too strict. I can definitely see how it could be stiffling. You would have to be SO super careful not to cross any lines ever. Even though I personally feel like Israel is ahead of the United States in equal rights for Gays, there are "roughly ten years behind the United states (Rosenthal 44)" concerning public discussion of sexual harassment.

Dating someone of different nationality or culture sounds more challenging than dating someone who would automatically be welcomed and embraced into your family.

I found the story about Natalie and Gil very interesting as well. "In Israel, politics touches everything, even dating (pg. 42, Rosenthal)." Gil took his Jewish date to a binational

bar where Arabs and Jews could associate. He thought that because Natalie did not care about his status that she would be open to other things as well. He was clearly proved

wrong when she stated that she felt uncomfortable being around Arabs. It is saddening how many people's lives could turn out better than they would expect if there was not

such audasity between the nations. The history speaks for itself however. With all the civil strife, war, economic problems, and general hatred for each other since the creation

of Israel, it's no wonder dating between the two is generally undesireable.

Their shirts say WHAT?!?!?!?!!

This is my third time trying to save this to my blog. I'm not sure if its my computer or if my internet connection has just been horrible for the past 5 days, but it won't save! When I copy and paste it from my word processor program to this blog page and push publish post th page would just continually load but not post. I am 90% sure it is my internet connection though because my neighbors said they had a hard time with their internet this weekend as well. I jsut don't want you to think I didn't do my blog post ON time. I finished it on Thursday evening. Anyway, I saved the document to a flash drive and came to the lobrary to post it so this SHOULD work perfectly with no flaws :) HOPEFULLY!! Darn you technology!

As I was searching for an article to write my blog post on ON Haaretz.com I actually came across an ad that caught my attention. Now, keep in mind this was a couple of days ago, so I am not EXACTLY sure what the ad said, but I remember the premise. Upon researching the subject matter I discovered it was not an ad, but just a headline. Haaretz was the Israeli newspaper that discovered Israeli Army T-shirts that mock killing Palestinian women and children during the Gaza offense. The t-shirts are absolutely disgusting. I believe that because it was an Israeli newspaper that discovered the t-shirts is the reason I had immense trouble finding the actual article that HAARETZ wrote upon discovery of the t-shirts.

I searched the web for anything I could find about these gross t-shirts and I came across this website that actually shows a picture of them. The t-shirts depict the shooting of Palestinian mothers and children including images of dead babies and destroyed mosque's. The t-shirts were PRINTED for Israeli soldiers after deployment or after they had finished a part of training. The most disturbing of them all, was the one I saw with a huge target on child. The words underneath this picture are "The smaller, the harder". This is speaking to two different points. For one, the smaller the size of the person you are trying to kill, the more difficult it will to hit your target. Secondly, according to a soldier interviewed by the newspaper, because it is a child there is a moral issue. In my opinion the Israeli soldier who committ these crimes during wartime have no moral fiber whatsoever.

Another slogan I read about was, "Won't chill till I confirm a kill". I was so outraged at these slogans! Especially because someone had the audasity to actually put it on a t-shirt and distribute them!! Are you kidding me?! That's ludacris. Of course wartime is difficult and many hard decision need to be made, many concerning life and death. However, I do not think there should ever be a soldier that is that "gung ho" about killing, ESPECIALLY killing a child no matter what the circumstances. In addition, these emotions that these soldiers are possessing that make them happy to kill are only fostering more deadly and violent ideas. This controversey follows more stories about soldiers' abuse of civilian's during the Gaza offensive. These revelations suggest a "pattern of immoral conduct in the army". How can we expect and trust that innocent civilians will behave and act morally if it isn't even expected of the federal army! This is just opening pandora's box. This isn't a few rotten apples! This is becoming the norm of this army and that is very frightening!

I do find this article reliable because of the plethora of articles I was able to find to support the first one's claim. In addition to this, an ex-soldier and campaigner of BREAKING THE SILENCE Michael Manikin, told a local newspaper that he also thinks this is a pattern. The realiability in the article also lies in the tone of the author in these articles. They do not sound bias and they do not sound excessively accusatory. To some degree they will sound like they are attacking the soldiers, but that is simply because of what they are discussing.

I saw the future... not really, but it got your attention didn't it?

Bill Richardson, former US ambassador to the United Nations and New Mexico governor, wrote an article about US involvement in Israeli peace negotiations for CNN. I read the article this morning and it just reittereated many of the points I made in what I posted yesterday. Richardson stressed the importance for Americans to rally behind the President in his daunting efforts because this is obviously not as easy task. President Obama also added that the United States seeks peace agreement on all fronts including Lebanon and Syria.

How awesome is that!! Disregarding the United States' actual motives or negative factors concerning mingling of middle eastern countries, it finally seems like someone is putting peace in the middle east a the top of their list!! I feel like Obama has the same sense of urgency for middle eastern peace as he does for health care reform. The 5 billion dollar decision is still being persistently challenged, but we're taking steps in the right direction to correct a gross injustice.

:) I'll get off my soap box now because this isn't what I am primarily suppose to use this website for, but it has been helpful in helping me express my thoughts and opinions in an articulate way. I love blogging!

Since I'm here, I would also like to bring your attention to something else I read AND heard on the radio this morning. Thailand, the country with one of the worst cases of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, has announced a breakthrough with an HIV vaccine!! After monitoring over 16,000 Thai volunteers over a course of three years, they found that only 51% of the test group as opposed to the 74% of the placebo contracted the HIV virus. That is a HUGE deal!!! The HIV virus claims the lives of countless people every year and this is the first time postive news about a vaccine has been given to the media. Having visited Thailand I feel even more excited at this breakthrough because many people there suffer from the disease. News of this vaccine has basically made my day!! It's a wonderful day to be alive :)

I don't know why I can't get the article to be all one font!! When I go to edit post it seems like everything is okay... and then i publish it and that happens!! it is so frustrating!!! GRRRR!!! :(