Editing Druze (section)

=== In Israel===
{{Main|Druze in Israel}}{{See also|1982 Golan Heights Druze general strike}}
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 1337 Druze scouts at jethro holy place צופים דרוזים בקבר יתרו.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Israeli Druze]] Scouts march to Jethro's tomb. Today, thousands of Israeli Druze belong to such "Druze Zionist" movements.<ref name="Eli Ashkenazi">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/misc/1.1054873 |script-title=he:הרצל והתקווה בחגיגות 30 לתנועה הדרוזית הציונית |language=he |trans-title=Herzl and hope in celebrating 30 (years of the) Druze Zionist movement |author=Eli Ashkenazi |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |date=3 November 2005 |access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref>]]
The Druzites form a religious minority in [[Israel]] of more than 100,000, mostly residing in the north of the country.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/druze.html |contribution=The Druze |title=Jewish virtual library |access-date =23 January 2012}}</ref> In 2004, there were 102,000 Druze living in the country.{{sfn|Amara|Schnell|2004}} In 2010, the population of Israeli Druze citizens grew to over 125,000. At the end of 2018, there were 143,000 in Israel and the [[Israeli-occupied territories|Israeli-occupied]] portion of the Golan Heights.<ref name="CBS13"/> Most [[Israeli Druze]] identify ethnically as Arabs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Israel's Religiously Divided Society|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/israels-religiously-divided-society/|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=8 December 2017|quote=Virtually all Muslims (99%) and Christians (96%) surveyed in Israel identify as Arab. A somewhat smaller share of Druze (71%) say they are ethnically Arab. Other Druze respondents identify their ethnicity as "Other," "Druze" or "Druze-Arab."|date=2016-03-08}}</ref> Today, thousands of Israeli Druze belong to "Druze [[Zionism|Zionist]]" movements.<ref name="Eli Ashkenazi" />

According to the Israeli [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel)|Central Bureau of Statistics]] census in 2020, the Druze make up about 7.6% of the [[Arab citizens of Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/122/11_19_122b.pdf|title=The Druze population in Israel|date=24 April 2020|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel)}}</ref> By the end of 2019, around 81% of the Israeli Druze population resided in the [[Northern District (Israel)|Northern District]], while 19% were in the [[Haifa District]]. The largest Druze communities are found in [[Daliyat al-Karmel]] and [[Yirka]] (also known as Yarka).<ref name="The Druze Population of Israel">[https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/122/11_19_122b.pdf The Druze Population of Israel]</ref> The Druze live in 19 towns and villages scattered across the mountaintops in northern Israel, either in exclusively Druze areas or in mixed communities with [[Christianity in Israel|Christians]] and [[Islam in Israel|Muslims]].<ref name="The Druze Population of Israel"/>

The Galilean Druze and Druze of the [[Haifa]] region received Israeli citizenship automatically in 1948. After Israel captured the [[Golan Heights]] from Syria in 1967 and annexed it to Israel in 1981, the [[Druze in Israel#Status and position of Golan Heights Druze|Druze of the Golan Heights]] were offered full Israeli citizenship under the [[Golan Heights Law]]. Most declined Israeli citizenship and retain [[Syria]]n citizenship and identity and are treated as permanent residents of Israel.<ref name="Scott Wilson">{{cite news|title=Golan Heights Land, Lifestyle Lure Settlers|author=Scott Wilson|date=30 October 2006|access-date=6 May 2007|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900926.html | newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> As of 2011, fewer than 10% of the Druze population in the Golan Heights had accepted Israeli citizenship.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/world/middleeast/22golan.html?_r=1|title=In the Golan Heights, Anxious Eyes Look East|author=Isabel Kershner|author-link=Isabel Kershner|date=2011-05-22|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2012-01-23}}</ref>

In 1957, the Israeli government designated the Druze a distinct religious community at the request of its communal leaders.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Israeli Druze Community in Transition: Between Tradition and Modernity |first1=Randa Khair |last1=Abbas |first2=Deborah |last2=Court |year=2011 |isbn=9781527567399 |page=11 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |quote=In 1957, the Druze were declared a religious community in Israel.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Good Arabs: The Israeli Security Agencies and the Israeli Arabs, 1948–1967 |first=Hillel |last=Cohen |year=2015 |isbn=9780520944886 |page=167 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |quote=In 1957, the Druze were recognized as a distinct religious confession.}}</ref> The Druze are [[Arabic]]-speaking citizens of Israel and serve in the [[Israel Defense Forces]], just as most citizens do in Israel. Members of the community have attained top positions in Israeli politics and public service.<ref name="theisraelproject1">{{Citation |url=http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ewJXKcOUJlIaG&b=7721235&ct=11546191#.TvwjLdXLa0M |archive-date=14 September 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914091649/http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ewJXKcOUJlIaG&b=7721235&ct=11546191%23.TvwjLdXLa0M |url-status=dead |title=Religious Freedoms: Druze |publisher=The Israel project |access-date=23 January 2012}}</ref> The number of Druze parliament members usually exceeds their proportion in the Israeli population, and they are integrated within several political parties.

Some scholars maintain that Israel has tried to separate the Druze from other Arab communities, and that the effort has influenced the way Israel's Druze perceive their modern identity.<ref name="Firro 1999 9, 171"/><ref name="Weingrod 1985 259–279"/> Survey data suggests that Israeli Druze prioritize their identity first as Druze (religiously), second as Arabs (culturally and ethnically), and third as Israelis (citizenship-wise).<ref name="Nili2019"/> A small minority of them identify as [[Palestinians]], distinguishing them from the majority of other [[Arab citizens of Israel]], who predominantly identify as Palestinians.{{sfn|Amara|Schnell|2004}}