Editing Druze (section)

=== Relationship with Jews ===
[[File:Maqam Al-Kader.jpg|thumb|Maqam Al-[[Khidr]] in [[Kafr Yasif]]]]
The relationship between the Druze and [[Jews]] has been controversial,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Druze between Palestine and Israel 1947–49 |first=L. |last=Parsons |year=2011 |isbn=9780230595989 |page=7 |publisher=Springer}}</ref> [[Antisemitism|Antisemitic]] material is contained in the Druze literature such as the ''[[Epistles of Wisdom]]''; for example in an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druze, [[Baha al-Din al-Muqtana]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Muslim-Jewish Encounters |first=Ronald |last=Nettler |year=2014 |isbn=9781134408542 |page=140 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |quote=...One example of Druze anti-Jewish bias is contained in an epistle ascribed to one of the founders of Druzism, Baha al-Din}}</ref> probably written sometime between AD 1027 and AD 1042, accused the Jews of [[crucifixion of Jesus|crucifying Jesus]].<ref name="The War for Palestine1">{{cite book |title=The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948 |first=Eugene L. |last=Rogan |authorlink= Eugene Rogan|year=2011 |isbn=9780521794763 |page=73 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref> In other epistles, Jews are depicted negatively as "morally corrupt and murderers of prophets", particularly in chapters 13–14 of the [[Epistles of Wisdom]].<ref name="Stevenson 1954">{{cite book |title=The Muslim World: A Quarterly Review of History, Culture, Religions & the Christian Mission in Islamdom |last=Stevenson |first=W. B. |year=1954 |isbn=9781468067279 |page=38 |publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley Press]]}}</ref> The epistle "Excuses and Warnings" predicts that, as a sign of the end times, Jews will seize control of [[Jerusalem]] and seek revenge on its inhabitants as well as those of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]]. Afterwards, Messiah Jesus will expel the Jews from Jerusalem due to their spread of moral corruption worldwide. Christians will then dominate Muslims until the [[Day of Judgment]], when divine judgment by Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah will occur.<ref name="Stevenson 1954"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Branca |first=Paolo |title=Some Druze 'Catechisms' in Italian Libraries. |journal=Quaderni di Studi Arabi |volume=15 |date=1997 |pages=151–164 |jstor=25802822<!-- |access-date=22 November 2023 -->}}</ref>

On the other hand, [[Benjamin of Tudela]], a Jewish traveler<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/benjamin-of-tudela |title=Benjamin of Tudela |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org |language=en |access-date=2017-11-05}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2024}} from the 12th century, pointed out that the Druze maintained good commercial relations with the Jews nearby, and according to him this was because the Druze liked the Jewish people.<ref name="The War for Palestine2">{{cite book |title=The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948 |first=Eugene L. |last=Rogan |authorlink= Eugene Rogan |year=2011 |isbn=9780521794763 |page=71 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref> Yet, the Jews and Druze lived isolated from each other, except in a few mixed towns such as [[Deir al-Qamar]] and [[Peki'in]].<ref name="The War for Palestine2"/><ref name="David2010">{{cite book |first=Abraham |last=David |title=To Come to the Land: Immigration and Settlement in 16th-Century Eretz-Israel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqy4wqVbSUkC&pg=PA27 |date=2010 |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |isbn=978-0-8173-5643-9 |pages=27–28}}</ref> The [[Deir el Qamar Synagogue]] was built in 1638, during the Ottoman era in Lebanon, to serve the local Jewish population, some of whom were part of the immediate entourage of the Druze [[Emir]] [[Fakhr-al-Din II]].{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

During the [[Ottoman Syria|Ottoman period]], relations between the Druze of Galilee and the Jewish community were generally strained and marked by conflict.<ref>{{cite book |title=A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered |first=K.|last=Salibi|author-link=Kamal Salibi |publisher=University of California Press |date=1988 |isbn=978-0-520-07196-4|page=66}}</ref> In 1660, during a [[Druze power struggle (1658–67)|Druze power struggle]] in Mount Lebanon, Druze forces destroyed Jewish settlements in the Galilee, including [[1660 destruction of Safed|Safad]] and [[1660 destruction of Tiberias|Tiberias]].<ref name=rappel>Joel Rappel. ''History of Eretz Israel from Prehistory up to 1882'' (1980), Vol. 2, p. 531. "In 1662 Sabbathai Sevi arrived in Jerusalem. It was the time when the Jewish settlements of Galilee were destroyed by the Druze: Tiberias was completely desolate and only a few former Safed residents had returned..."</ref><ref name="Barnay, Y 1992 p. 149">Barnay, Y. The Jews in Palestine in the eighteenth century: under the patronage of the Istanbul Committee of Officials for Palestine (University of Alabama Press 1992) {{ISBN|978-0-8173-0572-7}} p. 149</ref> The tension escalated in 1834 during the [[Peasants' revolt in Palestine|Peasants' Revolt]], when [[1834 looting of Safed|Safed's Jewish community]] endured a month-long assault that involved extensive looting, violence, and the destruction of Jewish properties by both Druze and Muslims.<ref name="Rossoff" >Dovid Rossoff, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RjFoPWto6VYC&pg=PA149 ''Safed: The Mystical City.''] Feldheim Publishers, 1991 {{isbn|978-0-873-06566-5}} pp. 149ff: ''The Druze Massacre of Safed''</ref> During the [[1838 Druze revolt|Druze revolt]] against the rule of [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]], the [[1838 Druze attack on Safed|Jewish community in Safad was attacked]] by Druze rebels in early July 1838, the violence against the Jews included plundering their homes and desecrating their synagogues.<ref name="Lieber1992">{{cite book |first=Sherman |last=Lieber |title=Mystics and missionaries: the Jews in Palestine, 1799–1840 |url=https://archive.org/details/mysticsmissionar0000lieb |url-access=registration |year=1992 |publisher=[[University of Utah Press]] |isbn=978-0-87480-391-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mysticsmissionar0000lieb/page/334 334] |quote=The Druze and local Muslims vandalised the Jewish quarter. During three days, though they enacted a replay of the 1834 plunder, looting homes and desecrating synagogues—no deaths were reported. What could not be stolen was smashed and burned. Jews caught outdoors were robbed and beaten.}}</ref><ref name="Finkelstein1960">{{cite book|author=Louis Finkelstein|title=The Jews: their history, culture, and religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=838GAQAAIAAJ|year=1960|publisher=Harper|page=679|quote=In the summer of 1838 the Druses revolted against Ibrahim Pasha, and once more the Jews were the scapegoat. The Moslems joined the Druses in repeating the slaughter and plunder of 1834.}}</ref><ref name="Florence2004">{{cite book|author=Ronald Florence|title=Blood libel: the Damascus affair of 1840|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJDLrLlWg18C&pg=PA47|date=2004|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-20280-4|page=47|quote=There had been pogroms against the Jews in Safed in 1834 and 1838.}}</ref>
[[File:DSCN1293a Israel בית אוליפנט דלית אל כרמל.jpg|thumb|Oliphant house in [[Daliyat al-Karmel]]]]
Interactions between Jews and Druze were rare before the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|establishment of Israel]] in 1948, as they historically lived isolated from each other.<ref name="David2010"/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Druze between Palestine and Israel 1947–49|first=L.|last= Parsons|year= 2011| isbn=9780230595989| page =7 |publisher=Springer}}</ref> During the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]], the Druze did not embrace the rising [[Arab nationalism]] of the time or participate in violent confrontations with [[Aliyah|Jewish immigrants]]. In 1948, many Druze volunteered for the Israeli army and no Druze villages were destroyed or permanently abandoned.<ref name="IDMC">{{cite web|url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/F11200E8ECD83F71802570B8005A7276?OpenDocument |title=Internal Displacement Monitoring Center – Israel |access-date=2009-04-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060903022121/http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/%28httpEnvelopes%29/F11200E8ECD83F71802570B8005A7276?OpenDocument |archive-date=3 September 2006}}</ref> Since the establishment of the [[state of Israel]], the Druze have demonstrated solidarity with Israel and distanced themselves from Arab [[Islamic radicalism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/the_middle_east_journal/v064/64.4.nisan.pdf|title=The Druze in Israel: Questions of Identity, Citizenship, and Patriotism|access-date=9 February 2022|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121451/http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=%2Fjournals%2Fthe_middle_east_journal%2Fv064%2F64.4.nisan.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Israeli Druze male citizens serve in the [[Israel Defense Forces]].<ref name="Christian Arabs">{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=555549|title=Christian Arabs / Second in a series – Israel's Christian Arabs don't want to fight to fit in|first=Yoav|last=Stern|publisher=Haaretz|date=23 March 2005|access-date=7 January 2006|archive-date=10 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210000545/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=555549|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Jewish-Druze partnership was often referred as "a covenant of blood" (Hebrew: {{lang|he|ברית דמים|rtl=yes}}, ''brit damim'') in recognition of the common military yoke carried by the two peoples for the security of the country.<ref>{{cite news
|last=Firro
|first=Kais
|title=Druze Herev Battalion Fights 32 Days With No Casualties
|url=http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=110102
|date=2006-08-15
|publisher=[[Arutz Sheva]]
|access-date=15 August 2006
|archive-date=24 December 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224210256/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/
|url-status=dead
}}</ref><ref name="The War for Palestine1"/><ref>{{harvnb|Nisan|2015|p=284}}: "This Jewish-Druze partnership was often referred to as a "covenant of blood," in recognition of the common military yoke carried by the two peoples for the security of the country."</ref> Israeli Druze scholars Kais M. Firro and Rabah Halabi contend that the Israeli narrative of a "special historical bond" or "blood pact" between Druze and Jews is a myth fabricated by early Zionist circles to divide and control [[Arab citizens of Israel|Arab religious communities in Israel]], with no historical foundation.<ref name="Reshaping Druze Particularism in Is"/><ref name="Invention of a Nation: The Druze in"/> Conversely, the Druze community in Syria, Lebanon, and the Golan Heights generally aligns with [[Arab nationalism]] and holds predominantly [[anti-Zionist]] views.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Middle East: A Guide to Politics, Economics, Society and Culture |first=Barry |last=Rubin |year=2015 |isbn=9781317455783 |page=369 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]}}</ref>

From 1957, the Israeli government formally recognized the Druze as a separate religious community,<ref name="Jiryis-1969">{{cite book |title=The Arabs in Israel |first=Sabri |last=Jiryis |publisher=The Institute for Palestine Studies |date=1969 |orig-year=2nd impression |page=145 |isbn=978-0-85345-377-2 |author-link=Sabri Jiryis}}</ref> and they are defined as a distinct ethnic group in the [[Ministry of Interior (Israel)|Israeli Ministry of Interior's]] census registration.<ref name="Jiryis-1969"/> [[Israeli Druze]] do not consider themselves Muslim, and see their faith as a separate and independent religion.<ref name="Jiryis-1969"/> While compared to other [[Israeli Christians]] and [[Islam in Israel|Muslims]], Druze place less emphasis on their [[Arab identity]] and self-identify more as [[Israelis|Israeli]]. However, they were less ready for personal relationships with [[Israeli Jews|Jews]] compared to Israeli Muslims and Christians.<ref name="Index Democracy Israeli">{{cite web| url = https://www.idi.org.il/media/8292/%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%93-%D7%94%D7%93%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%94-%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%AA-2016-%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%90%D7%96%D7%A8%D7%97%D7%99-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D.pdf| title = Israel of Citizens Arab of Attitudes: Index Democracy Israeli 2016 The}}</ref> Scholars attribute this trend to cultural differences between Jews and Druze.<ref>{{cite book|title=Israel's "ethnic Project" in the City of Shafa-amr: Particularization of Identity Along Religious Lines|last=Ibrahim|first=Ibtisam|year=2000|isbn=9789651905889|pages=170–175|publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison}}</ref>

In terms of religious comparison, scholars consider [[Judaism]] and the Druze faith as [[ethnoreligious group]]s,<ref name="Harrison1"/> both practicing [[endogamy]],<ref name=dawn/> and both typically do not [[proselytize]]. Belief in reincarnation (''[[Gilgul]]'') exist in some strands of Judaism influenced by the [[Kabbalah]], such as [[Hasidic Judaism]], but is rejected by mainstream Jewish denominations ([[Reform Judaism]], [[Conservative Judaism]] and [[Orthodox Judaism]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Trachtenberg |first=Joshua |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GgI5EAAAQBAJ |title=Jewish Magic and Superstition |date=2021 |publisher=Beyond Books Hub |language=en}}</ref> Figures in the [[Hebrew Bible]] such as [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], and [[Moses]] are considered important prophets of God in the Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.<ref name="Hitti 1928 37"/>{{sfn|Dānā|2008|p=17}} Both religions venerate [[Elijah]],{{sfn|Swayd|2015|p=7}} [[Job (biblical figure)|Job]] and other common figures. In the [[Tanakh|Hebrew Bible]], [[Jethro (biblical figure)|Jethro]] was [[Moses]]' father-in-law, a [[Kenite]] shepherd and priest of [[Midian]].<ref name ="Harris">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.{{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=July 2024}}</ref> Jethro of Midian is considered an ancestor of the Druze who revere him as their spiritual founder and chief prophet.