Druze in Israel

Israeli Druze or Druze Israelis (Arabic: الدروز الإسرائيليون; Hebrew: דְּרוּזִים יִשְׂרְאֵלִים) are an ethnoreligious minority among the Arab citizens of Israel. Arabic is their primary language and Arab culture is an integral part of their identity. In 2019, there were 143,000 Druze people living within Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; they comprise 1.6% of the total population of Israel. The majority of Israeli Druze are concentrated in northern Israel, especially in Galilee, Carmel and the Golan areas.

Before the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, Druze people were not recognized as a religious community, and were discriminated against by the local judicial system of the time. In 1957, the Israeli government designated Druze Israelis as a distinct religious community at the request of Druze leaders. Alongside the Jewish majority and the Circassian minority, the Druze minority is required by law to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Members of the community have also attained top positions in Israeli politics and public service. As is the case for the Circassian community, only men from the community are drafted, while women are exempted, in contrast with Jewish women, for whom military service is mandatory.

Druzism, the Druze ethnic religion, developed out of Isma'ilism, a branch of Shia Islam, but the Druze do not consider themselves Muslims. Druze Israelis are native Arabic-speakers; a 2017 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center reported that the majority of Israel's Druze also ethnically self-identify as Arabs. Israel has the world's third-largest Druze population, after Syria and Lebanon; survey data suggests that Israeli Druze prioritize their identity first as Druze (religiously), second as Arabs (culturally and ethnically), and third as Israelis (citizenship).