1. Why do some Israelis feel that even though they are citizens, the Israeli government does not respect their community, or the dominant Ashkenazic Jewish Israeli society does not regard them as “authentic Israelis”?

Druze and Ethiopians Israelis, even though they are citizens, the Israeli government does not respect their community. Most of Druze religion is kept hidden from the outside world as well as most Druze, who are only allowed to know the simplified version (Rosenthal, 293). Given that Druze religion is not regarded as conventional to the dominant Israeli society, it is not respected and is separated from Israeli society. Druze religion is rigorous, such as they are forbidden to marry a non-Druze. Druze have practiced strict endogamy for almost a thousand years, so converting someone to their religion is prohibited. If a Druze were to marry a non-Druze, they would be excommunicated and removed from the village. That being said, more than a third of marriages are to close relatives and in more conservative villages the rate increases by half. The Israeli government labels the Druze as a separate religious community, so the Druze have their religious courts that oversee marriage, divorce, etc., are following Druze religious laws. 

Moreover, early Druze followers were persecuted by Muslims, so they fled Egypt and settled in mountain villages that are now Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel (Rosenthal, 296). During the 1947 Arab-Israeli war, Druze were pressure to join in Muslim attacks on Jews; they faced the choice of living as a minority in a Muslim state or living as a minority in a Jewish state, many Druze chose to fight with the Jewish Hagana. Druze face unjust treatment, they are set apart from the dominant Ashkenazic Jewish Israeli society because of their religious practices, laws, and lifestyle. Druze are known for their readiness to sacrifice their lives defending their state because Druze religion teaches that they must be loyal to the country they live and their belief in reincarnation. However, despite their army service, as mentioned Druze experience discrimination because of their beliefs that do not conform with dominant Israeli society. 

 

In the article “Netanyahu vows to empower Druze: ‘You are part of us, we are part of you” the Prime minister wants to address concerns and anger within the Druze community over nation-state laws. Over the last year, the Druze community has been expressing doubt and anger over the supposedly constitutional law that places Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. This seemingly constitutional law has Druze leaders criticizing legislation for discrimination between Jews and non-Jews. While Netanyahu has met with Druze leaders to discuss their concerns about the nation-state law, he continues to defend the legislation. He stated that the law was necessary to ensure that Israel remains democratic and also the nation-state of the Jewish people and the Jewish people alone. More so, in an attempt to appease Druze critics, the Prime Minister’s office has put forward a proposal to anchor in separate legislation. It reinforces discrimination towards Druze in Israel because they are viewed as distinct from the dominant Israeli society. For instance, Druze suffer from a shortage of land to build on; no new Druze villages have been established even though their population has increased in members.

 

Further, in the article “Ethiopians unable to wed in Petah Tikva, where rabbis doubt their Jewishness” Ethiopian Israelis say that local rabbinate mistrust their conversions. Ethiopian Israelis in the central city of Petah Tikva are regularly denied marriage licenses because rabbis question their Jewishness. A vast majority of Ethiopian Israelis are questioning about their full Jewishness because Ethiopian Judaism was based on the bible, not the Talmud (Rosenthal 168). So, the Chief Rabbinate insisted they go through a symbolic conversion ceremony to remove all doubts about their Jewishness. More so, immigrants from Ethiopia belonging to the Falash Mura community are required to undergo Orthodox conversion after immigrating. Thus, both Druze and Ethiopian Israelis are regarded as “authentic Israelis, due to their religious practices that are not similar to the Ashkenazi Jewish Israeli society.