By Sylvia Wolk, NFTY in Israel Participant, Bus 3
Recently, we visited a group of Druze, who served us a wonderful lunch. I’ll admit, before this trip, I’d never heard of the Druze (Their segregated mountain top homes might have something to do with that). I got a brief intro during my time on Sea to Sea, where I was told that they lived segregated lives and kept their religion secret. Meeting with them and learning about their culture was very enlightening, and helped me truly understand their culture. I learned that they are an offshoot of Islam, but clearly are no longer related to the religion. Their loyalty to their country was also new to me. As a Jew, I’d feel more loyal to a Jew from Russia than a Christian from America, but the Druze are more loyal to their country than their people. Their patriotism was so much stronger than I’ve imagined, and seemed stronger than some Jewish Israelis I’ve met. Our host sparked a wonderful discussion about patriotism, and how that effects ties to families. This puts strain on their relationships, especially with the current Syrian civil war turning Druze against each other. They also gave us a lot of food, and all of it was diverse and wonderful- normal pita, zatar pita, tahini, Israeli salad, you know, classic Israeli food (actually though, it was delicious and plentiful). All in all, it was an educational and entertaining trip.
