Israeli Druze leaders attend Lebanon conference, despite ban on travel to enemy state
The Israeli Druze leaders, mostly sheikhs and religious leaders from northern villages in the the Galilee, departed Saturday for Jordan, and continued to Lebanon through Syria.
By Jack Khoury Tags: Israel news Lebanon Syria JordanA delegation of Druze officials from Israel arrived in Beirut on Monday to attend a regional conference of leaders from the religious community sponsored by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman.
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Druze protesting on Route 70, near Yokneam, in May. |
| Photo by: Tomer Neuberg |
Israel bans its citizens from visiting "enemy" states such as Lebanon as Israel remains technically in a state of war with it.
The Israeli Druze leaders, mostly sheikhs and religious leaders from northern villages in the the Galilee, departed Saturday for Jordan, and continued to Lebanon through Syria.
The 30-member delegation said in a statement published Monday that it had not received permission to travel to Lebanon from the government or from the Interior Ministry.
The delegation said it had sent a request to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to Interior Minister Eli Yishai, which went unanswered. However, Galilee police summoned one of the Druze leaders, Sheikh Aouni Khanifas, for questioning over allegations he was organizing a trip to an enemy state.
The sheikh insisted the delegation would attend the conference, which is gathering Druze religious and spiritual from 35 countries around the world, in order to maintain ties with international members of its faith.
The conference, which lasts from Monday until Thursday, will reportedly address the needs of Druze communities worldwide and urge Druze expatriates to invest in economic, social and humanitarian projects in Lebanon.
The delegation also said they did not appeal to the High Court of Justice for travel permits because that would have delayed their arrival. The religious leaders are scheduled to meet Lebanese Druze leaders and senior Druze leadership from around the world. They will also visit Druze holy sites in Lebanon.
The Israeli Druze leaders also said that Jordan and Syria made great efforts to ease the delegation's entry into Lebanon, and sent telegrams thanking Syrian President Bashar Assad and Jordan's King Abdullah for their cooperation and VIP treatment.
The Israeli delegation, comprising of sheikhs and spiritual leaders, is likely to face police questioning and legal hurdles upon returning to Israel.
Earlier this year, the High Court of Justice lifted a ban on Israeli-Arab author Ala Hlehel from traveling to Beirut to receive a literary prize, despite objections from Netanyahu and Yishai.
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The Druze have been loyal to Israel; however, I read they are being maltreated in Israel, as are other people in Israel now. This could cause friction between groups, which is sad. The Druze to avoid confrontation will conform to the country they live in from my knowledge. Druze came from the Mt. Lebanon area, so they have a right to meet there. Jumblatt just helped pass a bill to get work permits for the Palestinians in Lebanon. Giving Palestinians in Lebanon the right to work and buy property would help solve the Palestinian problem. The Christians are against it because they are afraid of becoming a minority. What can you do. Shiites are also for Palestinian rights interestingly; and Druze are also Shiites. Some Christians, I must add, will also be for Palestinian rights. If they help solve the Palestinian problem in Lebanon, that would help Israel, since 400,000 Palestinians still live in Lebanon with no rights.
abandoned their origin and their culture to ally themselves with the State that confiscated their lands and still treating them as second and third class citizens. They have to serve in the army and they have to kill their brothers and sisters in the WB and Gaza and yet they are treated as the rest of the Palestinians especially after they finish the military service and this is what they themselves say as I watched an Aljazeera/English program interviewing some of ex soldiers .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbrIWyEhl8A&playnext_from=TL&videos=rFSNZURvMLs
I read in this paper at the time: A Druze battalion from the IDF was the most succesful during the 2006 war against Lebanon.
"The sheikh insisted the delegation would attend the conference, which is gathering Druze religious and spiritual from 35 countries around the world, in order to maintain ties with international members of its faith." What a threat this is is Israel. When will these people understand there is only one religion as far as the Jewish state is concerned. It's called Judaism.
With such a proclamation you spit on the history of Judaism, the Jewish people and Moses himself. No where has Israel ever been "just for the Jewish people." Who is an Israeli? Anyone who lives in Israel. And I am Jewish. But difinitely not a biggot.
It is a sad day for Judaism, when Jews express such intolerance to other religions.
..a Druze cruise.
Going over to the enemies side is a one way ticket to surrendering one's citizenship. Nice knowing you.
There should be strong law against it.
has become the enemy of civilization...
Need to get out more
Avi it seems you have been around the block a thousand times or more but the quality of your posts still haven't improved.
There is no security threat to Israel. The Druze have been very loyal to Israel for 63 years and many have died in service fighting for Israel. But it sounds like Israel would rather make enemies of yet another 1 Million people, of which well over 100,000 live in Israel. Those that want to imprison them or permanently expell them from their own country are probably the same ones that continually whine about how come so may people dislike Israel.
The article cites they willingly decided not to apply to the court and use other methods so they willingly and knowingly disobeyed the law. Good reasons or not, the rule of the law must not be ignored or undermined.
The Druze have always had a very good standing in Israel, and a very good relationship with Jews, going back thousands of years. I do feel for those regular Druze people who do know which side their bread is buttered on, but sadly this is simply going to break the trust that Jewish Israelis have in the Druze, leading to massive loss of business for the Druze. I for one will certainly not be buying anything from the Druze anymore, seeing the treasonous direction their leaders are taking of late. I hate to imagine the loss of earnings the Golan Druze are heading for, come the winter skiing season. Sad to see such a good relationship be destroyed by Islamic regional politics. The Druze will probably regret this move, when they are living back under islamic rule, sometime in the future
"The Druze have always had a very good standing in Israel, and a very good relationship with Jews, going back thousands of years.`` The Druze religion is only 600-700 years old.
Sorry, I will be more clear. I forget the details, but the Druze faith is rooted in a beautiful story involving Jews. If I am not mistaken, that particular story is supposed to have happened long before the Druze religion was actually founded....I suppose in the same way that at the time of Abraham, Judaism did not exist yet either. Maybe someone more knowledgeable on the history can fill in the details.
Deny them re-entry in Israel !
The should be charged with treason.
Deny them re-entry in Israel !
Shame ,these poor Druze cannot get it together with their big boss Walid Jumblatt and overthrow the tyrant Nasrallah ,so they must be going to drink tea and smoke Bekaa valley hashish whilst they caress their worry beads ?
What a silly commentary. You should encourage such acts to enhance peace and not propagate for hatred
then the "moderates" will not feel protected by Syria against a weak West! These people should not be going there! Israeli's are not welcome so why shoulf they?
His party was elected in Lebanon in legitimate elections.
Propagator of hatred he surely is. Before reading one of his posts I caress my worry beads in order to help temper what surely will be a groundswell of disgust.