Jumblatt urges Israeli Druze not to join army

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has called on the Druze community in Israel not to serve in the army, saying it contradicts with the sect's membership in the Arab nation.

All Druze are Arabs who follow the Druze religion and thus ties between Druze in different countries and between them and other Arabs are natural, visiting Jumblatt told the Radio A-Shams in Cyprus.

The call by the Druze leader comes after his recent meeting with a delegation of Israeli Druze dignitaries led by MP Said Naffaa and clergymen from Mount Carmel and Galilee.

He said his ties with Israeli Druze began in Amman in 2001 and have been developing ever since, expressing optimism that awareness of such ties among young Druze is on the rise in Israel, and that many of them are already refusing to join the military.

"The fact that the number of Druze avoiding military service has risen from 5 percent to almost 60 percent is proof enough of the importance of this connection," he said.

Jumblatt dismissed criticism that he was intervening in another community's internal affairs, describing the voices speaking against his initiative as only "primitive."

"We have proven that maintaining this relationship strengthens the Arab-Palestinian identity of community members in Israel, and especially the young," he stressed. "The rising numbers of conscientious objectors show the Druze will no longer be border guards for the State of Israel."

Founded in the 11th century, the Druze religion is an offshoot of Islam with an estimated one million followers worldwide, with most living in Lebanon, Syria and Israel.

There are nearly 100,000 members of the Druze community in Israel, but very few Arabs serve in the Israeli army.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114939§ionid=351020203.