The Druzes in the Jewish State: A Brief History (Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia) [Hardcover]

Kais M. Firro (Author)

Book Description

Series: Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia | Publication Date: April 1, 1999

Following the war of 1948 Palestine's Druzes became part of the state of Israel. Overwhelmingly rural, they sought to safeguard their community's age-old ethnic independence by holding on to their traditional ethno-religious particularism. Ethnicity and ethnic issues, however, were ready tools for the Zionists in the pursuit of their policy aims vis-a-vis the state's Arab population. Central among these was the cooptation of part of the Druze elite in an obvious effort to alienate the Druzes from the other Arabs - creating "good" Arabs and "bad" Arabs served the Jewish state as a foil for its ongoing policy of dispossession and control. The author painstakingly documents the political, social and economic factors that ensured the "success" of these Zionist policies, but concludes that the fissured identity of Israel's Druzes today bespeaks a feeling of "musiba," tragedy, within the community itself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'"Die vorliegende Arbeit ist ein absolutes Mu_ f]r alle Drusenforscher, aber auch eine ampfehlenswerte Lekt]re f]r all diejenigen, die sich f]r die innere Dynamik und Wandlungsfdhrigkeit von Minderheiten und ihre beziehungen zur sie umgebenden Mehrheit interessieren'
Bernadette Schenk, "Die Welt des Islams, 2001.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 266 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004112510
• ISBN-13: 978-9004112513
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,013,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.