Protest by the Druze community: boycotting the upcoming elections

Exclusive: A protest rally in the Druze community calls for a boycott of the elections until a comprehensive solution to the long-standing building permit problem is found - "the state is abandoning us"

Ofer Petersburg

13/10/2022

Thursday, October 13, 2022, 7:09 p.m. Updated: 7:28 p.m.

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The Druze settlement of Dalit El Carmel (Photo: Reuven Castro)

A call to the Druze community in Israel to boycott the upcoming elections.

This coming Saturday (15.10) there will be a protest rally in Isfaia with a clear call to elected officials not to abandon the members of the Druze community in Israel and to prevent them from becoming criminals.

It should be noted that this is an unusual call, since the Druze community in Israel is known for its uncompromising loyalty to the State of Israel.

The organizers of the protest claim that the planning in the Druze villages in general, and in Isafia and Dalit al Carmel in particular, has resulted in a real housing crisis, which has forced the residents, most of whom are Druze, to build their homes illegally without any other alternative, all this so that they can remain close to their families and community.

Since the 1970s, the various government ministries and local councils have not been able to submit building plans or bring a planning perspective to the villages.

Thus, it follows that any new construction on private land or deviation from the existing situation is considered a criminal offense - and the violator may be prosecuted and punished in accordance with the penalties provided by law, including heavy fines, prison sentences, etc.

"There is no reason for a colonel in the IDF to be a criminal because of the recklessness of the elected officials"

According to the organizers of the protest, the voices among the senior members of the community describe a state of brokenness and distrust in the country, especially after the nationality law, which they see as unfair and humiliating.

Senior officials of the Druze community have been working for decades in a way of dialogue and mediation to strive for a solution, but it seems that they got tired of these attempts and decided to start a different kind of protest, which is not common among the Druze in Israel.

According to them, they have no choice, and the protest will continue beyond the rally, until a comprehensive, permanent and broad solution is found, which will provide an adequate response to the problem.

"We are citizens of Israel, proud, loyal citizens, serving the state relative to our size in the highest percentages, I am not a criminal, and we do not want to be criminals. We ask the state not to make us become like this because that is not our character and this is not how we educate our children. They arrived Water to the soul, and the time has come to stop the cynical exploitation of the community in Israel. We demand that the state and its institutions find a solution to the housing crisis and allow us to build on our private lands in a legal and orderly manner, there is no reason for the lack of plans for so many years and no reason for an IDF colonel to be a criminal Because of the negligence and carelessness of the superiors and elected officials."

A protest rally in Ada Bedrozit - "Boycott the elections until the state stops abandoning us" (Photo: Yehchat)

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