First elections for Druze in Israeli Golan divide community
972 views · Published 1 November 2018 · 4:48 · Indexed 11 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(27 Oct 2018) Sameera Rada Emran's face should be everywhere. The 46-year-old Druze resident of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights is running to head her village's local council. But there are no posters bearing her image or campaign ads bellowing her name. Druze residents of the Golan will for the first time join millions of Israelis voting in local elections next week. But candidates like Emran have had to keep a low profile amid a call by some Druze to boycott the polls, exposing a deep rift in the community over identity and the future of the occupied territory. The chasm has pit community elders who pledge fealty to Syria and activists opposed to Israel's occupation against those with looser ties to their ancestral homeland who seek to have a stake in how their own communities are managed. Israel occupied the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the territory in 1981, a move that is not internationally recognized. In contrast to the Palestinian territories captured in 1967 however, the Golan has remained quiet under Israeli rule. While most of the Golan's 26,000 Druze have chosen not to take Israeli citizenship, they hold Israeli residency status that gives them the right to travel and work freely. Residents speak Hebrew, and the Golan, with its rugged landscape and many restaurants, is a popular destination for Israeli tourists. Still, the community, members of a secretive offshoot of Islam, still largely sees itself as inextricably linked to Syria. Many hope the territory might one day be returned to Syria as part of a peace deal. Boycott supporters have been holding meetings to convince, or pressure candidates not to run and voters to abstain and several would-be candidates have already withdrawn. Demonstrations against the elections have been held and a general strike is being planned for voting day next week. Emran, for her part, said some of her relationships with neighbors have soured over her choice to run. The divide has meant the frenzy of election campaigning has skipped over the sleepy Druze villages. Candidates have had to keep campaigning a hushed, low-key affair, with many appealing to voters through social media and quiet gatherings indoors. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e37460c384eed80db6c0b82e8163d063
