A worker cleans a horse on the property of local entrepreneur in the predominantly Druze city of Beit Jann in northern Israel. Around 150,000 Druze, Arab adherents of an esoteric offshoot of Syiah Islam live in Israel. — AFP
IN black robes, white moustaches and traditional hats, Druze religious elders stood before the coffin of Israeli soldier Adi Malik Harb, killed fighting Hamas fighters in Gaza.
But while Israel’s Druze minority serve in the military and fight and die for the country, many of them say their communities are marginalised and deprived of public investment while families are fined crippling sums for building homes due to selective enforcement of planning rules.
