From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Galilee tree-planting honors fallen troops from Druze community
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community says he is touched by a KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund tree-planting ceremony in northern Israel in memory of Druze IDF soldiers who were killed during the ongoing war in Gaza.
During the ceremony, bereaved Druze families plant olive trees at the Ahihud Forest in the Galilee, “where the roots of the Druze community have been planted for nearly 1,000 years,” says Sheikh Muafak Tarif.
Those present included Imad Habaka, father of the late Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, 33, commander of the 188th Armored Brigade’s 53rd Battalion, from the Druze village of Yanuh-Jat in the western Galilee, who was killed battling Hamas in Gaza in early November. Habaka was one of the first IDF soldiers to enter Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, the site of countless Hamas atrocities.
“Our sons sacrificed themselves for the security of the state,” says Imad Habaka. “For us Druze, this is our country too, and it is our duty to protect and defend it.”
He adds that through the planting, “everyone has a place to honor our sons.”
KKL-JNF has established several projects with the Druze over the years, including a Path of Sons, a 250-kilometer (155-mile) route that connects Druze villages in the Galilee and on Mount Carmel, south of Haifa.
Around 150,000 Druze live in Israel, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures for 2022.
Theirs is a close-knit community, which frowns on intermarriage and practices a secretive religion that is closed to non-Druze.
The Times of Israel Community.