This month, The Tower’s photographer Aviram Valdman takes his camera to Israel’s northern Druze villages.
Amid the din of religions, ethnic groups, sects, and clans that make up the Middle East–Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, Shiites, Sunnis, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Alawites, Hashemites (and the list goes on)–one group, the Druze, remains tantalizingly quiet. A community with roots in Islam that is Arab by ethnicity, the Druze exist as both a distinct nationality and a religion that worships according to the tenets of a sect shrouded in secrecy.
The Druze are known for their loyalty to the countries they call home, including Israel, where they have distinguished themselves in business and on the battlefield, as well at the dining table and political forums. With their communities tucked into the hills of the Galilee, where some of the most cherished shrines, including the Tomb of Jethro, still exist, the Druze are a part of Israel and yet separate from it, deeply embedded in national life and yet able to maintain a distinct identity that has endured for centuries.
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Banner Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
- The Druze, Another People Apart / Aviram Valdman
Druze sheikhs, or elders, at a wedding. Only respected elders are allowed a full understanding of Druze religious belief and practice. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
A respected sheikh of the Galilee’s Druze community. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
A young man sits outside Jethro’s Tomb, with the Druze flag flying behind him. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Jethro’s Tomb — one of the most cherished shrines. In addition to Israel, Syria and Lebanon have significant Druze communities. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Druze family in Kfar Yanoch. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
In Kfar Yanoch a Druze family spends time together. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Druze families make a handprint onto the walls of their homes. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Firing and hammering metal, an artisan continues the tradition of Druze art. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Like in much of Israel, fireworks invariably play a part in Druze holiday celebrations. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Three generation of Druze men gather at the tomb of a prophet. A central teaching of the Druze is the transmigration of souls. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
Young Druze men worship at the Tomb of Jethro, the location of which was revealed to Saladin in a dream, the Druze believe. Photo: Aviram Valdman / The Tower
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