Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Druze woman greets her daughter, who is crossing over from Syria, at the Quneitra Crossing, Golan
Heights, September 2007. (Getty Images / Image Bank.)
Druze do not vote as a bloc, and an array of parties have elected them to the Knesset, including
the Arab Balad, the centrist Kadima, and the nationalist Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu parties.
Circassians
Muslim Circassians fl ed the Caucasus region when it came under Russian rule in the late nine-
teenth century. Today about 3,000 Circassians live in Israel, mainly in Kfar Kama and Rehaniya
in the Galilee. They attend elementary schools that focus on their culture and language and
can go to either Jewish or Arab schools thereafter, depending on where they live. Circassians
have a good relationship with Israel and the Jewish majority. In 1948, the community's lead-
ers requested, as proof of Circassian allegiance, that Israel draft Circassian men into the IDF.
Circassians have their own court system for dealing with personal status issues, which is based
on their historic law known as
Khabza
.
African Hebrew Israelites
Another minority group numbers in the thousands: the African Hebrew Israelites, commonly
known as Black Hebrews. This group of African Americans came to Israel in 1969, mainly from
Chicago. The cult's charismatic leader, Ben Ammi Ben Israel, led what he said was a return of
Africans descended from the Israelites to the Promised Land. They were permitted to enter
Israel and live in the southern town of Dimona.
A debate over this group's status lasted for years, until 2003, when its members were granted
permanent resident status and some obtained citizenship. Since 2004, they have served in the
