The Druze Heritage Center in Israel is a governmental institution operating under the “Druze Heritage Center in Israel” Law, enacted by the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) in 2007. The Center’s diverse activities and events aim to study the Druze Unitarian community - its history and culture - and to preserve its intellectual and moral treasures for future generations. We strive to deepen the foundations of the Druze Unitarian heritage within the community, and to present it to both local and global society through the activities of the Research Institute, the Museum, the Archive, and the Center’s private library, which will operate in full adherence to the professional standards observed in the academic and cultural spheres. In addition, the Center is committed to strengthening the identity of the next generation of our esteemed community’s sons and daughters, and to introducing it to the youth of both local and international societies. The Druze Heritage Center will also initiate public and academic activities aimed at enabling lovers of knowledge and culture to explore and engage with the Druze community and its heritage, both in Israel and abroad.
It is no coincidence that this pioneering website of the Heritage Center is launched today, embodying the Center’s vision of bringing together the past and present, tradition and future. Through these important pages, broadcast to the world, it presents chapters from the history of the Druze community and its notable figures to every visitor, reader, and inquirer—both from within the community and from other societies.
As the General Director of the Druze Heritage Center in Israel, I have had the great privilege of being the Center’s first director and of contributing to the revival of this significant project for the Druze community in Israel and around the world. This project, which had remained in the planning stages since the mid-1990s, finally began to take shape in 2020 with the construction of the permanent building of the...
The Druze community in Israel is considered the third largest Druze population in the world in terms of number of residents. The Druze in Israel form a cohesive religious community of approximately 150,000 people. Their language is Arabic, and their culture is uniquely Arab and monotheistic. The Druze religion has been officially recognized by the State of Israel since 1957 as an independent entity with its own courts and spiritual leadership. Today, the Druze in Israel live in 22 villages located in the Galilee, on Mount Carmel, and in the Golan Heights. The two largest Druze communities in terms of population are Daliyat al-Karmel (about 17,500 residents) and Yarka (about 17,300 residents).
Ad-Durziyya is an online journal published in collaboration by the Druze Heritage Center and the Moshe Dayan Center for Research. The journal is published in both Hebrew and English, offering readers different perspectives on Druze society in the Middle East.
"חשיבותו ותרומתו של המחקר נובעות מכך שזהו מחקר אמפירי ראשון מסוגו אודות תחום שטרם נחקר בעדה הדרוזית, על אף שהספרות הקיימת מציינת את חשיבותו של עקרון שמירת האחים...".
נשמח לארח אתכם ולענות לכם על כל שאלה או בקשה, מלאו את הטופס:
ההתיישבות הדרוזית בישראל נחשבת לשלישית בגודלה, מבחינת מספר התושבים, בעולם כולו. הדרוזים בישראל (בני דת הייחוד) מהווים עדה דתית מגובשת, המונה כ- 147 אלף בני אדם, שפתם הינה ערבית ותרבותם ערבית-ייחודית (מונותאיסטית). הדת הדרוזית מוכרת באופן רשמי, על ידי מדינת ישראל, מאז שנת 1957 כישות אחת בעלת בתי משפט והנהגה רוחנית משלה. הדרוזים בישראל חיים כיום בתוך עשרים ושניים כפרים הנפרשים בגליל, בכרמל וברמת הגולן. שני היישובים הדרוזים הגדולים ביותר מבחינת מספר תושבים הם ירכא (16.9 אלף תושבים) ודלית אל-כרמל (17.1 אלף תושבים).
