This tiny religious and ethnic minority makes an outsized contribution to Israel in every field of endeavor.

The Druze of northern Israel are a tiny religious and ethnic minority. Neither Muslim nor Christian, they comprise just 145,000 of the country’s 1.95 million Arab citizens.

Yet Druze Israelis are well represented at senior levels in academia, politics, the military, science, medicine, arts, sports and business.

“Relative to our numbers we are very accomplished, just like the Jews are in the world,” says Druze Israeli entrepreneur Aiman Amer (see his profile below). “We’ve learned from the best.”

Amer explains that the monotheistic Druze religion, founded in Egypt about 1,000 years ago, expects followers to live and marry within their own communities but not as a separate nation.

Altogether, there are about 2 million Druze primarily in Syria, Lebanon and Israel, as well as Jordan, North America, Venezuela, Germany and Australia.

“Each community is completely patriotic and loyal to its country,” Amer says, adding that the Druze also value dignity and equality between men and women.

Below are profiles of six highly successful Druze citizens. All trilingual in Arabic, Hebrew and English, they are role models far beyond their northern villages.

NEWSRAEL will be highlighting 6 Druze leaders who are helping to bring their communities into a tighter integration and prosperity.