Is there religious diversity in the Israeli army?
When soldiers are inducted into the army, they hold an M-16 in one hand, and they swear on their holy book. Approximately 80 percent swear on the Hebrew Bible. The second most popular holy book is the Quran. This is mostly for Bedouin Muslims who volunteer. The Bedouin are some of the best soldiers in the Israeli army. The second group of Arabic-speaking soldiers are Druze men. The Druze religion is an 11th-century offshoot of Islam. The Druze communities in Israel showed their loyalty to the state by asking the government to draft their men. When they swear in, they use a plain notebook with nothing inside, because the Druze holy book is so secret nobody is allowed to see it unless you’re high up in the religion. The fourth holy book is the Christian Bible. Q: Having talked with the different religious groups, do you see any signs of hope for the future of Israel? A: That’s a very American question. Americans always like happy endings to their movies. I wrote a lot of the book in down
