Israeli Arab Druze Speaks at JCC (11/1 - this Wed.)

[Jim Kenney]

"Anyone who wants to understand how Israel treats the Arab minority in its midst should come hear Zeidan Atashi."  There is no charge for attending and reservations are not required, so it is suggested that you arrive by 6:45 pm.  Jim

A minority within a minority: Israeli Arab Druze to speak here

By: Barbara Bayer, Staff Writer October 27, 2006

Zeidan Atashi Zeidan Atashi, an Israeli Arab and a member of its Druze community, will speak at an event sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee and Jewish Federation at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Jewish Community Campus. His topic will be "Arabs and Jews and Israel - A shared destiny."  He's coming to Kansas City as part of an annual lecture tour that will take him to six U.S. cities. "I have a special relationship with some of the people there," said Atashi, "and some of them have even visited my house, including one prominent radio star." He was referring to former KMBZ-AM talk show host Tom Becka, who has since moved on to KFAB in Omaha, Neb., but who visited Israel in October 2003 as part of a JCRB-AJC-sponsored project.    Atashi, 66, lives in the Druze village of Ussifya, near Haifa. He has visited more than 100 cities in the United States, but never before the Kansas City area. "I'm coming to represent the cause of Israel and the cause of peace and coexistence," he said in a phone interview from Ussifya. Atashi said he hopes those in attendance will be ready for that kind of conversation because he's not sure they've ever met "with an Israeli who is not necessarily Jewish."

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Federation Executive Director Todd Stettner said Atashi was invited to speak here at a time when Israel-Arab relations are much in the news, and because he is a man who has worked many years on behalf of Israel.

"He is an Israeli Arab, so he speaks with a different perspective," said Stettner, who has been acquainted with Atashi for many years.

 

Atashi, like most Druze, served in the Israel Defense Forces and was the first non-Jewish Israeli appointed to the Israeli delegation to the United Nations. He also served two terms in the Israeli Knesset. He has also worked in Israeli television as a senior reporter and commentator on Arab affairs.

 

Stettner noted that Atashi has worked with the Israeli government on issues relating to the Druze communities in Israel as well as those in Lebanon and Syria, and also concerning Palestinian issues.

Loyal to Israel

Because Atashi is tremendously loyal to Israel, Stettner said, "when he defends Israel, it's much different than an Israeli Jew defending Israel. He speaks with a different kind of authority because he is a minority in the country."

 

"It is an extraordinary experience to hear Zeidan Atashi when he speaks so positively about Israel with tremendous passion and intelligence. Anyone who wants to understand how Israel treats the Arab minority in its midst should come hear him," said Stettner.

 

Atashi told The Chronicle the tenets of the Druze religion are "secret," but he defined it as monotheistic. There are an estimated 1.5 million Druze in the world - 900,000 in Syria, 500,000 in Lebanon and 100,000 in Israel. And while many sources call the Druze faith as an offshoot of Islam, Atashi downplayed the connection.

 

"We have our own book on the religion, which is secret," Atashi said. "It is not Islamic and it is not Jewish and it is not Christian. The main things of the religion are secret that can be known only to Druze."

 

He said Druze living in Israel are loyal to the Jewish state because they own land there. Other Druze are loyal to the Arab countries in which they live because, he said, "In our religious teaching, you have to be loyal to your land. And since our land is in the land of Israel, we are loyal to Israel."

 

"In my book, I call it the philosophy of survival. We adhere to the land, which is the main insurance certificate for our physical and spiritual survival.
We don't have any national aspirations of our own to establish a Druze state."

 

In 1995 Atashi published the book "Druze & Jews in Israel: A Shared Destiny?"  Today Atashi spends most of his time working with a variety of charitable organizations, especially those connected with the Druze, universities and hospitals. He currently serves on the board of governors of Haifa University.

 

When he visits the United States this year, Atashi said he would discuss terror, violence and the underlying failures of coexistence.

 

"It's very unfortunate, but this is what we have in this region," he said. "I did not lose faith in the peace efforts. I also will touch upon that and will talk about the minorities and the majorities in Israel and the Middle East."