The Education System as a Mechanism for Political Control: The Education System for the Druze in Israel

In 1976, the educational system serving Druze villages in Israel was separated from the overall Arab school system and a distinct educational system was set up for the Druze. This was done because the Druze serve in the army. The State believed it was necessary to prepare them for service and reduce inevitable dilemmas concerning their identification with the State, in general, and dilemmas concerning the service, in particular. This educational system was staffed mainly by Druze and featured an intensive, purposeful effort, both in terms of the formal curriculum and informal education, to create an Israeli-Druze consciousness among the students. This consciousness was meant to cause Druze youth to identify with the State and its symbols, and involved an emphasis on what the Druze and the Jews have in common along with what separates the Druze and other Arabs.