“This land was promised to the people of Israel, and for this reason we have fought side-by-side with Israel since the establishment of the state in 1948. Believe me, back then it made no sense to stand with the Jewish immigrants who were a minority. The Jewish community was small and weak, but we helped Israel during the War of Independence, confirming the historical covenant between the children of Israel and the children of Jethro.”

There are about 150,000 Druze in Israel, making up 1.6 percent of the population. They reside in 20 villages mostly in the Upper Galilee region where they live in peace as faithful citizens, serve heroically in the Israeli army and are well-liked by the Jewish nation. The Arab nations, however, have never forgotten how the Druze helped build Israel.

The Druze revere the biblical figure Jethro as their spiritual founder and chief prophet, so their special friendship with the people of Israel began 3,400 years ago. After killing one of Pharaoh’s soldiers, Moses fled to the wilderness of Sinai where he...