Belonging and Continuity: Israeli Druze and Lebanon, 1982–2000

Abstract

This article analyzes spatial perceptions and practices of Druze citizens of Israel before, during, and after the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon in 1982−2000. It argues that the opening of the Israel–Lebanon border in 1982 and its closing in 2000 had three effects: it generated internal social, political, and cultural changes within the community in Israel; it changed the relationship of the Druze with the State of Israel; and it reestablished strong ties with their coreligionists in Lebanon and Syria. Drawing insight from the field of border studies, the article shows how Druze citizens of Israel live concomitantly in state and suprastate spatial scales, forming a third, integrated or hybrid, spatial scale. The article proposes using the concept “hybrid spatial scale” as a tool for studying communities such as the Druze that operate on multiple territorial scales.

Differences in attitudes toward terrorists: Type of terrorist act, terrorist ethnicity, and observer gender and cultural background

“…This pattern may indicate a dual social identity in the case of Druze participants. On the one hand, they belong to the Arab minority in Israel but, on the other hand, they identify with the Jewish majority (Kaufman, 2016; Nisan, 2010). Future research should explore whether additional types of dual social identity exist and how they relate to offender punishment.…”

“…Muslims and Druze belong to the Arab ethnic minority in Israel. However, the Druze are a unique community in Israel (Kaufman, 2016). They express solidarity and close affiliation with the Jewish population, serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and distance themselves from the Israeli-Arab sector (Abbas, 2020; Nisan, 2010).…”

Displacing Territory: Refugees in the Middle East

“…For example, Asher Kaufman and Christine Leuenberger are two scholars outside of geography who have conducted meaningful spatial analyses in order to understand displacement and geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East. 2 In the remainder of my commentary, I highlight the point that through the concept of territory we can provide important critiques and understandings of the global refugee crisis and of the refugee crisis in the Middle East. Since the early 1990s, there has been excellent research in the humanities and social sciences on the concept and materialities of territory.…”