The Druze, the Jews and the Creation of a Shared History 1

This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part will describe and analyse the co-operative relationship that evolved between the Jews and the Palestinian Druze in the first half of this century. It will concentrate on the period of the British Mandate in Palestine and the 1947—1949 Arab-Israeli war. Through the medium of archival material and memoirs it will show how the Druze-Jewish relationship was born out of political and economic circumstances specific to the time. ² The second part will look at the ways in which both partners have sought to give their relationship historical depth and context by creating an "ancient friendship". It will demonstrate that the actual historical evidence for this is scant and that belief in its existence owes more to political machinations in the twentieth century than it does to any real historical occurrence.