Thousands of participants took part on Friday in a race to commemorate the 421 Druze fighters who fell in all of Israel’s battles and terror attacks.
This year’s race was in memory of Border Policemen Ha’il Satawi and Kamil Shnaan who were killed in a terror attack on the Temple Mount.
“It isn’t easy for us to attend an event our sons are missing,” said members of the Satawi and Shnaan families. “However, they will remain in our hearts, we will not forget them. They sacrificed their lives for the state. ”
The race was attended by Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkott, ministers and MKs. The Association for Druze Boys invited the public to participate in the event, together with the leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the head of the Lower Galilee Regional Council, Moti Dotan, and the head of the Hurfeish council and chairman of the Druze community forum Mufid Mar’i.
The race was held for the fifth year. In view of the large number of participants, the location of the race was shifted to Nebi Shuaib, near the Golani Junction.
Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked also arrived at the scene, saying that “in 1956, the leaders of the community came to the Israeli leadership and asked to apply the draft law to the Druze. Today, more than 80% of the Druze community is enlisted, more than the percentage of Jews. Every one of us who was in the army is inextricably connected with the community and with its sons. ”
The Tomb of Yitro (Nebi Shu’ayb), the holiest site for Druze in the Lower Galilee, is located near Karnei Hittin. The new location of the race allows the thousands of participants to be exposed to other landscapes and sites along the Druze Boys Trail, which extends over 226 kilometres and crosses the 18 Druze villages.