DALIT EL CARMEL, PEKI'IN, JETRO'S tomb

The Druze religion has its roots in Ismailism, a religio-philosophical movement which founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt in the tenth century. During the reign of al-Hakim (996 - 1021) the Druze creed came into being, blending Islamic monotheism with Greek philosophy and Hindu influences. Active proselytizing of the new creed was brief; since about 1050 the community has been closed to outsiders.

The first Druze settled in what is now southern Lebanon and northern Israel. By the time of the Ottoman conquest of Syria (1516), Druze also lived in the hill country near Aleppo, and Sultan Selim I recognized Fakhr al-Din as Emir of the Druze, with local authority. Civil strife between the Lebanese Druze and the Maronite Christians ended in 1860 with the autonomous administration of Mt. Lebanon, which was imposed by the great powers. The Druze never regained ascendancy in the region and the center of the community passed to Mt. Hauran in Syria, which became known as Jebel-el-Druze (Mountain of the Druze) - the name formerly synonymous with Mt. Lebanon.
The Druze consider their faith to be a new interpretation of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For them, the traditional story of the Creation is a parable, which describes Adam not as the first human being, but as the first person to believe in one god. Since then, the idea of monotheism has been disseminated by "emissaries" or prophets, guided by "mentors" who embody the spirit of monotheism. The mentors and prophets come from all three religions, and include Jethro and Moses, John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, and Salman the Persian and Mohammed - all reincarnations of the same monotheistic idea. In addition, the Druze hold other influential people - regardless of their religion - in great esteem, as the advocates of justice and belief in one god. These include the Egyptian Akhenaton, the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, and Alexander the Great.

Jethro's Tomb-
One of the most important Druze gathering sites is the tomb of Nebi Shu'eib - the prophet Jethro - at the Horns of Hittin, overlooking Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). According to Druze tradition, Saladin had a dream on the eve of his battle against the Crusaders at this site, in which an angel promised him victory on condition that after the battle he gallop westward on his horse. Where the stallion would pull up, the angel promised, he would find the burial site of Nebi Sheuib. When the dream came true, the Druze built a tomb at the site, next to which is a rock bearing a footprint, believed to be that of Nebi Sheuibhimself. On April 25 each year, the Druze gather at the site to discuss community affairs.

The older section of the existing structure was built by the Druze in the 1880s, after the spiritual leader of the community, Sheikh Mahna Tarif of Julis, summoned an assembly to discuss its construction. A delegation of uqqal traveled to Syria and Lebanon and collected funds for this purpose, and the local Druze also contributed extensively. Renovation work and additions to the building continued throughout the years of the British Mandate, and more intensively after 1948. In recent years access to the site has been improved and connected to electricity and water, with funding from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and various other government ministries, as well as from the Minorities Unit of the IDF.