Druze community leaders in Israel were up in arms after the IDF recently drafted an Israeli-Bedouin woman into its ranks, Israeli media reported.
Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif, in a written letter to Israel's security establishment, called on the military to reject any requests by young women in the Druze community to serve in the IDF.
"The Druze community and its leadership take this issue very seriously," Tarif warned in the letter. "We reject any attempt to normalize such a move. If the State of Israel wishes to maintain its alliance with the Druze community - it must set the record straight."
Leader hits out at drafting Druze women
A long-time leader of Israel's Druze sector, the sheik said that the Israeli Druze sector "vehemently rejects any attempt to draft our women, even under the guise of a volunteer program or the woman's intention to serve.
"Drafting Druze women is prohibited and is not under negotiation. I alerted the IDF chief of staff to this exact possibility, which will have cultural and social ramifications on the Druze community," Tarif explained.
While the Druze community does send males to serve in the IDF in large numbers, the draft of females from the sector is not mandatory and subject to the individual's wishes.
'A gross violation of an agreement between Druze and Israel'
"This is a gross violation of longstanding, decades-old agreements between the sector and the state which we cannot and will not agree to," Tarif stated.
The IDF's Spokesperson Unit commented on the issue, saying that the IDF views its relationship with the Druze sector as an expression of our shared destiny and our principle of the 'People's Army.'
"We are carrying out regular talks with Druze leaders out of respect and appreciation."