Druze Hospitality

April 24, 2009

We arrived in Kfar Daliat el Carmel, one of the largest Druze villages, at about 3 in the afternoon. With a population of about 15,000 and one main intersection, it is indeed a village, but the many small streets as well as the two main intersecting ones do not seem to be well marked. We pulled over in what seemed like the center of the village; shops were busy and cars and small trucks swirled around us. I called our bed and breakfast. The friendly voice that I recalled from making the reservation answered and when I explained where we were and what car we were driving he said, “I know where you are. I will be there in a few minutes.”

Imat Halaby pulled up along side of us and motioned for us to follow. A carefully plotted U-turn and a well-timed left turn took us down one of the main streets for perhaps a half mile and then a right turn to his street. We followed him through a stone gate and pulled up the drive to a large stone house and beautiful gardens. Mr. Halaby, 52 years old, of very sturdy, muscular build, and hair on his chest that seems to be climbing out from his undershirt, is a stone mason, a craftsman, not simply a bricklayer. His most endearing features are his warm smile, genuine curiosity about people, and his generous heart. He himself finished the very large area under the house, creating two large bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and dining area and a large living room with three seating areas in order to accommodate friends and he and his wife, Nawal, decided to begin offering the space as a bed and breakfast. The craftsmanship in the stone and brickwork is magnificent.

This was a remarkable 17 hour encounter from the time we arrived until we departed at around 10 the next morning. He asked his wife to prepare tea for us. He talked about his 21 year old son, Hatim, who is studying at the Technion, before entering the army, as the Druze of Israel do. He described their twin daughters, Inab and Rabab, 18 year olds, who are in the process of taking university entrance exams. As we started on the second cup of tea, the daughters, giggly, lively, dressed up and made up like any U.S. teens, bounced down the stairs to the garden, as they were about to leave for a friend’s engagement announcement. Another friend joined them and then there was much joking discussion about which of them was going to drive, joking, because Imat would take them himself, although they are learning to drive. The girls did not go to the local, village school, but to a regional Druze school, probably 45 minutes away, because he and his wife valued the better quality.

At 6:30, after a walk through part of the village, we returned home where Imat was going to give us directions to a local restaurant, or so we thought. He asked Norman to join him in his car and the 3 of us followed to a rather non-descript, but clean restaurant and he sat down with us and ordered. There were several middle eastern salads and two scrumptious chicken dishes, one a type of pizza with chicken and onions, and the other a chicken and rice dish with cinnamon and other spices. We paid the bill and returned to his house, where he brought fruit to our living space, cut it up, and joined us for conversation about the Druze, about Israel, and about his family. There are about 7,000 members of the Halaby family in Daliat el Carmel, which means, by the way, grapes on carmel, out of a population of 15,000. His brother lives in one house just behind him and another brother beyond that. This type of family/tribal setting makes it rather difficult for young people to step out of line. He is obviously a successful entrepreneur and he said he opened the B & B in part because he liked to do the construction and in part for his wife to keep busy. The Druze, who view Yitro, the father-in-law of Moses, as a major prophet, are related to Islam, but there was a split hundreds of years ago. He explained that their places of worship customarily are not well marked because historically they tried to hide from the Muslims. The religious practices of the Druze are not nearly as routinized as in Islam and the Druze do not accept converts of any type. The Druze who live in Israel are loyal to the state, they serve in the IDF. They sadly face many prejudices, however. Imat was most articulate about discrimination in hiring for jobs. He also was critical of the unfair expropriation of Druze land for power lines or the expansion of Highway 6 (the toll road), when nearby Jewish lands were just as appropriate.

At 9 the next morning, Imat appeared at our door carting trays of salads, boiled eggs, 3 types of fabulous jam, assorted breads, and cheeses. He continued to regale us with stories about the village, his travels, and his many friends. “You are lucky, Imat,” he reported a friend having said, “you get paid to talk to people.”

On your next trip to Israel, be sure to spend a night at the ArtKamin bed and breakfast and he’ll enjoy sharing his house and his stories with you too.