Tel Aviv [Israel], April 21 (ANI/TPS): As Israel honours its fallen soldiers, a youth leadership program is, for the first time, expanding to the country's northern Druze communities to draw a line between remembrance and renewal.

The initiative is led by the HaShomer HaHadash organisation and was launched several months ago in the Druze communities of Majdal Shams and Julis. HaShomer HaHadash is a grassroots organisation focused on strengthening Israeli agriculture, land stewardship, and rural security.

The initiative brings together Druze high school students in grades 10-12 for weekly meetings centred on leadership, local heritage, and shared values, Eitan Ben Zvi, the program's founder, told The Press Service of Israel.

'We see the Druze as partners, fighting shoulder to shoulder. They contribute to the Zionist idea. We see this program as a training ground for the next generation of leaders: the next head of the Shin Bet, the next chief of staff, or the next prime minister,' Ben Zvi told TPS-IL.

The program includes 100 youths across Israel, with 30 in the Druze community: 20 in Majdal Shams and 10 in Julis.

Omri Tarif, a Druze program guide from Julis, told TPS-IL that it aims to cultivate young leaders rooted in their communities while strengthening engagement with Israeli society.

'This is a very important step for both Druze and Jewish youths. It didn't exist before. The two sides didn't know each other well, despite being driven by the same values,' Tarif explained.

Participants take part in weekly sessions alongside national seminars, workshops, field trips, agricultural work, and joint activities designed to build cross-sector connections in Israeli society.

The program is dedicated to Yossi Tahar, an Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officer and naval commando fighter who was killed during Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack defending Kibbutz Mefalsim. Organisers said anchoring the initiative in Tahar's legacy provides participants with both a role model and a framework of responsibility.

'Yossi saved Kibbutz Mefalsim on October 7, 2023. He neutralised hundreds of Hamas terrorists, took over their radio, and by speaking Arabic, prevented many of them from reaching Ashdod and Ashkelon. He is a symbol of courage and friendship, and the program reflects that,' Ben Zvi said.

The expansion into Druze communities marks a new phase for the program, which has previously operated in other parts of Israeli society. It is being implemented in cooperation with local leaders, including heads of municipal councils and community organisations, reflecting what organisers describe as a collaborative effort.

Munir Madi, a prominent community leader from the Druze village of Daliyat al-Carmel who was involved in the initiative, told TPS-IL the program is expected to expand next year. 'The vision is to educate toward values and excellence, reflecting the strength of Israel's diverse society and the values of Yossi Tahar, who helped shape many leaders and fighters,' he said.

'People understand today that Israel is our real ally,' Madi said.

Israel's Druze community of 152,000 traces its ancestry to the Biblical figure Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. In Israel, the Druze serve in senior positions in public and military life, and the bond between Jewish and Druze soldiers is referred to as the 'covenant of blood.' The Druze speak Arabic but are not Muslim.

The Druze living in the Galilee and Mount Carmel areas sided with the Jews in 1948 during Israel's War of Independence, opted to be part of Israeli society, and established themselves in all areas of public life.

When Israel captured the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967, the Golan Druze refused Israeli offers of citizenship, believing Syria would recapture the plateau. But attitudes have changed since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011.

For Ben Zvi, the goal is clear. 'The youth are the future of this country. We want to grow from 100 participants to 400 next year. This is where the next generation of Israel's leadership will come from,' he said. (ANI/TPS)