Elections 2009 / Druze likely to comprise 5% of next Knesset, des

If the pre-election polls are accurate, five Druze candidates will be elected to the Knesset from various lists - a totally disproportionate number, considering the tiny size of their population.

According to the government's statistical yearbook for 2008, Israel has about 120,000 Druze citizens, constituting 1.6 percent of the population. Five Druze lawmakers would be 4 percent of the Knesset's 120 members, 2.5 times more than the proportion of the community within the national population.
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One surprise candidate is Hamad Amar of Shfaram, a long-time activist in Yisrael Beiteinu, and 12th on the party's list. Amar, who declined to answer questions Sunday about his candidacy, would only say that for the Druze community, Yisrael Beiteinu's campaign slogan "no citizenship without loyalty" is a natural one. Like the other Druze candidates, Amar has promised to work on behalf of his community.

Because there is a relatively large number of candidates, however, it seems that none of them will be elected solely because they are Druze. Indeed, there are 60,000 Druze with the right to vote - a little more than two Knesset seats.