Druze in Israel in the context of "Women in the IDF"

The Hebrew alphabet (Hebrew: אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, Alefbet ivri), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language. Alphabets based on the Hebrew script are used to write other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, and Judeo-Persian. In modern Hebrew, vowels are increasingly introduced. Hebrew script is used informally in Israel to write Levantine Arabic, especially among Druze. The script is an offshoot of the Imperial Aramaic alphabet, which flourished during the Achaemenid Empire, and which itself derives from the Phoenician alphabet.

Historically, a different abjad script was used to write Hebrew: the original, old Hebrew script, now known as the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, has been largely preserved in a variant form as the Samaritan alphabet, and is still used by the Samaritans. The present Jewish script or square script, on the contrary, is a stylized form of the Aramaic alphabet and was technically known by Jewish sages as Ashurit (lit. 'Assyrian script'), since its origins were known to be from Assyria (Mesopotamia).

Since the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory in Israel. The conscription laws of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) apply to Jews (males and females), Druze (males only), and Circassians (males only). Because the Druze and Circassian communities are less populous, their women are exempted from mandatory military service altogether. Women from the Jewish community are not exempted, but serve for slightly shorter terms than their male counterparts. The IDF does not conscript non-Druze Arab citizens of Israel, though their men and women may enlist voluntarily.

Unique among the country's Jewish-majority population are the Haredi Jews, who previously enjoyed full exemption from the IDF through a special arrangement called Torato Umanuto, which was organized by Israel's founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion. The arrangement became increasingly controversial in Israeli society, with growing discontent towards the increasingly populous Haredi community not "sharing the burden" of national duty. In June 2024, Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Haredi Jews were eligible for compulsory service, ending nearly eight decades of exemption. The army began drafting Haredi men the following month.

Peki'in (alternatively Peqi'in) (Hebrew: פְּקִיעִין) or Buqei'a (Levantine Arabic: البقيعة, romanized: əl-Buqēʿa), is a Druze–Arab town with local council status in Israel's Northern District. It is located eight kilometres east of Ma'alot-Tarshiha in the Upper Galilee. In 2023 it had a population of 6,055. The majority of residents are Druze (78%), with a large Christian (20.8%) and Muslim (1.2%) minorities.

The Jewish community of Peki'in maintained a presence since at least the 16th century with a short interruption during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt. Most Jews in Peki'in did not return to the village after the violence, and call themselves the Hadera diaspora. The Zinatis are the only family who returned, and it is currently represented by one elderly member, Margalit Zinati, residing in the village.

Shefa-Amr or Shefar'am (Arabic: شفاعمرو, romanized: Šafāʻamru; Hebrew: שְׁפַרְעָם, romanized: Šəfarʻam) is an Arab city in the Northern District of Israel. In 2023 it had a population of 43,408 with a Sunni Muslim majority and large Christian Arab and Druze minorities.