Singer Gaida Abu Awad had a strong showing in X-Factor Israel, a reality show whose winner will represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Yesterday, she was eliminated from the contest. While she will not represent Israel internationally, she has found a place in the hearts of many Israelis with not only her beautiful voice, but also her courage and personal story. She was unique among the contestants in being a member of the Druze community who lives in the Golan Heights.
Abu Awad's Eurovision journey was more than a competition against her peers. She was also facing off against various levels of prejudice, not just from the rest of Israel but also within her Druze community. Many of her neighbors did not approve of a Druze woman singing in Hebrew in front of an audience, let alone representing the State of Israel internationally.
Israel conquered the Golan Heights territory from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War. Buq'ata, where Abu Awad was born 25 years ago, is a small village at the foot of the Hermon Mountains in the northern Golan Heights. It is one of four Druze villages in the Golan whose inhabitants have permanent resident status in Israel. Most of them are not Israeli citizens by choice, even though they are legally entitled to be. As of 2018, only 917 out of about 24,000 Druze living in these four communities had become citizens.
Most Druze in the Golan view themselves as Syrians living under Israeli occupation. They regularly express their Syrian identity on occasions such as the anniversary of the Druze strike over the Golan Heights Annexation Law, and their extended families in Syria encourage them to pursue a quality education in Syria for free.
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