The Druze community in Israel is officially recognized as a separate religious entity with its own courts and spiritual leadership. Their culture is Arab and their language Arabic but they opted against mainstream Arab nationalism in 1948 and have since served (first as volunteers, later within the draft system) in the Israel Defense Forces and the Border Police. In Israel there are about 104,000 druze, including about 18,000 in the Golan (which came under Israeli rule in 1967). The Druze community in Israel has a special standing among the country's minority groups, and members of the community have attained high-level positions in the political, public and military spheres. (Jewish Virtual Library. The photo was taken at the Dead Sea (Israel), the lowest point on earth.