Halabi, Rafik (Rafi)

Son of Hillel and Mayasa. Was born on 10.10.1955 in Dalit al-Carmel, the son of a respected and traditional Druze family – the largest of the Druze families, who managed thirteen young men in Israel’s wars. He grew up in his native village and graduated from the elementary school. He was a member of the local Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed movement. Due to the poor economic situation of the well-off family, he was unable to continue his studies and went to work in an industrial factory in Haifa. He devoted his evenings to studying music at the Ruppin Midreshet in Haifa. Raphi was good at playing the flute and the drums. In November 1973 he began his mandatory military service and was assigned to the Ordnance Corps. His main occupation was guarding the northern border. His devotion and knowledge were appreciated, and he reached the rank of First Sergeant on the military track. He loved the military framework and decided, at the end of his service, to join the permanent army. It was May 1977. But fate was cruel to him and he was not allowed to continue his service. Two months later, on July 9, 1977, he was decided by illness and died during his service. He was buried in Daliyat al-Carmel. Rafiq’s death was a heavy mourning for the Druze community, and thousands of Druze from across the country and IDF representatives participated in the ceremony, and the mayor of Daliyat al-Carmel, Sheikh Nawaf Halabi, and the journalist and author Musabah Halabi eulogized him at his open grave. “Musbah Halabi noted that the blood of the Druze martyrs, including the late Rafik, had injected the roots of the bloody alliance between the Druze and the Jews in the State of Israel.