The Death of Sheikh Ameen Tareef

The Sheikh Ameen Tareef passed away shortly before noon (approximately 11:30), on Saturday the 2/10/1993, at the age of 59. The news about his death spread quickly all around the country, and many people started arriving at the Sheikh's house.
At 1:00 p.m. an urgent meeting took place in the presence of the Tareef family, religious figures and representatives of the police. In the meeting they discussed the arrangements for the funeral and the place of burial. Following are the resolutions from this meeting:
  1. The funeral will take place at 12:00 p.m., Monday, 04/10/1993.
  2. The media will make the news public.
  3. A special announcement will be directed to the political leadership, the military leadership, to the police forces and to the entire People of Israel.
  4. A special announcement will be directed to the Druze communities in Lebanon, Syria and all around the world.
  5. The funeral will take place in the industrial area of the village Julis, which sprawls on a territory of over 100 Dunam.
  6. The burial will be at the deceased home and not as he requested, close to the tomb of the Sheikh Ali Fares.
The government of Israel has declared that the funeral will be similar to the funeral ceremonies of deceased presidents of the State of Israel.

A period of mourning was declared in all Druze villages in Israel, which included the closure of schools and official institutes for two days.

Sheikhs wearing white hats were sitting and surrounding the coffin, praying and singing religious praising songs. The women sat on the other side and the voices of whining and wailing full of pain filled the entire area of the village, as a sign of grief on the death of the leader of the community. To watch the video, please click here.



On 3/10/1993, Sunday noon, the President of Israel, Mr. Ezer Weizman, and his entourage came to the village to condole the Druze community, and showed their last respect by passing by the coffin. Later on, a delegation of Sheikhs from Hatzbaya and from the Shouf Mountains in Lebanon arrived.
To watch the video, please click here.

The stream of mourners and people who came to show their condolences became even stronger on Monday morning. Thousands of cars transported them. The police forces and the army cooperated in organizing parking lots in the area of the village Jedeida and the Cabri junction. Tens of pick-up trucks and buses were recruited to drive the mourners from the parking lots - Jedeida in the South and Cabri junction in the North - to the industrial area in Julis, where large tents were placed, and tens of thousands of mourners gathered there, while waiting for the display of the coffin.


Amongst the delegations that came to show their condolence and to mourn was the delegation of the late Prime Minister, Mr. Yitzhak Rabin, the Minister of the Police, Mr. Moshe Shachal, the Minister of Justice, Mr. Libay, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Keisar, the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Gad Ya'akobi, the Chairman of the Knesset, Mr. Shevach Weiss, the President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Shamgar, the Archbishop Saloum, Sheikh Taufik Asalia, Judge Madlag, the Chief of Staff, the Commander of the Police, the Chairman of the Likud Party, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Egyptian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Muhammad Basiuni and other respected religious figures from all ethnical groups in Israel.

An honorable Druze delegation arrived from Hatzbaya, AI-Mattan and the Shouf Mountains in Lebanon.

An enormous stream of mourners headed from the village Jedeida in the South and from the Cabri Junction in the North towards the industrial area in the village Julis. It is estimated that the number of participants in the funeral was close to one hundred and fifty thousand. On 4/10/1993 at 11:00 a.m., a convoy left the Sheikh's house towards the industrial area, in order to perform the ceremony.
To watch the video, please click here.




Sheikh Salman Maher from the Shouf Mountains in Lebanon prayed for the soul of the late Sheikh.

Some respected persons eulogized the Sheikh:
-   The President, Mr. Ezer Weitzman.
-   The Prime Minister, Mr. IUhack Rabin.
-   The Chairman of the Knesset, Mr. Shevach Weiss.
-   The President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Meir Shamgar.
-   The Minister of the Police and Communication, Mr. Moshe      Shachal.
-   The Egyptian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Muhammad Basiuni.
-   Sheikh Taufik Asalia, President of the Muslim Courts.
-   The Archbishop Maximus Saloum.

At the end of the ceremony, the transparent coffin was lifted up by the Sheikhs and they headed back towards the late Sheikh's house, where he was buried in the Southwest room that turned into a holy site of pilgrimage for the religious Druze and for the entire Druze community.
To watch the video, please click here.