IDF Sword Battalion

The IDF Sword Battalion (גדוד חרב, Gdud Herev) (السيف الكتيبة), formerly known as Unit 300 and as the IDF Minorities Unit, is an Arabic-speaking unit of the Israel Defense Forces. Non-Jewish minorities also serve in the Druze Reconnaissance Unit and the Bedouin Trackers Unit. In 1987, "Unit 300" was officially renamed the "Sword Battalion."

History
The Minorities Unit was formed in the early summer of 1948 by incorporating a unit of Druze defectors from the Arab Liberation Army and small numbers of Bedouin and Circassians. The unit was attached to the Oded Brigade and fought in Operation Hiram in October 1948. It has fought in every war since. Today, most members of the unit are Druze, but there are also Bedouins, Circassians and Christian and Muslim Arabs. The unit has produced several generals.

The Minorities Unit has a small elite Sayeret special forces branch.

Druze and Circassian men are subject to mandatory conscription to the IDF. In the mid-1950s, the Druze leadership appealed to David Ben-Gurion, then Minister of Defense, to draft Druze men on the same basis as Jews. The State Defense Act of 1949, which called for drafting all individuals in the country, allowed the minister to issue exemptions for certain groups. The Druze asked that their exemption be canceled. Originally, they served in the framework of a special unit. Since the 1980s, Druze soldiers have joined regular combat units, attaining high ranks and commendations for distinguished service. 83 percent of Druze boys serve in the army according to IDF statistics. According to the Israeli army, 369 Druze soldiers have been killed in combat operations since 1948.

There is a long-standing government policy of encouraging Bedouins to volunteer and offering them various inducements. In some Bedouin communities a military career is seen as a means of social mobility. Muslim and Christian Arabs are also accepted as volunteers.

In 1987, the unit was officially renamed from "Unit 300" to the "Sword Battalion." (Gdud Herev)