Beit Oliphant

North Coast


Signposted as Beit Druze, this was the home of the Christian and early Zionist Sir Laurence Oliphant and his wife Alice between 1882 and 1887. The Oliphants were among the few non-Druze to have a close relationship with the community and did much to help them. Oliphant's assistant at the time was Naphtali Herz Imber, author of the words to Israel's national anthem, 'HaTikva', first published in 1886.

The ancient Roman column out front is a memorial to Alice, who died at age 36 – and with whom Imber was said to have been madly in love. The house now serves as the Druze Memorial Center, which commemorates the 398 Druze who have died while serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since 1948. At the time of writing, it wasn't possible to go inside.


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