The Druze religion, says the secular Abu Rukun, started 1,000 years ago in Egypt, but remained small, and today numbers a little more than one million, with 150,000 in Israel.
His family emigrated 300 years ago from Lebanon to what is Israel today. It was part of the Ottoman Empire then.
The Druze-Jewish relationship is harmonious, and Druze loyalty is unquestioned. They are the only non-Jews drafted by Israel into its military, says Abu Rukun.
After his army hitch, he flirted with a soccer career, but says "my parents invested a lot in our education," meaning himself, his sister and two brothers.
Instead of kicking a black-and-white ball around, Abu Rukun joined his country's diplomatic corps in 2006 and spent two years in the Himalayan nation of Nepal, sandwiched between India and China.
Seated in his bare office in the consulate, I ask if his dual identities create a conflict within him.
"Not at all," replies Abu Rukun, who has a goatee and a serious air. Culturally, "I'm an Arab, but if you talk about the national or the political identity, I'm Israeli."
I think he doesn't like being thought of as an oddity, but understands that Druze are a religious minority surrounded by another religious minority, Jews.
As deputy, Rukun's time is divided between the art of diplomacy and the drudgery of administering time, staff and budgets in the tightly secured consulate on JFK Boulevard. He speaks Arabic, Hebrew and accented English.
Abu Rukun's boss, Consul General Daniel Kutner, says: "He's like any other diplomat that could have been sent here," adding that the "Jewish community has welcomed him very warmly."
Abu Rukun's office was even without photos of his family - wife, Dalle, and 21-month-old twins, Sharif and Enbal. Along with the rest of his life, the photos were in the container on the ship.
