A Growing Trend: Brave Muslim Zionists

[Solomon2]

A Growing Trend: Brave Muslim Zionists

by Noah Beck
Special to IPT News
August 12, 2016

Muslims and Arabs who openly identify as Zionists are growing in number – powered by the freer flow of information and ideas made possible by social media and the search for answers in the wake of the Arab Spring and Islamist terror.

A new Facebook page for Arab supporters of Israel has attracted about 20,000 visitors. The page, which shares content in English, Arabic, and Hebrew, was founded by a religious Jewish woman and an Arab man. It posts examples of Israel treating Arabs and Muslims with kindness and shares surprising Arab support for Israel from across the Middle East, including Tunisians who created an Israeli flag after being unable to buy one, and who have faced threats for their views.

Muhammad Zoabi entered the spotlight as a proud Arab, Muslim Zionist in the summer of 2014. Just 17 at the time, Zoabi began to advocate for Israel in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. He posted a video demanding that Hamas release three Israeli teens who had been kidnapped a few weeks before Operation Protective Edge. Death threats soon forced Zoabi into hiding, and he found shelter with Kay Wilson, who had survived a brutal 2010 terrorist stabbing attack.

Zoabi became so popular that he reached his maximum friend limit (5,000) on Facebook, where there is even a page calling for him to be prime minister of Israel. Zoabi's Zionism is hardly surprising, given his upbringing. His mother, Sarah Zoabi,revealed her Israeli patriotism on national television. She introduced herself on the popular Israeli show "Master Chef" as an "Arab, Muslim, Israeli, proud Zionist" from the northern city of Nazareth. "I believe in the right of the Jewish people to have their own country, which is the state of Israel, the Holy Land.... I want to say to all the Arabs of Israel to wake up," she continued. "We live in paradise. Compared to other countries, to Arab countries – we live in paradise."

Zoabi's family also includes some fierce Israel haters, like his cousin Haneen Zoabi, who is a member of Israel's parliament but regularly uses her position to defame Israel and side with its enemies.

Another young Muslim Zionist is Mahdi Satri, a 17-year old, Israeli Arab, whose Gazan father helped the Shin Bet (Israel's domestic security services) and received political asylum to live in an Arab village near Acre. When neighbors learned that his father had helped Israel's security services, his family became a target. "After 3 years of violence against me after coming out publicly with my Zionism and I'm still the last man standing, standing against my village," he wrote last month.

"I regularly get threats. I get threats from people in my village and they say they will put two bullets in my head If I'm not gonna stop. I also get threats from Gaza, and from Ramallah, and from my mother's family."

A day earlier, Satri published critiques of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, blaming each for Israel's 2014 war with Gaza and defending Israel's use of force to protect "all the Israeli citizens: Jews, Muslims, Christians, atheist, Gays, Lesbians." He proudly notes that "Israel is the only democratic state in the Middle East."

He also attracted international attention last month with a social experiment in which he blindfolded himself and held a sign identifying himself as an Arab and inviting Tel-Avivians to embrace him. His heartwarming video (with nearly half a million views) reveals Israeli tolerance and was shared by the pro-Israel group StandWithUs.

Satri even paid his respects to the parents of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, who was stabbed to death in her bedroom by a Palestinian terrorist (Israeli TV news covered Satri's remarkable visit). "When they murdered her, they also took a piece of my heart, of me." He brought a yarmulke and an Israeli flag to his condolence visit.

Ahmed Meligy, who identifies himself as a proud Egyptian and Muslim, is another passionate advocate for Israel. Meligy has endured death threats and police arrest for his activism, which includes blogging for the Jerusalem Post, and supporting democracy in Egypt and warmer ties with Israel.

Another Egyptian-born, pro-Israel activist is Nonie Darwish, the founder of Arabs for Israel. In an interview, Darwish told the Investigative Project on Terrorism that her Zionist convictions were most strengthened by "the decency, humanity and integrity of the Jewish people in the face of adversity." She is friends with about a dozen Muslim Zionists and "will not have Muslim friends who do not support Israel."

Darwish left Islam for Christianity, as recounted in her book, Now They Call Me Infidel. Speaking to IPT, she said that "at the core of Islam is a deep envy of Jewish culture...Islam has violated all 10 commandments for the sake of jihad and to repel and destroy whom they envy. Islam...wants to destroy the competition."

Qanta Ahmed, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants to the UK, is a devout Muslim who has also warned about the risk of allowing Islamists to use Islamic blasphemy laws in order to monopolize the marketplace of ideas: "Americans and anti-Islamist Muslims everywhere must ensure that...freedom of...speech prevails, if religious freedoms and liberal democracies are to be preserved." An accomplished physician who practiced medicine in one of Islam's most conservative societies, she published "In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom." Ahmed, who is now based in the U.S., has also eloquently supported Israel in her writing and decried the double standards applied to Israeli victims of terror.

Mosab Hassan Yousef also is an Arab Zionist who converted from Islam to Christianity. He is a Palestinian who worked undercover for the Shin Bet, from 1997 to 2007, but that was not his original plan.

"I wanted to infiltrate the Israeli Shin Bet in order to play a double agent and it ended up absolutely the opposite" after seeing Israel's values and humanity, he said in a 2013 Fox News interview. So I worked for them against Hamas movement ... against evil ... I did what was right to save a human life – Palestinians and Israelis."

Yousef's information is credited with preventing dozens of suicide attacks and assassinations of Israelis, and with exposing numerous Hamas cells. It also helped Israel to hunt down many terrorists, including Yousef's own father, Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef.

Yousef's story eventually became the subject of a best-selling book, The Son of Hamas, and a documentary film, "The Green Prince." Yousef, who discovered Christianity in 1999 and converted by 2005, has said that groups like Hamas, Hizballah, Boko Haram, ISIS are "all killing in the name of Allah."

"Israel is light, Israel is philosophy, Israel is values and ethics," he said during a 2015 speech before AIPAC. "And I cannot imagine the world without Israel."

The failure of the "Arab Spring" may help to explain the growing trend of Muslims and Arabs supporting Israel. As the hope of democratic reform faded and states crumbled into violent chaos and/or merciless crackdowns on protests, some willing to look past anti-Israel propaganda might admire the only example of a Middle East democracy that tolerates dissent, has a burgeoning economy, upholds the rule of law and human rights, and protects minorities.

For example, after Mohammad Hosseini escaped the horrors of ISIS in Iraq, hebegan to question many of the anti-Israel beliefs on which he was raised.

"I wanted to check the essence of the conspiracy theories, which are common in the Muslim and Arab world against Israel and the Jews," he wrote. "People told me that America and the Jews are responsible for all the problems but on the contrary I saw imams and many religious people joining ISIS willingly and out of admiration."

His research changed his mind about Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians.

"As long as people are committed to the destruction of Israel the Israelies (sic) have an obligation to defend themselves first," Hosseini added. "I want the Israelies (sic) to know that Israel has supporters amongst us. I hope that the Palestinian party would realize that it is unreasonable to kill and then come with demands against Israel, negotiations should be commenced with pure intentions."

Moreover, the singularly brutal approach of the Islamic State (ISIS) towards religious minorities, or even Sunni Muslims who dare to disagree with ISIS, does much – by way of extreme contrast – to highlight Israeli society's tolerance. Religious minorities in Israel like the Druze, have clearly taken notice, and prefer life under Israeli rule.

Gabriel Nadaf is a leader of the Aramaean Christian minority in Israel and a Greek Orthodox priest who encourages Israeli Christians to enlist in the IDF. In September 2014, he told the United Nations Human Rights Council that "Israel is the only place where Christians in the Middle East are safe." In February 2014, Monaliza Abdo, a young Arab Christian woman who voluntarily enlisted in the Israeli army, spoke publicly about her patriotism and determination to protect all Israelis.

But even members of the majority religion in the Middle East, Sunni Islam, serve in the IDF. There about 1,700 Bedouin Arabs who serve in the Israeli army.

And, perhaps as part of the broader trend of Arabs embracing their Israeli identity, Lucy Aharish, the first Muslim Arab presenter for one of Israel's top TV news channels, proudly defines herself as an Israeli: "Today, when people ask me 'What are you?' I say that I'm an Israeli. I'm not ashamed of my Israeliness. Then I'm a woman, and then I'm an Arab Muslim. That's the order: Israeli, woman, Arab Muslim."

A growing demographic of Zionist Muslims may eventually serve as the bridge to peace between Israel and the wider Islamic world. But as long as Islamist movements persist, such courageous individuals will likely face serious threats.

Noah Beck is the author of The Last Israelis, an apocalyptic novel about Iranian nukes and other geopolitical issues in the Middle East.

 

[Reichsmarschall]

It posts examples of Israel treating Arabs and Muslims with kindness and shares surprising Arab support for Israel from across the Middle East,

Dont they post how Zionazis bomb innocent kids??

 

[Solomon2]

Dont they post how Zionazis bomb innocent kids??

They seem very committed to fighting such anti-Israel defamation as your leading question above and the out-of-context propaganda videos you've supplied.

Sensible people don't blame Israel for terrorist violence, nor label Zionists "Zionazis", nor even accuse Israelis of bombing "innocent kids" - not when the kids have been weaponized for use as human shields by terrorists. The war crime is that of the terrorists, not the Israelis.

 

[Reichsmarschall]

They seem very committed to fighting such anti-Israel defamation as your leading question above and the out-of-context propaganda videos you've supplied.

Sensible people don't blame Israel for terrorist violence, nor label Zionists "Zionazis", nor even accuse Israelis of bombing "innocent kids" - not when the kids have been weaponized for use as human shields by terrorists. The war crime is that of the terrorists, not the Israelis.

Now dont tell me this is also propaganda
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lestinian-baby-burned-alive-arson-attack.html

 

[Arefin007]

I didn't know there were Muslim Zionists too

 

[Royal Blue007]

A Growing Trend: Brave Muslim Zionists

by Noah Beck
Special to IPT News
August 12, 2016

Muslims and Arabs who openly identify as Zionists are growing in number – powered by the freer flow of information and ideas made possible by social media and the search for answers in the wake of the Arab Spring and Islamist terror.

A new Facebook page for Arab supporters of Israel has attracted about 20,000 visitors. The page, which shares content in English, Arabic, and Hebrew, was founded by a religious Jewish woman and an Arab man. It posts examples of Israel treating Arabs and Muslims with kindness and shares surprising Arab support for Israel from across the Middle East, including Tunisians who created an Israeli flag after being unable to buy one, and who have faced threats for their views.

Muhammad Zoabi entered the spotlight as a proud Arab, Muslim Zionist in the summer of 2014. Just 17 at the time, Zoabi began to advocate for Israel in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. He posted a video demanding that Hamas release three Israeli teens who had been kidnapped a few weeks before Operation Protective Edge. Death threats soon forced Zoabi into hiding, and he found shelter with Kay Wilson, who had survived a brutal 2010 terrorist stabbing attack.

Zoabi became so popular that he reached his maximum friend limit (5,000) on Facebook, where there is even a page calling for him to be prime minister of Israel. Zoabi's Zionism is hardly surprising, given his upbringing. His mother, Sarah Zoabi,revealed her Israeli patriotism on national television. She introduced herself on the popular Israeli show "Master Chef" as an "Arab, Muslim, Israeli, proud Zionist" from the northern city of Nazareth. "I believe in the right of the Jewish people to have their own country, which is the state of Israel, the Holy Land.... I want to say to all the Arabs of Israel to wake up," she continued. "We live in paradise. Compared to other countries, to Arab countries – we live in paradise."

Zoabi's family also includes some fierce Israel haters, like his cousin Haneen Zoabi, who is a member of Israel's parliament but regularly uses her position to defame Israel and side with its enemies.

Another young Muslim Zionist is Mahdi Satri, a 17-year old, Israeli Arab, whose Gazan father helped the Shin Bet (Israel's domestic security services) and received political asylum to live in an Arab village near Acre. When neighbors learned that his father had helped Israel's security services, his family became a target. "After 3 years of violence against me after coming out publicly with my Zionism and I'm still the last man standing, standing against my village," he wrote last month.

"I regularly get threats. I get threats from people in my village and they say they will put two bullets in my head If I'm not gonna stop. I also get threats from Gaza, and from Ramallah, and from my mother's family."

A day earlier, Satri published critiques of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, blaming each for Israel's 2014 war with Gaza and defending Israel's use of force to protect "all the Israeli citizens: Jews, Muslims, Christians, atheist, Gays, Lesbians." He proudly notes that "Israel is the only democratic state in the Middle East."

He also attracted international attention last month with a social experiment in which he blindfolded himself and held a sign identifying himself as an Arab and inviting Tel-Avivians to embrace him. His heartwarming video (with nearly half a million views) reveals Israeli tolerance and was shared by the pro-Israel group StandWithUs.

Satri even paid his respects to the parents of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, who was stabbed to death in her bedroom by a Palestinian terrorist (Israeli TV news covered Satri's remarkable visit). "When they murdered her, they also took a piece of my heart, of me." He brought a yarmulke and an Israeli flag to his condolence visit.

Ahmed Meligy, who identifies himself as a proud Egyptian and Muslim, is another passionate advocate for Israel. Meligy has endured death threats and police arrest for his activism, which includes blogging for the Jerusalem Post, and supporting democracy in Egypt and warmer ties with Israel.

Another Egyptian-born, pro-Israel activist is Nonie Darwish, the founder of Arabs for Israel. In an interview, Darwish told the Investigative Project on Terrorism that her Zionist convictions were most strengthened by "the decency, humanity and integrity of the Jewish people in the face of adversity." She is friends with about a dozen Muslim Zionists and "will not have Muslim friends who do not support Israel."

Darwish left Islam for Christianity, as recounted in her book, Now They Call Me Infidel. Speaking to IPT, she said that "at the core of Islam is a deep envy of Jewish culture...Islam has violated all 10 commandments for the sake of jihad and to repel and destroy whom they envy. Islam...wants to destroy the competition."

Qanta Ahmed, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants to the UK, is a devout Muslim who has also warned about the risk of allowing Islamists to use Islamic blasphemy laws in order to monopolize the marketplace of ideas: "Americans and anti-Islamist Muslims everywhere must ensure that...freedom of...speech prevails, if religious freedoms and liberal democracies are to be preserved." An accomplished physician who practiced medicine in one of Islam's most conservative societies, she published "In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom." Ahmed, who is now based in the U.S., has also eloquently supported Israel in her writing and decried the double standards applied to Israeli victims of terror.

Mosab Hassan Yousef also is an Arab Zionist who converted from Islam to Christianity. He is a Palestinian who worked undercover for the Shin Bet, from 1997 to 2007, but that was not his original plan.

"I wanted to infiltrate the Israeli Shin Bet in order to play a double agent and it ended up absolutely the opposite" after seeing Israel's values and humanity, he said in a 2013 Fox News interview. So I worked for them against Hamas movement ... against evil ... I did what was right to save a human life – Palestinians and Israelis."

Yousef's information is credited with preventing dozens of suicide attacks and assassinations of Israelis, and with exposing numerous Hamas cells. It also helped Israel to hunt down many terrorists, including Yousef's own father, Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef.

Yousef's story eventually became the subject of a best-selling book, The Son of Hamas, and a documentary film, "The Green Prince." Yousef, who discovered Christianity in 1999 and converted by 2005, has said that groups like Hamas, Hizballah, Boko Haram, ISIS are "all killing in the name of Allah."

"Israel is light, Israel is philosophy, Israel is values and ethics," he said during a 2015 speech before AIPAC. "And I cannot imagine the world without Israel."

The failure of the "Arab Spring" may help to explain the growing trend of Muslims and Arabs supporting Israel. As the hope of democratic reform faded and states crumbled into violent chaos and/or merciless crackdowns on protests, some willing to look past anti-Israel propaganda might admire the only example of a Middle East democracy that tolerates dissent, has a burgeoning economy, upholds the rule of law and human rights, and protects minorities.

For example, after Mohammad Hosseini escaped the horrors of ISIS in Iraq, hebegan to question many of the anti-Israel beliefs on which he was raised.

"I wanted to check the essence of the conspiracy theories, which are common in the Muslim and Arab world against Israel and the Jews," he wrote. "People told me that America and the Jews are responsible for all the problems but on the contrary I saw imams and many religious people joining ISIS willingly and out of admiration."

His research changed his mind about Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians.

"As long as people are committed to the destruction of Israel the Israelies (sic) have an obligation to defend themselves first," Hosseini added. "I want the Israelies (sic) to know that Israel has supporters amongst us. I hope that the Palestinian party would realize that it is unreasonable to kill and then come with demands against Israel, negotiations should be commenced with pure intentions."

Moreover, the singularly brutal approach of the Islamic State (ISIS) towards religious minorities, or even Sunni Muslims who dare to disagree with ISIS, does much – by way of extreme contrast – to highlight Israeli society's tolerance. Religious minorities in Israel like the Druze, have clearly taken notice, and prefer life under Israeli rule.

Gabriel Nadaf is a leader of the Aramaean Christian minority in Israel and a Greek Orthodox priest who encourages Israeli Christians to enlist in the IDF. In September 2014, he told the United Nations Human Rights Council that "Israel is the only place where Christians in the Middle East are safe." In February 2014, Monaliza Abdo, a young Arab Christian woman who voluntarily enlisted in the Israeli army, spoke publicly about her patriotism and determination to protect all Israelis.

But even members of the majority religion in the Middle East, Sunni Islam, serve in the IDF. There about 1,700 Bedouin Arabs who serve in the Israeli army.

And, perhaps as part of the broader trend of Arabs embracing their Israeli identity, Lucy Aharish, the first Muslim Arab presenter for one of Israel's top TV news channels, proudly defines herself as an Israeli: "Today, when people ask me 'What are you?' I say that I'm an Israeli. I'm not ashamed of my Israeliness. Then I'm a woman, and then I'm an Arab Muslim. That's the order: Israeli, woman, Arab Muslim."

A growing demographic of Zionist Muslims may eventually serve as the bridge to peace between Israel and the wider Islamic world. But as long as Islamist movements persist, such courageous individuals will likely face serious threats.

Noah Beck is the author of The Last Israelis, an apocalyptic novel about Iranian nukes and other geopolitical issues in the Middle East.

Muslim Zionist???
Pakistanis are going to blow up themselves

 

[Azad-Kashmiri]

Muslim Zionist???
Pakistanis are going to blow up themselves

I was telling my friends about how the Hindustanis come out like cockroaches when there is a person from Christendom to show how loyal they are. And your post proves it! Do you think Soloman needs you to defend his terrorist ideological state?

 

[dani958]

we bomb who ever we think ti bomb

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

So a lot of the native Israeli Arabs (21% of the population) are loyal Israeli citizens and contribute to the society in all fields like every other community? What a shock and who would have thought that?
However that does not equal those people, who are a minority (convinced Zionists) btw, blindly agreeing with all Israeli policies in regards to Palestine.

There are probably many, many Israeli Jews who love their country and people but who disagree with political Zionism.
Palestinians should not even care if Israelis are Zionists, leftists, center or rightists, as long as they are willing to agree on a two-state solution and solve the problems that exist.

Of course this article, for unknown reasons, choose to highlight Zionism. As if Zionism was the only type of attachment to Israel that exists, ideology or it equaling Israeli nationalism.
I am 100% sure that most Israeli Arabs are proud or at least content of being Israeli citizens but I do not believe the slightest that they agree with current Israeli policies in regards to Palestine. At least the vast majority of those policies.

Anyway in the perfect world Arabs and Jews should have close and cordial relations as cousins and neighbors.

 

[dani958]

So a lot of the native Israeli Arabs (21% of the population) are loyal Israeli citizens and contribute to the society in all fields like every other community? What a shock and who would have thought that?
However that does not equal those people, who are a minority (convinced Zionists) btw, blindly agreeing with all Israeli policies in regards to Palestine.

There are probably many, many Israeli Jews who love their country and people but who disagree with political Zionism.
Palestinians should not even care if Israelis are Zionists, leftists, center or rightists, as long as they are willing to agree on a two-state solution and solve the problems that exist.

Of course this article, for unknown reasons, choose to highlight Zionism. As if Zionism was the only type of attachment to Israel that exists, ideology or it equaling Israeli nationalism.
I am 100% sure that most Israeli Arabs are proud or at least content of being Israeli citizens but I do not believe the slightest that they agree with current Israeli policies in regards to Palestine. At least the vast majority of those policies.

Anyway in the perfect world Arabs and Jews should have close and cordial relations as cousins and neighbors.

look they live in sucsess country democracy high technology what do you think they prefer to live in country like algier or tuniss or egapt they need us the jewis

 

[Timur]

I didn't know there were Muslim Zionists too

man you can find communistnazis in russia everything is possible

 

[Solomon2]

'I feel loyal to this state. I see what it provides to people in my community despite all the harsh words'

More Arab Israelis join national service, discovering state benefits, patriotism
East Jerusalem non-citizens also secretly volunteering with 85% of participants said to get good jobs afterwards
BY DOV LIEBER August 15, 2016, 3:06 pm

Bara’a Abed, a 20-year-old from East Jerusalem. She is part of a growing trend of Arabs joining Israel's national service. (Dov Lieber / Times of Israel)​

Dov Lieber is The Times of Israel's Arab affairs

They sound like your average religious Zionist couple in Israel: she serves in the Jewish state’s national service and he is an army combat veteran. Except they are both Muslim Arabs, and she, Bara’a Abed, is from East Jerusalem while her husband (unnamed) is from a village in the north.

Abed, 20, who now does works as a volunteer in an Israeli Interior Ministry office, is part of a fast-growing community of young Arabs who are eschewing decades of anti-normalization with the majority-Jewish Israeli government to both give back and receive from the state.

Historically, nearly all national service participants were Jewish religious-Zionist women, who wanted to serve their country but for religious reasons didn’t want to be in the army. Such women receive near-automatic exemptions from the military, though the last several years have seen a large increase in those choosing to serve in the IDF.

Six years ago, only 600 non-Jews served in Israel’s national service program, in which participants volunteer for one to two years in public institutions like schools, hospitals, courts or health clinics.

Presently, 4,500 non-Jews are doing national service, of whom 100 are from East Jerusalem. That total is three times more than those coming from the ultra-Orthodox community (1,500), most of whom are men obtained a religious exemption from the army but still wanted to serve their country. There are also 8,500 religious Zionists doing national service, mostly women.

Non-Jewish Israelis, mostly Arab, constitute around 20% of the country’s 8.6 million citizens.


Thousands of ultra-Orthodox at recent prayer rally in Jerusalem in opposition to the government’s plan to draft yeshiva students into military and national service (photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Speaking to a group of journalists on Monday in Jerusalem, Abed said her husband inspired her to volunteer.

She saw the benefits he received from the country as a soldier — including money for education, healthcare and job opportunities — and decided she wanted the same for herself.


Bara’a Abed, a 20-year-old from East Jerusalem. She is part of a growing trend of Arabs joining Israel’s national service. (Dov Lieber / Times of Israel)

A former saleswoman in an East Jerusalem clothing shop, Abed lived alone in a boarding school away from her abusive family and said that experience also encouraged her to take control of her life.

“At first I was afraid and thought the Arab community wouldn’t accept me. Then I thought to myself, what will I get from them? The state will give me what I need,” said Abed, who for safety reasons requested her face not be shown.

Those doing national service receive exactly the same benefits as soldiers, which include: around NIS 800 ($209) monthly, free healthcare, free use of public transportation, and a NIS 11,000 ($2,880) grant at the end of their service for every year served, which can go toward education or buying a home. If they serve two years, one full year of university is also paid for.

In addition there is a special program available only to native Arabic speakers: a fully funded year-long university preparation program. During this program, participants receive NIS 1,500 to NIS 3,700 ($393-$969) a month depending on their family situation.

Abed, who is not an Israeli citizen and only has permanent residency status — like most of the half million East Jerusalem Arabs — said her symbiotic ties with the state have fostered patriotic sentiments.

“I feel loyal to this state. I see what it provides to people in the community despite all the harsh words they say about the state,” she said.

Once Abed started working at the Interior Ministry, where she helps Arabic speakers navigate processes such as renewing IDs and getting travel documents, she said, “I finally reached the stability that I was looking for.”

Serving their country in secret
Up late at night around a year ago, a 20-year-old male from the East Jerusalem refugee camp of Shuafat was surfing the internet and happened upon the website for Israel’s national service.


A.H., 21, is an East Jerusalemite volunteer in Israel’s national service. (Dov Lieber / Times of Israel)

A., 21, who asked his name and face not appear in the article for his safety, called the office and said he wanted to volunteer. His first offer was to serve in a psychiatric ward, which he promptly refused. A. took his time waiting for a position at a courthouse to open up. Soon he got a call to come in to the Interior Ministry.

“I didn’t realize it was a job interview. I thought they were calling me in for a residency issue,” recalled A., who is also not an Israeli citizen but a permanent resident of Jerusalem.

“I feel good every day after work. This is the first time I feel appreciated and welcome,” said A., who used to work at a gas station and now works helping Arabic speakers at the Interior Ministry like Abed.

“I feel like I am working with my bigger family,” said A., recalling with a smile celebrating Jewish holidays for the first time with his workmates.

When asked if he feels loyal to the state, he smiled again: “Certainly.”

But for the Shuafat resident — just like with Abed — his service is a secret known only by his close family and best friends. Were word to get out, his life could be in danger. In April, Baha Nabata, 31, a well-regarded civil rights and youth group leader, was murdered in the camp, reportedly for “collaboration” with Israeli authorities during his quest to improve municipal services there.


Palestinian stone throwers stand next to burning wood during clashes with Israeli security forces in Shuafat in East Jerusalem on October 5, 2015. (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)

Sar Shalom Gerbi, general director of Israel’s national service, said Arab volunteers outside of Jerusalem can also find themselves in “tough situations.”

Speaking at his office in Jerusalem on Monday, he listed a litany of incidents of abuse against Arab volunteers, including being called “lepers” by an Arab MK, an instance in which four students were expelled from their school by the town council leader, and one coordinator who had the windshield of her car shattered by a brick.

Only some Arab volunteers in the national service face such threats, and none so far have been life-threatening. Most have the blessing of their families, Gerbi said. However, he accused a portion of the Arab-Israeli leadership of smearing national service by conflating it with obligatory military service.

Arab volunteers, like any others, can leave national service whenever they please, Gerbi pointed out. Additionally, Arab volunteers are intentionally placed where they can help their own communities — like Arab schools or hospitals with many Arabic speakers — and are able to live at home. Jewish volunteers can be placed in positions around the country that oblige them to live away from home.


General Director of the National Service program, Sar-Shalom Gerbi. (Dov Lieber / Times of Israel)

Gerbi said it is understandable why Arabs don’t want to serve in the Israeli army, which they are not obligated to do by law.

“Now they can serve their own communities and get the benefits of a soldier,” he said.

Why numbers are rising
Gerbi said he has “no doubt” the numbers of non-Jewish volunteers in national service will continue to rise.

The success of the program, he argued, is due to the trust gained from the Arab community by not trying to force them into a melting pot, as well as to the positive results for participants. He said 85% of Arab volunteers find good jobs afterwards.

“They want to help their communities and they understand this can also be an entry card into Israeli society. It’s okay if they feel both,” he said.

From the total 4,500 non-Jewish volunteers, 70% are Muslim, while the rest are Christian, Druze and Circassians. Ninety percent are women.


Christian Arab Border Policemen and soldiers flank deputy minister MK Ofir Akunis (Courtesy IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Zienab Abu Swaid, the coordinator for national service in the Arabic sector, said, “Today the youth are voting with their feet. Those who oppose national service can’t stop them.”

Abu Swaid, who is from a northern Bedouin community, also asked her picture not be shown, as some hold her “in contempt” for her work.

Abu Swaid has a degree in education and first thought she would teach at a local school, but decided she wanted to make a larger impact. After seeing the “wonderful” result of national service for her own nephews, she was convinced her current position was the best way to help.

According to Abu Swaid, many Arabs do not volunteer just to receive the government freebies.

“For many people it’s not about the benefits,” she said, “but about becoming more a part of Israeli society.”

 

[Solomon2]

​

Why One Muslim Chooses to Stand With Israel
AUGUST 19, 2016

A few weeks ago, I came across a powerful blog post by Nadiya al-Noor titled How a Muslim also became a Zionist. Her compelling story of appreciation for the Jewish people led me to wonder if there were others like her in the Muslim community: do they speak out about their support for Israel? My question would be answered quite quickly, as only a short time after I read her blog post, I met an incredible campus activist by the name of Rezwan Ovo-Haq. As a pro-Israel leader on my college campus, I had the opportunity to travel to numerous events this summer — events where I kept running into Rezwan. I began to form a true connection with Rezwan, both in our shared appreciation of Israel and a desire for peace. As I began to learn more about Rezwan’s story, I realized what an incredible inspiration he truly is. Rezwan allowed to me conduct an interview where we talked about his origins in Students for Justice in Palestine, and how he ultimately changed to becoming a staunch supporter of Israel.

What first got you involved with the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, especially on a college campus?

When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most Muslims side with the Palestinians because the majority of Palestinians are Muslim. Growing up, I never knew why I supported Palestine, but I just knew that I stood with the Palestinians. I moved to the United States in 2006 and soon after Israel was in a war with Lebanon. It was then when I was first exposed to the anti-Israeli rhetoric here in America. I was taught that Israel is an oppressive regime that lives off killing Palestinians and taking their homes. I was taught that the IDF soldiers routinely kidnap Palestinian children in the middle of the night. That there are checkpoints all over Palestine with the full intent of dehumanizing the Palestinians. I was taught that the only reason Israel exists today is because the Jews uses the Holocaust Sympathy card and now they are carrying out the Jewish Holocaust on the Palestinians. In 2014, I was exposed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during Operation Protective Edge. During that conflict, what I saw on social media was so overwhelming that I thrust myself into pro-Palestinian advocacy. I reached out to the SJP on my campus and I worked with its members to help bring the Israeli Apartheid wall to my college campus.

In 2014, I was exposed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during Operation Protective Edge. During that conflict, what I saw on social media was so overwhelming that I thrust myself into pro-Palestinian advocacy. I reached out to the SJP on my campus and I worked with its members to help bring the Israeli Apartheid wall to my college campus.

What changed your perception ultimately that made you become a strong pro-Israel advocate?

During the Israeli-Apartheid week, I came across a person who later introduced himself to me as a former Israeli Defense Force soldier. That was a significant moment for me because I used to believe IDF soldiers were terrorists yet me and this guy had a genuine conversation. He told that his best friend was killed in Operation Protective Edge. That was a very humanizing moment for me. It was at that moment when I realized that me and this IDF soldier both want peace in this conflict, we just had a different way of going about it.

That interaction with the IDF soldier pushed me into doing more research on this conflict. I found out that founders of Hamas are billionaires and they live in Qatar, while most people in Gaza live under poverty. People like Mahmoud Abbas live in a 13 million dollar presidential palace in the West Bank while the unemployment rate in the West Bank is in the double digits (up 19 percent last time I checked.) That is when you realize that these pro-Palestinian organizations such SJP exist solely to slander Israel. They never hold Palestinian leadership accountable for their corruption. The corruption of the Palestinian leaders are a major factor behind the suffering of the Palestinians. The reason why I’m such a passionate pro-Israel advocate because I genuinely believe that Israel wants peace with the Palestinians. The Palestinian leadership has yet to show any sign of wanting peace with Israel.

That was a very humanizing moment for me. It was at that moment when I realized that me and this IDF soldier both want peace in this conflict, we just had a different way of going about it.

What are the values and ideals of Israel that you advocate for?

I’m a pro-Israel advocate because I view Israel as not just as a Jewish nation, but a Muslim nation as well. In Israel, Muslims are doctors, businessmen, businesswomen, government officials, judges, elected politicians and they all serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. Israel also aligns with my progressive values because only in Israel do women truly have equal status as men. There are equal rights and protections for religious minorities and the LGBTQ community. These are values that are very important to me.

Have you ever been to Israel yourself?

No, I’ve never been but I do plan on it. Hopefully, with the David Project in the winter time.

Wonderful, and what do you hope to gain most from this trip?

Honestly, I want more exposure in general to both Israel and Palestine because it’s a conflict that I’ve had endless debates on. It will be nice to see things from different perspectives, to put a face to the country that I’ve been talking about for quite some time and also get more exposure to the conflict itself. I’m an adventurous person.

From my trip to Israel, I hope to understand what it means to be an Israeli. I want to learn how they can attempt to have a normal life while living in constant fear of the annihilation of the country they call home. I want to witness with my own eyes the streets of Jerusalem where a Muslim woman wearing her hijab can walk next to a Rabbi and be perfectly civilized — while right outside the borders there is constant conflict. I want to gain further knowledge that exists outside the borders of Israel and truly listen to the stories of the people that live there.

Why do you think many Muslims don’t speak out about their support for Israel?

I believe Muslims don’t speak out for their support of Israel because they genuinely fear the backlash that they might or might not receive from the Muslim community. I think that is a legitimate fear that Muslims have when it comes to the issue of Israel. Many feel like they may be disowned by their own family members if they support Israel. There is a significant stigma against Israel from the Muslim community which I truly find baffling because 20% of Israel’s population are Muslims and some can argue that Israeli Muslims have a higher standard of living than those living in the Arab countries that surround Israel.

I think that is a legitimate fear that Muslims have when it comes to the issue of Israel. Many feel like they may be disowned by their own family members if they support Israel.

How would you define Zionism, and what it means to you?

To me, Zionism means the right to self-determination of the Jewish people. That is what Zionism means to me. I’m proud to call myself a Muslim Zionist because I believe in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish nation and its right to defend itself to maintain it as such.





You can find Rezwan on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/loganhaq?fref=ts

Michael R. Kagan is an American-Israeli currently residing in San Diego, California. He is a 4th-year student at San Diego StateUniversity and is majoring in Computer Science. During his college career, he has served as Vice President of Students Supporting Israel, a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, and has completed internships with both the Israel on Campus Coalition and Anti-Defamation League.

 

[django]

Muslim Zionist sounds like an oxymoron.

 

[The SC]

Good try, but it smells propagada.. the number of all these pro-zionist "Muslims" is infenitesimal compared to the number of Palestinians who re anti-zionists..The number of the first ones doesn't even match half of the first line of those intifada guys..seen on a pic in post #12 here above!!!