RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20339/israel-arab-citizens-lucky

“It’s disheartening to know that among the fallen heroes are Bedouin and Druze soldiers, Muslims, and Christians who courageously defended our country. The Bedouin community mourns all civilian victims, regardless of their background — Jews, Christians, or Muslims. This brings me to a crucial point: we all share the same destiny, and our strength lies in unity. Unfortunately, there are those who seek to undermine cooperation between different sectors, sowing seeds of mistrust. I urge you not to be swayed by such attempts and to stand strong in our shared commitment to unity.” — IDF Sergeant First Class (reserve) Ahmed Abu Latif, 26, a husband and father to a one-year-old baby, who was killed on January 22 during the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Facebook, November 13, 2023,

Hamas’s October 7 atrocities did not distinguish between Jew and Arab, old and young, male and female, black and white. At least 20 Arab Israeli citizens were murdered by Hamas terrorists during the attack on that day or by Hamas rocket attacks in the ensuing days. Most of the victims were Bedouin residents living in the south of Israel. Moreover, several Bedouin men and women were abducted by Hamas.

It is no wonder, then, that an overwhelming majority of the Israeli-Arab public opposed the Hamas attack. A study conducted by Nimrod Nir of the Adam Institute and Dr. Mohammed Khalaily among the Arab public showed that most Arabs support Israel’s right to defend itself and even expressed a willingness to volunteer to help civilians who were harmed during the Hamas attack. The study showed that almost 80% of Israeli Arabs opposed the Hamas attack, and 85% opposed the kidnapping of civilians.

“For the longest time, I struggled with my identity. A Palestinian kid born inside Israel. Like…wtf. Many of my friends refuse to this day to say the word ‘Israel’ and call themselves ‘Palestinian’ only. But since I was 12, that did not make sense to me. So, I decided to mix the two and become a ‘Palestinian-Israeli.’ I thought this term reflected who I was. Palestinian first. Israeli second. But after recent events, I started to think. And think. And think. And then my thoughts turned to anger. I realized that if Israel were to be ‘invaded’ like that again, we would not be safe… And I do not want to live under a Palestinian government. Which means I only have one home, even if I’m not Jewish: Israel.” — Nuseir Yassin (“Nas Daily”), Israeli Arab blogger, October 9, 2023.

“I’m an Israeli Arab… I’m embarrassed. And Hamas is to blame… “This [Arabs identifying with Israel] demonstrates that the Arab community in Israel aspires to further integrate into society and distance itself from bad faith actors like Hamas… Israeli Arabs and Jews are like salt and pepper: They both belong on the table, and once they’re sprinkled into a dish it’s almost impossible to distinguish between them.” — Prof. Mouna Maroun, Vice President and Dean of Research at University of Haifa and the former Head of the Sagol Department of Neurobiology, the first Arab woman to hold a senior faculty position in natural sciences; newsweek.com, November 21, 2023.

Hamas was undoubtedly hoping that the massacre its members committed on October 7 would sabotage relations not only between Israel and the Palestinians, but also between Jews and Arabs inside Israel. Fortunately, however, Hamas has been unsuccessful in pitting Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs against each other. Despite the Israel-Hamas war, the vast majority of Jews and Arabs inside Israel continue to work together and live in peace and security next to each other, and often in the same neighborhoods…

The Palestinians living under the corrupt Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip can only envy Israeli-Arab citizens for living in Israel, where they enjoy democracy, freedom of expression, access to superb healthcare and educational institutions and careers, as well as a thriving economy.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/international-court-of-justice-south-africa-genocide-israel-defense-tal-becker-32821772?mod=opinion_lead_pos3

Israel spoke in its own defense against South Africa’s charge of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week. Its defense is a window on the cynical campaign against Israel as it fights for survival.

“The state of Israel is singularly aware of why the Genocide Convention, which has been invoked in these proceedings, was adopted,” Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs lawyer Tal Becker told the ICJ. The Convention was created in the aftermath of the Nazi murder of six million Jews in a “premeditated” program for their “total annihilation.” Ensuring that genocide never happens again is Israel’s “highest moral obligation,” he said.

But genocide is now being invoked by South Africa, Mr. Becker said, “in the context of Israel’s conduct in a war it did not start and did not want.” The civilian suffering among Palestinians “is tragic. It is heartbreaking,” Mr. Becker continued. But the Genocide Convention was “set apart to address a malevolent crime of the most exceptional severity.”

Charging the Jewish State with genocide will have repercussions beyond the current war, Mr. Becker said. Weaponizing the word genocide against Israel “does more than empty the word of its unique force and special meaning,” Mr. Becker told the ICJ. It has “ramifications for all states seeking to defend themselves against those who demonstrate total disdain for life and for the law.”

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/sudan-former-slave-jews-israel

My name is Simon Aban Deng. I am from South Sudan. I am a Shilluk. I am a Christian. I am a former slave.

I will not forget that day when Arab Sudanese government troops came and raided my village. We didn’t know what was going on until we heard gunshots from every direction. I was only 9 years old, but the militiamen were shooting anybody they saw, including children.

Myself, my family, and five of my friends had to run. But the Arabs ran after us: While we were running, they shot two of my friends. We ran wildly, not knowing where we were running. We just wanted to get away from these men, and the bullets, chasing us.

We ran until they disappeared. We then spent the night in the bush, terrified, and wondering if we would see these men again.

A relative of mine who was pregnant had escaped the village with us, but she couldn’t run like the other people. She collapsed from exhaustion as we were running, but we had to leave her, knowing that the Arabs would catch us if we tried to carry her or run at her pace. In the morning, as we returned to our village—wondering if it was still standing—we found that she had been eaten by wild animals during the night.

When we got there, the elders who were able to escape returned to bury the dead and try to save whatever the Arabs had not destroyed. And they had destroyed plenty. The whole village had been burned to the ground with the people inside the houses, including a blind man and an elderly lady we knew.

Seeing our beautiful village reduced to a wasteland of burned grass and rows of bodies, my father made the painful decision to leave. Now refugees, we walked to the town of Malakal, capital of Upper Nile state, where we lived for six months. Our neighbor there was an Arab named Abdullahi. One day, he asked to help him with putting his luggage onto the ferry since we lived so close to the riverbank.