One fifth of the population of Israel are Israeli Arabs. Some prefer to be called Palestinian Israelis. Most of them are Muslims, some are Christians and some are Druze. Some are Bedouins, a tribe of nomadic Arabic people. Some live in predominantly Arab towns, like Nazareth, and others in mixed cities, like Haifa. In the South, there are Bedouin towns and cities, like Rahat.

And no, there is no apartheid. Israeli Arabs have the same rights and opportunities as Jewish Israelis. Arabic is one of the official languages of Israel. My kids learn Arabic in school (although they’re not very good at it). There are Arabic political parties. Arabs can and do enlist in the Israeli army, although it is not compulsary for them. Arabs study in universities and hold respected positions in Israeli society. I’ve been treated by Arab doctors and brought my sick animals to Arab veterinarians. Also, Israelis LOVE Arabic food. Arabic restaurants are extremely popular. I love them myself, too.

Obviously, that’s not to say that we’re living in a perfect utopia where Jews and Arabs always get along great and everything goes well. Palestinian Israelis often feel conflicted. Many of them have family in Gaza and the West Bank. They often don’t feel heard and represented in a country that is first and foremost Jewish. I can understand that. As a non-Jew, I feel like that sometimes, myself (although I know it’s not the same). Of course there are clashes, there can be hate and ugliness (on both sides), discrimination and prejudice. In some Arab towns there is gang activity, which the Israeli police can’t really get a grip on. But show me a country where all these things do not happen. In this post, I want to focus on the positive.

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After October 7, Palestinian Israelis stood together with Jews against Hamas. They, too, had suffered losses. 24 Israeli Arabs had been killed and 9 taken hostage. Some Arabs did downright heroic things to protect their Jewish neighbours. On the 9th of October, a famous Arab Israeli vlogger, Nuseir Yassin, also known as Nas Daily, wrote this on Twitter/X:

“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. To a terrorist invading Israel, all citizens are targets. 900 Israelis died so far. More than 40 of them are Arabs. Killed by other Arabs. And even 2 Thai people died too. 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. That’s where all my family lives. That’s where I grew up. That’s the country I want to see continue to exist so I can exist. Palestine should exist too as an independent state. And I hope to see the country thrive and become less extreme and more prosperous. I love Palestine and have invested in Palestine. But it’s not my home. So from today forward, I view myself as an “Israeli-Palestinian”. Israeli first. Palestinian second. Sometimes it takes a shock like this to see so clearly.”

(Obviously, this was before the real numbers of dead and wounded were known. 1200 people died, of whom 24 Arabs and 39 Thais.)

Another famous Arab Israeli, Yoseph Haddad, news correspondent and co-existence activist, told us the story of Masad Armilat, an Israeli Arab who worked at a gas station near the town of Sderot. On October 7, Masad heard gunshots. But instead of hiding, he ran towards the sound. He saw people fleeing and other people lying on the ground wounded. He collected as many people as he could and brought them all into the gas station. He locked the door behind them and piled gas balloons against it, so if the terrorists shot at it, the balloons would explode. And when the terrorists did come to the door, they saw the gas tanks and decided not to risk it. This is how Masad Armilat saved the lives of 14 people.

Afterwards, Masad said: “We are all one people, it doesn’t matter if we are Arab or Jewish.” Someone give this young man a medal!!

Another such hero was Awad Darawshe. He was an Israeli Arab paramedic, who worked at the Supernova festival that day. He thought he’d have to treat cuts and bruises, maybe a case of overheating. But instead, he found himself in the middle of a chaotic hellscape. Terrorists rained bullets into the crowd, grabbed young girls, stabbed people and hurt them in any way they could. Awad could have run, but he didn’t. He stayed and treated as many wounded people as he could. Until he was shot himself. He died on the battlefield of Supernova, to save others. His death is a tragedy. We desperately need people like him in our society.

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Then, there is the heartbreaking story of Hamid Abu Arar, whose wife was shot point blank by Hamas terrorists, but who, with his baby in his arms, still managed to warn a group of Israeli soldiers about the ambush they were about to walk into. I will let him tell his own story:

And here is another story. It’s the story of Aya Meydan, a young woman from kibbutz Be’eri, and a Bedouin family, who saved her and at least 30 other people. The family is called Alkrenawi. Here are their voices:

There are many more such stories. They are heartbreaking, but incredible, wonderful and inspiring at the same time. They tell the story of very different people, who came together and helped each other through something horrific and traumatic. Who stood together and said: No, I do not stand for this. This is what happens when people are humans first, and Muslims, Jews, Christians and everything else later. Like the people of Israel are now doing. And this is why Hamas will lose this war and will be destroyed.

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