His
mother and father moved to Israel 30 years ago and had two sons here, both of
whom chose to convert to Judaism and enlist in Israeli military after being
encouraged at home; on Independence Day, 21-year-old Sergeant A., will receive
a citation of excellence
Korin Elbaz Alush|Published: 04.24.19
He was born to Muslim parents
who relocated from the Gaza Strip to Israel some 30 years ago, and in two
week’s time - on Independence Day - he is going to be a recipient of a special
citation of excellence from the head of his division. Ironically, the family lives
in Sderot, a city that has for years been suffering from rocket attacks fired
by Gaza militants.
The 21-year-old Staff Sergeant
A., is a career soldier in the Technology and Logistics Division and is
currently preparing for an officers' course he is about to start.
His parents moved to Israel
when the borders were still open. They managed to successfully assimilate and
build new lives over the border where they became parents to two sons, one of
whom is Sergeant A. The two boys decided to convert to Judaism and later enlist
in Israel Defense Forces.
He began his service
supervising military workshops and was later appointed as the head of the
planning and development division. In the last few months, before deciding to
sign-up for the officer's course, he served as operations officer of his
platoon.
"I didn’t think I’d be
able to achieve that, it’s a dream come true," Sergeant A., said about
receiving the citation of excellence. “Since I became a career soldier, I’ve
worked insane hours and tried to do my best. I’m happy that it’s been
appreciated because they told me they’re giving me the citation for my hard
work.”
The soldier said his parents
are also Israeli patriots and his fathers had dreamt about his sons enlisting
in the military. "Our parents are very excited about the ceremony,"
he said, adding that when he told his father he’s going to be an officer, the
father broke into tears of joy. "My family is the main source of my
strength, to have complete support from them is not a given,” he added.
The sergeant's extended family
still lives in Gaza, but he says he’s not in touch with them and would never
visit them even if he could. “I barely speak Arabic,” he said. “When the
parents speak to me in Arabic, I always answer in Hebrew. I always felt Jewish,
and Judaism was an inseparable part of me even before the conversion.” He said
he celebrated the Passover at his parents’ house.
The soldiers says he doesn’t
try to hide his Gazan roots from either his friends or the military. "It's
always accompanied by follow-up questions, but I'm Jewish and Israeli, and
proud of myself and my parents who chose to come to Israel."
1 comment:
There were Jews and Christians living in that area when the Arabs conquered it. Some of them left for more hospitable environments and some stayed and kept their religion. Over the succeeding years many would have been absorbed by Islam, some for convenience, many forced or the result of kidnappings of girls. Whatever the history, there has to be a fair amount of Jewish blood in the local inhabitants whose lineage goes back before the 7th century and even among those who arrived later with the Arab conquests. However depopulated the area became, this would have persisted. There is a thread of rabbinical thought that a soul comes back if it hasn't finished a job in the first life it had. I'm inclined to think that this was a family of returning souls from those oppressed or exiled Jews who could not get back before.
Post a Comment