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An Arab 'Rimed Jew
Committed To Peace

JOEL. BAINERMAN

Special to The Jewish News

vi Mashriki is one of
the few people to have
lived on both sides of
the Palestinian-Israeli con-
flict — as a Jew and as an
Arab.
His unusual story began a
few years ago in the West
Bank city of Hebron when he
discovered for the first time
that his father was actually a
Yeminite Jew who died short-
ly after he married
Mashriki's Moslem mother.
His mother raised him as an
Arab concealing his Jewish
roots from him
Mashriki, who then went by
the name of Ibrahim, moved
to Tulkaram and studied
Islamic literature at Nablus
University. After graduation,
he became an instructor at
the college and then com-
pleted a stint as a teacher in
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
states. Upon learning of his
Jewish roots he put his career
aside and dedicated himself
to studying Jewish history
and literature. He eventually
abandoned Islam and con-
verted to Judaism
Having lived in both Arab
and Jewish societies, he
sought a way to bridge the
gap between the two peoples.
The Palestinian uprising gave
him his chance
Along with his neighbor
Noam Arnon, he created an
organization called 'Hand to
a Friend' to help Palestinians
accused to being "col-
laborators" with Israel and
whose lives are threatened by
the PLO. Mashriki is the con-
-tact man between the group
and the Arab population.
The group, which is based
in Kiryat Arba, a Jewish
suburb of Hebron, provides a
temporary home and medical
attention for families whose
homes and lives have come
under attack. Some have had
their homes burned down;
women have been raped and
these people cannot go to
local hospitals because their
lives would be endangered.
The group supports 10
families; more than 100 are
on the waiting list.
Mashriki says the general
situation has deteriorated so
badly that it has now become
a crime against the intifada
to even befriend a "col-
laborator." One victim in
Nablus had his burial delayed
for two weeks because the
man's family would not claim
the body. Now coming out in
favor of co-existence with

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16

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Israel is considered a crime
against the people by the
PLO.
"We think these people are
heroes for standing up to the
PLO," says Anion, who is the
group's spokesperson. "The
problem is that Israel has no
existing laws which allow the
Israeli army or other govern-
ment departments to offer
financial or housing
assistance to these people."
Terrorism against the
Palestinians by the PLO is
rarely seen on television
screens yet it is an integral
aspect of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict. Mashriki
says that regardless of what
Palestinians say to western
reporters, the majority of
them don't wholeheartedly
support the aims and
methods of the PLO. Thus
because of the threat of
retribution, when asked who
is considered a collaborator,
the standard answer becomes
"anyone who disagrees or in-
terferes with the smooth run-
ning of the intifada."
Most of the families who
seek the group's help are
former employees of the civil
administration, the branch of
the Israeli army which ad-
ministers services to the
residents of the West Bank
and Gaza. The PLO singled
them out as "collaborators"
as they were much more visi-
ble to the community than
other sectors of the popula-
tion who were employed by
Israeli companies.
Mashikri remembers when
as Ibrahim people would
relate their fears of what
would happen to the region if
the PLO became the sole
voice of authority and rival
PLO groups started jockeying
for power. The continued oc-
cupation is not the answer, he
insists, but neither is an in-
dependent PLO-run mini-
state. Mashriki has ex-
perienced the hardships the
Palestinians face from Israel's
military rule, but adds that
his former community also
understands the pivotal role
the Israeli army plays in-
providing a stable security
environment.
He can't understand why
the bulk of the West Bank
and Gaza's population's sup-
port for the PLO and their
aims are never questioned by
western reporters or politi-
cians It's not logical, he says,
to prefer not to work, to lower
your standard of living and
visit your children in jail, just
so that life will be difficult for
the Israelis.

