(Newsweek) Muhammad Zoabi - The horror from the scenes and the horrifying stories from the Oct. 7 Hamas attack have not only shocked all Israelis, but also marked a drastic shift in Arab Israeli attitude toward the country. Historically during Israeli-Palestinian escalations, the Arab community within Israel tended to be more sympathetic to Palestinians. But Oct. 7 made us feel more Israeli than ever - when we saw not only the footage of our mass murder but the celebrations of it in Gaza that came through on social media. We saw clearly what would happen if the other side had the upper hand, and it triggered a deep sense of solidarity from the Arab community, bolstering a shared sense of being Israeli. According to a large poll carried out after the Hamas attack, over 80% of Arab Israelis rejected Hamas' attack and almost 70% supported Israel's right to respond and defend its citizens. Only 5% voiced support for Hamas' actions. Many social initiatives popped up with opportunities for Arab Israelis to assist and volunteer. Leaders from across the political spectrum in the Arab community condemned the attack and rejected Hamas' calls on Israel's Arab citizens to join the assault on Israel. Mansour Abbas, leader of the Raam Islamist Party, condemned Hamas' atrocities and said they are "contradictory to the teachings of Islam." Hamas' indiscriminate massacre against Israeli civilians took the lives of at least 100 Israelis from the country's Arab community. One of those was Awad Darawshe, a paramedic from a Nazareth suburb who was stationed at the Nova music festival, murdered by Hamas while trying to save lives. Amer Abu Sabila was shot to death by Hamas terrorists while trying to save a local Sderot family. A Negev Bedouin man was driving with his wife down the highway that Saturday morning when a group of terrorists blocked his way. The Bedouin begged the terrorists not to hurt him and his wife, to which one of the terrorists responded, "You [Arab Israelis] are more Jewish than Jews, you deserve to die." The terrorist then shot the man's wife, a hijabi Muslim woman, to death.
2023-11-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive