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Video: An Arab Muslim in the Israel Defense Forces

(YouTube) Hananya Naftali - Mohammad Kabiya is a Bedouin Muslim Israeli. "I'm an Israeli citizen, it's my country and I must support it....I get all the services from Israel. Israel protects me as a minority and as a citizen, so I will support my country. I will love it and defend it." Q: "You served in the Israeli Air Force. Why did you choose to take part in the Israel Defense Forces?" A: "Here, you said it: 'Israel Defense Forces.' I see myself as an Israeli. I'm part of the State of Israel, so it's an army that defends me, my family, my community, and also my country. The same rocket that is fired by Hamas or Hizbullah and all the terror organizations doesn't distinguish between a Jew or an Arab or me and you." "Whoever is a terrorist and engages in terrorism...is not my brother....Terrorism is hate, it's destruction, it's cruelty. I'm Muslim - yes. I'm proud of my Islam - yes....I'm an Arab who is proud of his identity....Look at the Arab world. Muslims are killing one another just because one is Shiite and the other is Sunni. In the State of Israel I think that Islam and other religions and other minorities are more protected than in the Arab world." "We serve together in the IDF shoulder to shoulder, we work together, we walk in the street together...we live together. In a place where you die together you can live together." Q: "Aren't you scared to express your support for Israel, that someone will kill you?" A: "No, I'm not scared....My source of strength and bravery to continue and move forward is my family. I'm a member of the Kabiya family, most of whose men served in the IDF. They are officers in elite units. Therefore, it's the opposite. They support the path that I've chosen."
2019-09-06 00:00:00
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