It’s an uncomfortable question. But five Jewish souls were allowed to remain in this world thanks to one Palestinian Arab who put his own life on the line for them. Who will now protect that man when terrorists target him as a collaborator with Israel??
Five yeshiva students who came as tourists to Israel last week nearly lost their lives because they took a wrong turn while driving to the Cave of the Patriarchs (Machpela) in Hebron, courtesy of a innocent misdirection from the WAZE GPS software. When the group entered the ancient Biblical city, they became lost in the winding narrow streets and accidentally entered the Arab area. This nearly cost them their lives, as a mob of Palestinian Arabs instantly swarmed around their car and began to beat them. Two were already injured and one was bleeding from his face.
They were pulled to safety by 51-year-old Faiz Abu Hamadya, who saved them from being lynched. The video in this article (below) shows how Israeli security forces eventually extracted the tourists from Abu Hamadya’s home, and what it took to bring them to safety.
Not one thing they had with them remained intact – the car was incinerated, their tefillin (phylacteries) were snatched and burst apart, the sacred parchments inside torn and stomped on the ground. Holy books were ripped apart, their pages scattered to the wind or fed to the flames rising from their vehicle. All their belongings were completely destroyed.
But the five yeshiva students were safe – two were injured from the beatings and one was bleeding – but all were alive, thanks to Faiz Abu Hamadya.
“In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.” Rabbi Hillel
In rescuing the five young men Abu Hamadya fulfilled numerous Torah mitzvot though he was obligated to none. More to the point, he put his own life in jeopardy both then and now as well. This is because in saving a Jew he labeled himself as a collaborator with Israel. This automatically makes him a target for Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organizations who both operative active branches in Hebron.
Nor was it simple operation for the IDF soldiers and Border Guard Police officers who were forced to enter the neighborhood in order to extract the tourists from Abu Hamadya’s home.
Israeli security forces had to work fast, before all the Palestinian Authority-based terror groups could get organized to surround the five U.S. nationals holed up in their territory. And they still had to pull them out past the hostile Arabs waiting to tear them apart, just as dusk was settling in.
The soldiers begin taking them out, and special ops Border Guard Police arrive to say they will take them up to a van they have parked just above on the ridge behind the house. They will have to climb a short rise in the back, but it will be safer than taking them through the street. An ambulance is waiting, parked parallel next to the police van, where two of the young men will briefly treated and then taken to a hospital for care. The other three will be evacuated in the van.
Things move quickly, with both IDF and Border Guard Police officers protecting the tourists, their rescuer, and each other. Periodically they aim their weapons directly at those watching, and then change targets. They don’t relax their guard for one moment.