Gush Etzion Jews and Arabs will hold a prayer vigil at the Gush Etzion intersection Sunday to pray for the complete and speedy recovery for the three remaining victims of Friday’s arson attack in Samaria and for peace between Arabs and Jews.
Shorashim/Judur, a grass-roots movement of local Israelis and Palestinian Authority Arabs for coexistence in Judea and Samaria, is sponsoring the prayer vigil.
Rabbi Yaakov Nagen, a teacher at the Otniel yeshiva and one of the organizers of the rally, said the event would be a critical demonstration of unity between Jews and Palestinians at a time when tensions are rising on both sides of the ethnic divide.
Referring to the firebomb attack that set a house on fire and killed an 18-month-old baby, he stated:
This vile attack occurred on the eve of the Sabbath that Jews around the world read the 10 Commandments, including the holy words ‘Thou shalt not murder,’ and less than a week after we read the frightening rebuke of the prophet Isaiah – ‘Your monthly and holiday celebrations have become disgusting to Me… You will spread your hands out in prayer [but] I will hide my eyes from you… your hands are replete with blood.’The first thing the Bible teaches us about humanity is that we are all created in the image of God.
Arab participants at the 6 p.m. rally will include Sheikh Ibrahim Abu Hawa and Ali Abu Awwad. Several rabbis will attend, including the heads of the Har Etzion Yeshiva and the Makor Chaim Yeshiva High School.
