Rajada Jaraisi is a young Christian woman from Nazareth who’s about to enlist in the IDF. As member of the Christian Community Forum, she supports her friends to also enlist in the army. Recently there has been quite a storm inside the non-Jewish population of Israel, when it was discovered that a priest named Father Gabriel and a group known as the Christian Officers Forum are encouraging their community youths to serve in the IDF or join the national Service, Rajada decided to write MK Hanin Zoabi, possibly the most fervently anti-Zionist Member of Knesset, and share her ideas on this matter.
We thank Israeli journalist Yishai Friedman for his recently reported the story.
Rejada’s letter has the entire story of the changes many your Christians living in Israel have been undergoing. It may also throw some light on the great fear of the anti-Israeli MKs of this new spirit among these youths, who are going hand-in-hand with Israeli society and the Jewish people, at the expense of their ties with a growing portion of the Arab (meaning Muslim) society.
Simply stated, Rejada is asking MK Zoabi not to speak for her nor for other Christian youths.
“Shalom, MK Hanin Zoabi.
“I am an Arabic speaking Christian, but I am not an Arab. I ask, with all due respect that you not say in the name of the Christians that ‘we are Palestinians.’ Hear me, we are not Palestinians and we don’t care about them. We are Israeli Christians, covered in blue and white in our hearts and souls.
“If you object to the Christians enlisting in the IDF, please permit me to answer you that neither you, nor [MK Basel] Ghattas will build our future here and give us the same rights as our state, the State of Israel, is giving us.
“Another thing, if you know how to object to the enlistment of Christians, I’d like to see you also objecting to the Muslim Bedouin who serve in the IDF, not just against the Christians. We love everybody, the Christians and the Arabs, but only those who have a blue ID card. We simply love blue and white. And we as Christians will enlist in the IDF and will serve the state.”
Rajada Jaraisi’s letter caused quite a stir within the non-Jewish community in Israel, but passed almost unnoticed in the local major media. Arabic media rushed to interview the young woman who dared stand up to MK Zoabi, possibly the most popular MK in the left. Rajada responded calmly, as she had done in her letter, repeating that she was simply on the side of the State of Israel.
This is Rajada’s Facebook page. It’s all in Hebrew, but I know you’ll figure it out…
