Mt. Hebron Council Head Yochai Damari posted on his Facebook page a call to help two Judea and Samaria Arabs who were directly involved in rescuing the late Rabbi Miki Mark from Otniel, who was murdered in a terrorist drive-by shooting on Route 60 in Mt. Hebron. The two Arabs were able to save the lives of Mark’s wife and two of their children who were in the car.
“Inside the darkness of the terrorist attack, two Arab residents acted and supported the rescue of the family until the arrival of Israeli forces (about ten minutes), and these actions contributed significantly to prevent an even more tragic harm,” Damari wrote.
According to Damari’s account, the first rescuer arrived seconds after the attack and started prying the doors open with a jack, releasing and bringing out the children, and freeing the mother from the stranglehold of her safety belt. He then stood guard to make sure no one hurt or kidnap them, despite the dozens of drivers who stopped, threatened him, and demanded that he stop caring for the Jews.
Damari noted that this Arab rescuer was later fired from his job as a reprimand for saving Jews.
Moments later, an Arab doctor who was on his way to Jerusalem stopped at the attack site and provided first aid to the injured. He left only after the EMT units had arrived.
“I met with [the first rescuer] and he asked me to help remove the rejection of his work permit request,” Damari wrote. “I sent a letter this week to the Defense Minister, asking for his assistance in providing work permits to both men. I’ve met them, and I’m familiar with the objective difficulties [in issuing them the work permits], but I believe that it is our duty as a Jewish nation to show our gratitude to people who behave like human beings as expected of them in such cases.”
“This time, more than any other, we must boost the positive forces and deliver a clear message that a positive and normative behavior will result in a positive and normative reward on our part,” Damari added.