The other day I was perusing Facebook and I came across a post from one of my Israeli friends that said, “I always wondered about the opinion of Israel [sic] Arabs. Although its [sic] just one young (courageous!) man, he represents most Israeli Arabs I met [sic] here. Thank you, you are a very important part of our nation!

My Israeli friend is talking about Mohammad Zoabi, a 16-year-old, courageous (as my friend put it) Israeli Arab from Nazareth. This means that Mohammed is an Arab Muslim who is a full citizen of the State of Israel. In his videos, posted below, Mohammad shares his feelings about being a proud Zionist and citizen of Israel. That’s right, 16-year-old Mohammed considers himself a Zionist!

He believes Israel is the true hope for lasting democracy in the Middle East, and urges international policy makers attempting to force a peace plan to recognize that real peace between Israel and the Arab world will only come when the Arabs stop hating the Jewish people. In fact, Mohammed even inserts a quote from Golda Meir, former prime minister of Israel, “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

As for Israel being called an apartheid state, Mohammed says anti-Israel advocates should look at the greater Arab world’s apartheid against Israel.

Mohammed believes he is lucky to be an Arab who lives in Israel because it allows him to be a Muslim who lives in a modern, 21st-century democracy.

I believe this young man is articulate and intelligent. He has a bright future ahead of him and I pray more young Arab Muslims come to think and respond like him. He is receiving tons of encouragement from all around the world, yet he is also being barraged with tons of criticism from anti-Israel supporters for abandoning his upbringing.

I encourage you to watch the videos below and hear his pride being an Israeli Arab.

CJK