In a recent incident, the Yad L’achim anti-missionary organization helped a Jewish woman identify an Arab who had attempted to fool her into thinking that he was Jewish. The organization was thus able to prevent a potential intermarriage, or even a kidnapping, in which the Jewish girl would be taken to an Arab village, where she would be forced to remain – a fate that thousands of Jewish girls have faced.
Information that reached Yad L’achim indicated that the young lady had been dating an individual who called himself “Yossi Mizrahi.” The 21-year-old girl, from a traditional household, had been under the impression that he was what he represented himself to be – a single young Jewish man of middle eastern background.
A social worker with Yad L’achim, however, had evidence that said otherwise. The social worker revealed to the girl that the individual was indeed an Arab, and his name was not “Yossi,” but “Yussuf.” It took some time, but the social worker was able to convince the young woman of the story, by providing details relating to the individual, that would not have been known to someone who was not familiar with him.
The social worker recommended that the girl break up with Yussuf – but not directly. The organization provided her with temporary living quarters so that her “intended” could not find her, and she sent Yussuf a text message telling him that it was all over. The young woman, in a heartfelt letter to Yad L’achim, thanked the organization for their help, saying that without Yad L’achim’s help, her fate would have likely been far different.
Earlier this year, Yad L’achim slammed a proposal by the leftist Meretz party that all students in Israeli schools would be required to have at least two one-hour meetings during their time as students with students from schools in the Arab sector. The law would apply equally to secular, Religious Zionist, and hareidi schools. The law is supported by Education Minister Shai Piron.
Yad L’achim officials said that the proposal would lead to terrible results, including “mass assimilation” by Jewish children, as they became familiar with Arab customs and ways of life. “That the Education Ministry would support such a thing is unthinkable,” an organization official said. “In many cases children who go through programs like these end up abandoning their whole way of life, with girls ending up stuck in Arab villages, to the sorrow of their families.”
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