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Interfaith delegation visits bereaved Ziyadne family in Rahat

Noting that Youssef was a "true hero" on Oct. 7, Rabbi Aharon Ariel Lavi said, "We stand here in solidarity to affirm that there is another path."

Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne. Credit: Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne. Credit: Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

The Ziyadne family opened their home to a delegation of over 30 religious leaders and laypersons from various parts of Israel on Monday who came to pay their respects. Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne, residents of the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel, were kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and killed in Gaza. Their bodies were recovered last week by the Israel Defense Forces and brought to Rahat for burial.  

The interfaith visit was organized by the Ohr Torah Interfaith Center, part of the Ohr Torah Stone network, in partnership with the Forum of Interfaith Leaders in Israel and the Interfaith Initiative of the Negev. Nearly a dozen members of the Ziyadne family welcomed the well-wishers.

Nawaf, Youssef’s brother, thanked the group for coming and sharing in the family’s sorrow, adding, “May it be the will of Allah that we will meet together again, not in these types of events, not in sad moments, but on joyous occasions.”

Sheikh Halil Elbaz from the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, who is a member of the Ohr Torah Interfaith Center, spoke about the purpose of the delegation.

“We at the Interfaith Center are Druze, Muslims, Christians and Jews who come together and share and learn from one another, both in good times and bad,” said Elbaz. “It goes without saying that we would come here today to share in the sorrow of this family whose loved ones were killed. The visit succeeded in raising the spirits of the Ziyadne family,” he added.

“Each person who comes to visit, especially those from a different segment of society, shows solidarity with what the family is undergoing. They suffered through a very hard year. This forum coming to visit, with people showing how much they care, alleviates some of their pain, and that is the goal, to alleviate pain together.”

Elbaz also shared what the Bedouin community in southern Israel has endured in the past 15 months: “On Oct. 7, the first missiles from Gaza fell on Bedouin towns. Six Bedouin children were killed and approximately 20 hostages taken into Gaza were Bedouin. We paid a heavy price together with the rest of the people of Israel. This is a message to the political echelon that we are all one people, one nation.”

He added that “retribution doesn’t help anyone. … We need to end the conflict. Now we have an opportunity to end this conflict and we will see what the future brings.”

Rabbi Aharon Ariel Lavi, managing director of the Ohr Torah Interfaith Center and head of the delegation, said, “On Oct. 7, Arab residents of the Gaza Envelope showed immense courage and compassion by aiding the wounded. Our hearts break with every tragic announcement of hostages being killed and our thoughts are with our Bedouin brothers during these painful times.”

Rabbi Lavi lives in the Gaza Envelope region and served as a combat medic for more than 200 days over the course of the war.

Rabbi Daniel Rowe, an educational director with Jewish outreach organization Aish, said after the visit, “We absolutely need to speak to each other in order to bring about peace and understanding. Initiatives like this one show just how much we empathize with another from a human perspective.”

“Unfortunately,” he continued, “people often try to use Western secular models of thinking to solve problems that are rooted in Middle Eastern thinking. In this part of the world, the only thing greater than tribalism is the One God we all connect to and love. People have used religion to exacerbate conflicts, but we have not tried using our common faith in God to solve those conflicts. I believe faith leaders need to play a central role in bringing about true, deep, real peace, transcending tribal and territorial issues, and bringing true lasting peace.”

Sheikh Jabber Abu-Abdullah, a leading member of Israel’s Druze community, told the Ziyadne family, “We share in your suffering, and while we were all praying, God wanted something different. … We are here, members of all faiths, and we see your pain and the pain that they [Youssef and Hamza] suffered for more than a year. I pray that we all see better days, when we can all meet in happiness and not in suffering. I call upon the government to end this conflict and bring the hostages back in peace. The time has come to get serious, to go beyond words and obtain a lasting peace. The Middle East cannot suffer more wars. We’ve had enough.”

Following the visit to the Ziyadne family, the leaders came together at the guest tent of Sheikh Hassan Abu Eliyon to eat and learn together. Abu Eliyon works with the interfaith center and helped organize the Rahat meeting.

“We need to build bridges, we cannot each be only looking out for our own sector of society,” he told the group. “Here in Rahat we constantly work to build a better future, and we need to do it by listening to each other, as we are all citizens of the same country and we are all one nation.”  

Summing up the visit, Rabbi Lavi added, “Youssef Ziyadne was a true hero who saved countless lives at the Nova party, even as his own family members were taken hostage. We stand here in solidarity to affirm that there is another path—a path of peace and cooperation between Jews and Muslims, one that rejects violence and bloodshed and embraces hope and mutual respect.”

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