NOVANEWS
I have just delivered a letter of support and outrage from over 50 University of Haifa professors to the mosque incinerated by settler terrorists in Tuba-Zangria. It lies about 2 km east of Rosh Pina, off the road to Kfar Hanassi, close to Mahanaim airfield. It is a township of neat, colorful spaced houses, gardening, and wide streets. It is a Bedouin township, and at least one citizen I saw in IDF uniform.
It was very quiet when I drove in at 9 this morning, and asked my way to the Municipality. Naively asking for where I could find members of the Town Council or its Head, I sensed a certain reticence, and was told nobody is there because it had been burnt. Finally someone explained that the Mayor does not live in Tuba-Zangria, he is a government appointee, a Mr. Zvi Fogel, not a Bedouin.
I asked my way to the mosque. It is in a suburb of the main township, on a low hill. Nothing had prepared me for the shock of what I saw. The brutality and evil of terrorizing a community of believers in their place of worship was totally evident. I do not know if you can get a sense of this from the pictures. It was initially difficult for me to speak to the two gentlemen I met there, Mr Ahmed and Mr Farid Zangri. I expressed my shock and utter sadness as best I could. He said he lived in the house next to the mosque, and had been among the first on the scene. From the adjoining house on its other side I heard children’s voices coming from a window not 4 meters from where the flames had burst thru’ the mosque bomb shelter and back entrance and charred its outside walls.
IN the mosque, I got the eerie feeling that this was no act of mindless vandalism committed by mindless thugs. All the walls were scrawled with graffiti – in Arabic – imprinted hands, etc. The perpetrators had planned and spent considerable time in the mosque. They had brought plenty of incendiary material with them to spread around and ignite anything flammable in the stone building, primarily books, draping and carpets. The heat had exploded the decorated ceramic tiles and they lay shattered on the floor. These people are well trained and practiced saboteurs, they were no amateur hotheads high on adrenalin (pictures below).
IN perfect Hebrew, Mr. Farid Zangri said there is no one to meet me at this time, but that they will convey the letter I had printed with almost 50 of our colleagues’ signatures to their Iman, Mr. Fuad Zangria. Further, both men expressed their heartfelt appreciation of our support, and specifically that we had come to deliver the message in person. Mr. Farid Zangri suggested that we exchange visits – a delegation from there could visit the University, and a delegation of ours could visit them. I think this is something we should do.
IT is also my sentiment that we could contribute something more tangible to the mosque. As you can see from the pictures, it’s prayer books and scriptures were incinerated. The microphone and lectern destroyed. Perhaps someone of us more knowledgeable than I could think of an appropriate article we could donate these traumatized people to reinforce their faith in other people.
INDEED Mr. Farid Zangri spoke to that – there, by his destroyed mosque, he told me to tell you that this will not harm the relations between Jews and Bedouin in any way.
HE reiterated that they especially appreciate that we had made the effort to come to their mosque.
Micah
PS If you want the full-size pictures (and more of them) email me.
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