Orthodox Settler Rescues Gay Palestinian

Young Palestinian man who lives with his partner in Israel visits his parents in West Bank, not allowed back into Israel. Residents of his villages threaten to kill him. Rescue comes from unexpected source.

Religious settler comes to aid of gay Palestinian
Young Palestinian man who lives with his partner in Israel visits his parents in West Bank, not allowed back into Israel. Residents of his villages threaten to kill him. Rescue comes from unexpected source: Religious Jewish settler who agreed to hide him in settlement
Roni Shaked • Ynet

Such a remarkable story could only happen in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A young gay Palestinian man, who is in grave, life-threatening danger and cannot return to his home with his Israeli partner, was saved by a stranger who came to his aid – a religious West Bank settler.

The Palestinian, T., and the Israeli, Doron, became a couple 10 years ago. Eight years ago, they drafted a marriage agreement between them, but this did not help on the bureaucratic side. T. is tormented: The State has yet to authorize family unification with Doron. As a result, he has yet to receive permanent authorization to live in Israel. He does not have health insurance, a bank account, or a drivers' license. Nor can he take out a mortgage.

"We live in a difficult reality," said Doron on Tuesday. "It's been many years that they are checking him out, but he hasn't done anything wrong. T. is a goody-two-shoes."

Recently, T.'s father, who lives in a West Bank village, fell ill, and his son wanted to go visit him. Because going to the village is life-threatening for him because residents there are not willing to accept his sexual orientation, a father-son meeting was held outside of the village.

About ten days ago, T. entered the West Bank via one of the checkpoints. His sick father, accompanied by his mother, waited for him a short distance from the checkpoint. It was an emotional meeting. The family members finally got to see one another and T. gave them a sum of money that he had been saving for them.

However, following the brief meeting, all started to go wrong. T. started making his way back to Israel, but was surprised to discover at the checkpoint that he was not allowed re-entry. Even though he is currently under consideration for family unification and despite the fact that a yearly temporary residence permit was authorized for him, it was decided not to allow him back into Israel for security considerations.

T. found himself in an impossible situation: he was not allowed to return to his home in Israel, but returning to his parents' home in the village would put his life in danger. Left with no other choice, he turned to the only person he knew in the area who could help him – a religious settler who has known him for some years. The man decided to give asylum to T. even though he knew it would not be looked upon favorably in the settlement.

So, this is how it came to be that T., a gay Palestinian, has been hiding out in the home of a religious Jewish family in a settlement.

Looking for a reason
"I can't go back to my home in Israel; I can't enter the village. The only option left for me is to hide out in a settlement, in a home that accepts me in a humane way," said T. on Tuesday.

T. has been trying to get back home for the past 10 days: "They took my residence permit. At first they told me, 'It got lost. Come back tomorrow and we'll find it.' Later they said to me: 'You need to submit a new application for a permit.' On Tuesday they said: 'Go to the Palestinian District Coordinating Office and ask them for a permit.'

"On Wednesday, they asked me to show up in Palestinian court and to bring a declaration that the permit was lost. I brought them all the documentation, but every day they say, 'Come back tomorrow.' I already don't know where to put myself. Every day I arrive at the checkpoint, wait many long hours, and when my turn finally comes up, they tell me, 'Go home.' I'm lucky that they have agreed to host me in the settlement."

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has already contacted the defense establishment and other government officials on the issue, but has failed to receive a clear explanation on the reason for T.'s detainment. Following questions submitted to the defense establishment, T. was summoned for a hearing to establish whether he can be allowed to return to Israel.
   
"They are intentionally endangering his life," said Doron on Tuesday. "A few years ago, he was arrested by the Palestinian Shin Bet, tortured for two weeks, and now my country is causing me terrible anxiety. He has been in Israel since the age of 13. He grew up within the Israeli reality. Anyone who brings a foreign woman is sorted out with family unification. But we – who live a normative life and don't impose any burden on the State, work, pay taxes – experience this suffering all the time. Ultimately, I ask for a little understanding, a little humanity, a little emotion."

T. also asked for help: "My situation is unusual. I can't return to my village. All I want is to return home."

The Defense Ministry reported that the reason for barring T.'s entry into Israel is security-based.

Comments

[the Monsey Tzadik]

This is really heart warming story, I am happy that there are stories which do not portray the settlers as gun crazy militia.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Gay gezunte heit.

[reuven sabel]

KEEP HIM out of israel and away from the man who he commits homosexual sins with. i am glad the a settler is saving his life because we are supposed to hate the sin instead of hate the sinner. prevent the sinner from sinning by keeping him away from the person he sins with, but dont let the people who want to kill him for sinning kill him.
according to jewish law, we are not allowed to kill people for being homosexual unless they commit homosexual attacks in public, but the muslims are more fanatic about killing homosexuals than we are.

[Dave Marshall]

Out of gratefulness to the Creator that his life was saved, I hope that the gay Palestinian makes a radical change in his life, does teshuvah, and gives up acting on his homosexual urges. Sadly, it will probably never happen.

[A. Nuran]

Jews have saved a man from being murdered, not because he was one of theirs, but because it was the right thing to do. Congratulations to them for performing the mitzvah. That is what it means to be a light unto the nations.

[Owen]

This is interesting, I hadn't heard this story.

[Yoel Mechanic]

This show illustrates the concept that the settler, although labeled as a "setter" (you know, one of *those* kind of guys) and orthodox, religious, etc. etc. is, in fact, a human being at root. And the Arab person, although having a few labels on him, he too is a human being, just like you and me. Certainly a good human interest story here. I wish to add, that even though we have these flashes and realizes that we are dealing with regular human beings, those who support Oslo accords are making a big mistake. Just because the Arabs caught in the middle, living on the so-called West Bank (ALL of Israel is to the West of the Jordan, so ALL of Israel is the West Bank according to the Jordanian label) ..anyway, those Arabs are truly human beings caught in the middle. But it is a giant mistake to translate the urge for mercy, and the urge to save them into a program of giving away our ancestral heritage. We should save them *without* wrecking the Jewish state while doing it. The whole road map is dragging the entire region into "instability" to put it mildly.

[Dave Marshall]

I forgot to also mention that the gay Israeli should also do teshuvah and give up his homosexual urges. Sadly, that also will probably never happen, due to the "enabling" culture of some sections of Israeli society.
Yoel, I agree with you re: the situation of Israel's security, although I would have disagreed with you a few years ago.
Sadly, like many people, at the end of the day Arabs respect (or are forced to respect) power. I say that as a descendant of Iraqi Jews. The only way Israel can project power sufficient to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict forever is if the Jewish diaspora is MUCH larger eg. 180 million people by 2050. It can be done. I have plan. If interested, please contact me at superdave8002@hotmail.com
I am most serious about this.

[Rachel]

There is probably no security reasons from preventing T. from going back to his partner and home. So if the proper Jews will do what they should do, there will be no reason in this case for another Jew to do this Mitzvah and obviously the right thing to do save T's life.

[Sarah K]

Where are Israel's courts when it comes to a simple matter of justice? And why is there no investigation into the conduct of the officials involved in this?

[Jakes]

Dave Marshall your comment sickens me. Here we are reading some heartwarming story which actually makes Israel look good for once and then you have go and say both men should do teshuvah. Why don't you let God judge these two men? No one is asking for your approval so don't let it bother you.

[Dave Marshall]

Jakes, I am sincerely relieved that neither the gay Palestinian nor the gay Israeli was harmed. However, now that they are living, they have the opportunity to repent. God does not desire the death of the sinner, but that the sinner repents and goes on to live a happy, productive, spiritually whole life. Jakes, I never said you have to agree with me. Why I should I censor myself on this forum. You don't, so why should I?

[Jakes]

Dave Marshall, you're right. You do have the right to express yourself.
What I dislike about your argument is:
1- it depends on belief in God. If someone doesn't believe in God, it doesn't make much sense to say God disapproves of homosexuality.
2- that it is part of the vitriol being spewed by "religious" Jews. Jews who pick and choose which sins are acceptable and which are not. For example a Jew who violates Shabbat and eats treyf is never subject to the same judgement as a homosexual. Furthermore, a homosexual, even if he or she is in a relationship has not necessarily "sinned". The only sin related to homosexuality is anal sex. Yet none of this matters, they should just overcome their urges (and some are by not having anal sex!).

I'm not saying you necessarily do everything I cite in #2, it's just a reason I don't think Judaism makes a good case against homosexuality.

[Dave Marshall]

Jakes,
1. I am not even Orthodox, just a plain ordinary Jew.
2. There is a hierarchy in the commandments. Some sins are worse than others. Anyone who doesn't agree with that is just kidding themselves.
3. God doesn't need us. We need God.

[Shmarya]

2. There is a hierarchy in the commandments. Some sins are worse than others. Anyone who doesn't agree with that is just kidding themselves.

As I've pointed aout elsewhere, you simply hate gays. This has nothing to do with God or Divine Commandments.

The Torah says lying with a another man the way you would lie with a woman is an abomination.

But the Torah uses the exact same language when it says eating shellfish or violating Sabbath laws are abominations.

Dave Marshall isn't leaving dozens of comments on blogs railing for Jewish shellfish eaters or Sabbath violators to be condemned.

Dave Marshall picks and chooses what he like about the the Torah, and he cherry picks from the commandments and he does so without basis in Jewish law, Jewish history or fact.

You want to hate gays? Hate gays. Just don't try to cover yourself with a cloak of holiness when you do it.

[Jakes]

Dave, what about what I said about homosexuals who don't have anal sex? Or lesbians?

[Dave Marshall]

Shmarya I happen to think homosexual behaviour- not attraction, but behaviour- is sad as well as being disgusting. For that matter, anal sex "even" between a man and a woman is also disgusting, unhygienic (per Ibn Ezra, also quoted and approved by Karaite hachamim)and painful to the woman, and in my opinion immoral.
Hate is a corrosive emotion. I do not hate anyone.
Another thing- everyone from the most Hasidic to the most Litvish to the most Reform "chery picks from the commandments".
Let's not kid ourselves about that. So, I like everyone else, also have the right to
"cherry pick".

[Shmarya]

Please.

The Torah equates breaking Shabbos, eating seafood and homosexual anal sex. It makes them all the same thing EQUALLY: an abomination.

But YOU in your hatred ignore the Sabbath violators and shellfish eaters and instead scream about gays.

You hate gays.

Why you do is something you need to work out for yourself.

But do not wrap yourself in the cloak of Torah – straight or Karaite –as you spew that hatred.

[reuven sabel]

stop knocking dave marshall. he has to do teshuva just like all of us holy beggars need to do teshuva. he needs to do teshuva for some things and other people need to do teshuva for other things.
the yohrtzeit of rabbi shlomo carlebach is coming up on 16 cheshvan, this coming monday night and tuesday. i think that we should all forget about our being apikorsim for a few hours and forget about whatever hatred we might have for others for a few hours and attend whatever observances of reb shlomo's yohrtzeit that we can attend. google carlebach for more info.

[reuven sabel]

it is siyata dshmaya that the israeli government is keeping these 2 homosexuals separated

[reuven sabel]

as long as the israeli government keeps these 2 homosexuals separated, the people in the government who are separating them have a great mitzva have a great mitzva that is saving the arabs from destroying israel.
please dont sin inthe holy city
please dont sin in the holy land
if you are compelled to sin
sin someplace else
please dont defile the holy city with your sins
please dont defile the holy land
if you are compelled to sin
sin someplace else
shaaaaaaalom shaaaaaalom shaaaaaaalom shaaaaalom
please give peace unto the holy city
please give peace unto the holy land
please give peace unto the whole world
shaaaaaalom
the whole world is waiting to sing the song of shabos

[Neandershort]

Sounds like typical Israeli (actually, Middle Eastern) bureaucracy. Where is the security risk; the poor guy's been living in Israel for years? Do a strip search if you feel the need and let the poor man go home.
And please tell me why homosexuality and homosexuals evoke a visceral disgust reaction not seen with any other aveira or avaryan with the possible exception of eating pork.