The chairman of the Israeli Ra'am party, Mansour Abbas, visited the Dosa Synagogue in the city of Lod on Sunday, which was set on fire a few days ago by rioters in the city. "Islam is not like that and real Muslims are not like that," he said, calling for the restoration of the holy sites affected by the riots as a start to restoring the overall Arab-Jewish relations in the country: "We are ready to take part in rebuilding the affected synagogues. I will lead it."
"It brings me back to the values of Islam," Abbas explained. "Even in times of war - the values of Islam say that the holy places should not be harmed. Therefore, just as we are angry and hurt when there is harm to mosques, we are angry and hurt when there is harm to synagogues. Especially if it comes from Muslims because we are not like that - Islam is not like that. They are not like that. "
“I spoke with Arab residents of Lod themselves. I heard from them that there were certain attacks on a number of synagogues. I’m speaking in their name now. I’m telling you that we will work to rehabilitate the synagogues that were harmed. Of course we condemn all attacks. We will take responsibility for this [repairing the synagogues]. We will lead on this. We have no problem with that. It’s our duty to protect the holy places of Jews and Muslims and Christians. The red line is violence of all kinds. We need to look ahead and rebuild the relationship - treat the mental trauma people have, restore the infrastructure, especially the holy places, and of course the relationships between the people."
Abbas emphatically condemned the burning of the synagogue: "I think it was a mistake of a minority and a small handful. I do not want to give them an alibi or understanding - there is no place to accept it. For Muslims it hurts when our mosques are damaged, and there is unrest and anger; we also need to understand the other side of the issue. "
"I think MK Mansour Abbas' noble deed shows the leadership material we so desperately need," said Yair Revivo, the mayor of Lod, who hosted Abbas on the visit. "I would like to thank MK Abbas for his support and clear call to stop the violence and incitement and to work to restore coexistence and cooperation between Jews and Arabs in the city. He came to visit the burned synagogue Beit Yisrael and condemned the criminal act, just as I condemned the attack on the Muslim cemetery. Holy places must remain out of any debate."
Abbas received criticism for meeting the right-wing Revivo but defended the meeting as important to calming the atmosphere in the tense city.
“For those who attack me, saying that I met a settler, I say that I met him in his official capacity as the mayor of Lod. I met him because he represents the other side in the dispute.”
Abbas has already courted controversy by being the first Arab politician to announce he is willing to take his party into a coalition government, a decision that led to both verbal and physical attacks from members of his own community. Unfortunately the present idiotic war has put that prospect on hold, at least for now, and could even scupper it completely - which would, of course, be a victory for Hamas, as well as those on the far-right of Israeli politics. They really do have so much in common.
The Islamist Ra'am is the closest legal party in Israel to Hamas in terms of its ideology and holds many views that I oppose, but not for the first time Mr Abbas has shown the courage, wisdom, and leadership that so many Israeli politicians lack, be they Arab or Jew.
His presence in the next Israeli government is a must.
