With His Arab Father in Prison, Jewish Boy Has His Bar Mitzvah

When T. was called to the Torah this week for his Bar Mitzvah, and read his brachos with tear-filled eyes, the entire shul was moved. The fact that he had no father at his side indicated that this was an exceptional story, but only a few participants knew just how exceptional.

When T. was called to the Torah this week for his Bar Mitzvah, and read his brachos with tear-filled eyes, the entire shul was moved. The fact that he had no father at his side indicated that this was an exceptional story, but only a few participants knew just how exceptional.

T.’s mother, Bela, is a Jewish woman who moved to Israel from Ukraine at the start of the 90s and married an Arab from the Shomron. At first, they lived in his home, in a hostile village, but after she converted to Islam they moved to a Jewish community, near the home of her mother.

As is often the case with such marriages, Bela was subjected to serious violence and kept locked up in her home for long periods. The fact that she barely spoke any Hebrew and had very few social contacts in her neighborhood, worked to her disadvantage, and the beatings continued for years.

But then something happened. A new neighbor moved into her building, noticed that something was off with Bela, and decided to get involved. Gently, and with the help of a Russian speaker, she pieced together the story and turned to Yad L’Achim with the details.

The organization quickly contacted Bela and offered assistance, but she was afraid of her violent husband and distrustful of strangers. A year ago, when her husband was arrested by the Palestinian Authority for criminal behavior, and sent to a PA prison, she felt safe enough to open a new page in her life.

Throughout the divorce proceedings in the Sharia court, she had the constant support of a social worker provided by Yad L’Achim, which also assigned mentors to the children to familiarize them with their Judaism and help them adjust socially.

This week, after many months of preparation, Bela’s first-born son celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in the Chabad House in the settlement of Bnei Ayyish near her home, with the help of the shliach, Harav Aharon Karniel. The crowd was small, barely a minyan, but the joy was great.

At the festive meal that followed, Bela’s mother, the grandmother of the Bar Mitzvah boy, spoke of how she and her family had kept their Judaism in the Soviet Union despite the persecution and hardships. “My daughter suffered until recently from violence because she was Jewish, but like back then, despite it all, we continue on, and keep our Judaism with pride.”