Ayala Shapira’s parents & Arab infanticide: “When the State of Israel provides weapons to enemies and expels Jews, this legitimizes violence ”.

Within the last few days, we received a number of requests from media organizations referring to the murdered Palestinian Arab baby, Ali Dawabsheh in Duma.

Because of the complexity of the issue we preferred not to talk about various media, because our words might be cut and change their meaning. But this is what we wrote and choose to say here.

Media outlets find this case (Arab baby) to be a mirror image of an attack, where our daughter Ayala was severaly injured.
We can see some of the similarities: in both cases children were burned alive, deliberately and animal-like cruelty. But at this point the similarity ends.

Burning at the stake has always been considered a particularly cruel method of execution.
The Jewish heart cannot help but cringe at the thought of what had happened to the family of the murdered Palestinian Arab baby. The man who ignited the fire in their home is a criminal, and there is no community in the country that sees it as their representatives.

The State of Israel finances the Palestinian Arab family’s stay in the hospital, as well as the devoted care they are receiving, is like any other patient.

However, Ayala’s injuries and story is completely different. The terrorist who threw the Molotov cocktail at our vehicle acted as a messenger of his people. That is how they see it. The Palestinian Authority financially rewards the families of the prisoners, and the attack was seen by both sides as part of a comprehensive on-going campaign.

This problem of closing our eyes and burying our heads in the sand is in no way helping us catch those who need to be stopped and provide safety for the citizens in our country.  There is much to discuss regarding the differences between Jewish culture, Western and Arab culture. The clash between these cultures inevitably leads to war.

If we wish to be consistent with our values, we must be prepared to fight for these values ​​and decide. When the State of Israel chooses to give weapons to the enemy and to expel Jews from their homes, without any clear political statement, it pulls the rug out from under her values ​​and legitimizes violence.

In this mindset there are bound to be those who stand out and declare personal war and go out on “price tag” operations, but they lack any clear political purpose.

Ahmed Dawabsheh, Ali’s older brother, was rushed into the same intensive care unit at Tel Hashomer Sheba Hospital, where Ayala’s long and ongoing journey began and on to the Department of Rehabilitation where she began her return to normal life.

We personally chose to reach out to the Dawabsheh family, not as representatives who are on opposite sides of the political map, but as human beings. This journey is long and not easy. In addition, little Ahmed’s parents cannot stay by his side, because both are hospitalized in critical condition, and his grandfather replaced them at his bedside.

When Ayala was hospitalized, many people came to visit, encourage us, lift our spirits and support us in different ways.  After Ayala was released from the intensive care unit, we too took it upon ourselves to go and visit other patients and their families.

From our experience there is nothing in the world that can ease your burden, just knowing that there is at least one person who has gone through what you are currently experiencing and found a way to get past it.

This is the message we have tried to pass on too many families whom we have met along the way, including the Dawabsheh family.

We wish a speedy recovery to both Ahmed and his parents.
Avner & Ruth Shapira

(Courtesy, translated from Hebrew version on Arutz7 website)