Israeli Woman Converts To Islam

My name is Janet Barbara Finkelstein and I was born and raised in Tel Aviv, deep within the Nation of Israel. I'd like to tell you about my wonderful new life as a follower of Islam and a part-time resident of both the United States of America and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Once upon a time, I was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Forces. Until I fell in love with Farouk Al-Hajj, a handsome young man from Saudi Arabia, and he taught me the ways of love and the ways of Islam. That's when I r enounced my Zionist ways and embraced Islam, the true faith. Please follow me on my journey as I tell you about the most important moments of my life. Be open-minded, ladies and gentlemen. It's the story of my new life.

The Nation of Israel came into being during the 1940s, when scores of Jews from North America, Europe and elsewhere returned to the Middle East to found their own country. After the nightmares of the Holocaust, all Jews realized that being who and what we are is about more than just religion. We discovered that we should unite, much like African-Americans united against segregation and discrimination in North America in the 1960s. I am proud to say that I was born in Israel to American parents hailing from a Jewish neighborhood in The Bronx, New York. Israel is always outnumbered and always outgunned, but we stick together. I grew up with nothing but love for my country. That's why I initially joined the Israeli Defense Forces. However, even a patriot like me can see that sometimes, my country goes too far...

The death of that young American woman who came to Israel to protest the mistreatment of Arabs at the hands of our increasingly colonialist settlers affected me profoundly. She didn't have to die. That event profoundly shook my faith in my country. When I was younger, my parents often talked about Apartheid in South Africa. The racist white men and white women who controlled the Apartheid government of South Africa constantly mistreated the Blacks of that nation. Even though Blacks make up ninety percent of the population of the Republic of South Africa. When Apartheid ended and a Black man became President of the Republic of South Africa, I was thrilled. Finally, the Blacks down there were free. It wouldn't occur to me that Israel was behaving much like the Apartheid government toward the Palestinians until years later...

I was visiting my relatives in New York City, the most beautiful town in the United States of America, when I met Farouk Al-Hajj. A six-foot-tall, handsome young man of Saudi descent. He was born in the City of Mecca, deep within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He grew up in New York City, though. His parents were well-adjusted Saudi Americans. His father Ibrahim Al-Hajj was a professional chef in The Bronx and his mother Fatima worked as a social worker for the New York City Department of Social Services. Farouk Al-Hajj was a twenty-year-old student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. And he lived right across from my uncle Levi Finkelstein, my father's older brother. Contrarily to what I had observed in the Middle East, Arab-Americans and Jews could be friends in New York City. In my uncle's neighborhood, there was a mosque in one end of the street and a synagogue in the other. Jews and Arabs were both minorities in this mostly Italian neighborhood but they got along famously. In fact, Farouk Al-Hajj was good friends with my cousin Nicolas Finkelstein, who attended the University of New York City or CUNY.

I was amazed when my cousin introduced me to this young Saudi guy with whom he played basketball at the local YMCA. Farouk was really modern in his views. He was a member of the John Jay College Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. A Saudi guy as an advocate for women's rights in the United States of America, ha! I almost laughed when Farouk told me that. Out of all the Muslim nations on this planet, Saudi Arabia was the most conservative. They made Iran and Afghanistan look like England! The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's lawmakers followed the Koran to the letter and Sharia Law was the rule of the land. Women couldn't drive or own businesses in Saudi Arabia. Also, they didn't allow women to leave the home without being accompanied by a male relative. As an Israeli woman, I didn't trust the Saudis as far as I could throw them. Even though Farouk grew up in America and wore an Obama T-shirt everywhere he went, I thought of him as the enemy. Everybody in Israel knew that the Saudis funded many Islamist movements around the world. They were the richest men of the Arab world. To Israel, Saudi Arabia was a veiled threat. America thought of Saudi Arabia as an ally but Israel didn't trust them at all.

I took my cousin Nicolas Finkelstein aside and asked him if he was messed up in the head for trusting Farouk. Nicolas looked me straight in the eyes and accused me of being a racist. In spite of my battle-hardened resolve, it hurt to be called that. In my heart and soul, I knew I wasn't a racist. I had seen Palestinian guerilla fighters kill Israeli men and Israeli women gleefully both in the battlefield and in the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The students at colleges and universities in America, Canada and Europe who protested Israel's treatment of Palestinians had no real understanding of what it meant to live under constant threat of terror. America always whined about September 11 2001 but in Israel, every day was September 11. Every bloody day. As Israeli citizens, we had a right to defend ourselves. That launched a deep argument between Nicolas and myself, and to my surprise, this Jewish lad raised in America opposed Israel's blockade at Gaza. Wow. I smacked my cousin Nicolas across the face and called him a traitor. Farouk stood by, watching the heated exchange between us. I stared at him sternly. Farouk smiled sadly and told me that he apologized for the actions of Palestinian rebels against Israeli civilians. He also told me that in his Imam's words, the Koran forbade violence against Christians and Jews by Muslims because men and women of all three faiths were considered the 'people of the book'. Then, Farouk nodded politely and left.

I lay in my bed that night, feeling like shit. I was questioning a lot of things. The next day, I went to John Jay College and apologized to Farouk. I met him and Nicolas for dinner, and we reconciled. After all, we were all young people. We get passionate about things and we got different views. But we can still be friends. Nicolas excused himself halfway through dinner, and left me alone with Farouk. He had a midterm to prepare for. This left me alone with Farouk. I was a bit nervous. To my immense surprise, he proved charming. We talked about sports, and politics. He disagreed with Saudi Arabia on many things, notably women's rights. He also told me he was a member of the United States Army's National Guard and he hated terrorists with all his heart. Farouk told me he loved America and would gladly die for it. I respected that. I would gladly die for Israel. Farouk asked me to go to the movies with him and I agreed. Thus, we took off.

After the movie, Farouk and I went to dinner at a big mall in Manhattan. It was fun. I found myself charmed by this handsome, friendly Arab guy who drank a lot of alcohol, flirted with girls left and right, ate pretty much anything and only went to mosque when pressured by his mother. He told me he disliked the mosque because his Imam made the women pray in a separate room. Farouk believed in gender equality. He told me about a certain Indian American female journalist who legally fought against a mosque for the right of Muslim women to pray in the same room as men in a mosque in Morgantown. Wow. After that night, I was intrigued by Farouk. We began hanging out regularly. And that's how it all began. We dated, and fell in love. Oh, my God. I'm an Israeli soldier who's fallen in love with an Arab guy. What will my parents say?

Well, they didn't say much because I decided to stay in America. As a United States citizen, Farouk filed for me to become a permanent resident. We got married, and I converted to Islam six months after we first met. I know what you're thinking. We rushed into things. I love my husband and he loves me. We attend both Jewish and Muslim functions together because he's not just a Muslim, he's a Muslim with an Israeli wife. And I'm an Israeli woman with a Muslim husband. We both support the cause of peace in the Middle East. If an Israeli female soldier and a Saudi guy raised in America can fall in love, then anything is possible by the Grace of God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh or whatever you want to call Him. May peace be unto you, my brothers and sisters. Excuse me, if you please. My husband and I are going to make love. And this is meant for our eyes only.