Apparently the attack was carried out by those who are unhappy that I am working on behalf of Shalit's freedom
Two firebombs were thrown this past Sunday at the home of Bedouin Sheikh Salam Hozeil, who has been one of the few voices in the Israeli Arab community expressing sympathy for the plight of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
For more than a year, Hozeil has single-handedly conducted a public campaign demanding that Hamas terrorists release Shalit and often has been threatened by radicals within his own community. On Sunday, the threats against Hozeil took a new and dangerous turn, with unknown assailants throwing the firebombs at one of the bedrooms of Hozeil's home in the Negev Bedouin city of Rahat, while his family was at home, sleeping.
No one was injured in the attack, but the next day Hozeil took his family to live at the home of relatives, instead of chancing another attack Monday night.
"The room where the firebombs hit was completely destroyed," Hozeil told reporters. "The children were all sleeping. It's a miracle no one was hurt," he said.
Hozeil attributed the attack to a report on Israeli TV last week in which Hozeil was featured as a guest at a rally held on behalf of Shalit at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, on the occasion of the kidnapped soldier's 23rd birthday. "Many people who had not heard of me before saw that story, and apparently the attack was carried out by those who are unhappy that I am working on behalf Shalit, an Israeli Jewish soldier, " he said.
Hozeil has had to fight opposition not only within his community, but even within his family – whom he says has organized petitions against his activities. "Some of my relatives even posted a petition against me on the Internet. There are Palestinians in Rahat, and I am afraid that one of them will get an order from Hamas or Al-Qaida to get rid of me," he said.
Noam Shalit, father of the kidnapped soldier, has asked Israeli activists on behalf of his son to extend to Hozeil all the help he needs, in light of the situation.
The story of Hozeil's involvement in Shalit's cause began over a year ago, when he took part in a rally for Shalit in Jerusalem. "I decided that the story is tragic, and I must take part in the rally to show my solidarity. When I got to the protest tent, I extended my hand to Gilad's father and told him, 'I came to show solidarity with you; your pain is shared by me and by all fathers who go through tragedy.'"Over the past year, Hozeil's campaign in the Arab sector to free Shalit has included distributing petitions and speaking at rallies. He has been traveling thoughout the country with a traditional Bedouin hospitality tent, which he sets up in central squares and intersections in cities and on highways, where he hosts meetings of Shalit activists and raises consciousness among Israelis on the kidnapped soldier's plight.
