Palestinian spy talks

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

“Unfortunately, my story came [with] a very high price. I had to lose family, identity and people I love and I care about, so this is not going to be a show. And this is not [about] a bad guy from the past who all of a sudden became a good guy, and now is traveling from a community to a community to tell the world how bad his people are – that’s not my story. My life is not black and white ... and I hope that God gives me the wisdom and the words ... to be able to communicate where I’m coming from....”

To a standing-room-only crowd at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel on Nov. 23, Mosab Hassan Yousef, author of Son of Hamas (Tyndale House, 2010) with journalist Ron Brackin, related how he, the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding leader of Hamas, became a spy for Israel, converted to Christianity and eventually was granted asylum in the United States. He was hosted by Chabad of Richmond, with event co-sponsors Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Independent.

“I did not come from the streets of Ramallah [where he was born in 1978] without knowing what’s going on in the decision circles of Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, PLO and other Palestinian factions,” he said, beginning his story with the First Intifada.

“I had witnessed lots of violence and I blamed everything on Israel,” he said. As a 10-year-old, he saw the bodies of Palestinian fighters, still bleeding, being buried. “As a child, I could not understand the politics. I did not understand the real motivations of the Palestinian leaderships, secular and religious. To me, I understood one reality – that Israel was killing our people.... If you were born in that environment, how would you feel?”

He explained, “I wrote the book through the eyes of a child ... then through the reality of ... a Palestinian, Hamas, Islamic person; after that, an Israeli agent and, at some point, a follower of Jesus Christ, so you will have to see lots of identities ... but let me tell you something.... My nature did not change.... I believe that we grow. The more we get out of our comfortable zones, the more we get the chance to grow. When we grow, we are able to control the monsters that live within us, but we still have the same enemy, before and after.”

At 17, he said, he was ready to take revenge on Israel, for which he had “political, national and, most importantly, ideological reasons to hate.... After many years of fighting terrorism, I could identify what is the most important factor of this continuing conflict and, many times, I say, do Arabs and Muslims hate Israel because of political reasons or because of racial reasons? I believe that most Muslims who hate Israel are inspired by the hatred of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, to the Jewish communities of the Arab Peninsula 1,400 years ago, and they [are] just following the steps of their ... prophet.”

After more remarks in this vein, Yousef shared that he was arrested at 18 by Israel, when he was purchasing guns. He was beaten and jailed. He said he saw people with solid ties to suicide bombers being tortured, but that Israel “had all the right to defend itself.”

He argued that, until “Arabs and Muslims start to realize the Islamic lie and have their freedom from the absolute control of religion in their lives ... at that point, a political solution can be possible, but now, I think it’s impossible. A Palestinian statehood will bring a war that will destroy the Palestinian children’s dream forever, first of all. Second, it will endanger the security of the state of Israel.”

In prison, Yousef was asked to become a spy for Israel. He was convinced to do so by Hamas’ “mini-government” in the prison, he said, because they tortured and killed their countrymen on suspicion of being collaborators.

Yousef worked with the Shin Bet from 1997-2007. During this time, he attended a Bible study. The idea of “Love your enemy” resonated and he became “fascinated” by the teachings of Jesus. With an “open mind” and “pure heart,” he examined Islam and found it “was not good for me, either for my people.”

Of his work, he said, “My job was not to kill my people; my job was to protect my people from their selfish leaders. Our job was to save, not only Israeli lives, but also Palestinian lives.”

He ended with a warning that the Arab Spring revolts, being “only against political regimes,” will bring worse ones and “it will bring the absolute control of religion.”

During the question and answer period, Yousef said, about Iran’s nuclear capability, “I hope that the United States and NATO [will] take action, and ... that Israel does not do anything. It is not the responsibility of Israel to protect the values and foundations of Western civilization.” Among other topics, he spoke more about his issues with Islam, called Israel’s prisoner swap for Gilad Shalit “a victory for humanity” and hailed Israel as a model for how to build a successful nation. He concluded, “Israel is not the problem, Israel is a solution.”

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