Thirteen Bedouins who performed acts of heroism during the Oct. 7 attacks received awards last month at the Tribute for Bedouin Heroes. The Abraham Global Peace Initiative organized the event, which took place at the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem on Feb. 12.
Israel’s Bedouins comprise a population of 200,000 or so historically nomadic Arabs. Many Bedouins live in unrecognized villages in southern Israel that lack access to basic infrastructure. While Israeli military service is mandatory only for Jews, many Bedouins volunteer in the IDF, especially in reconnaissance and tracking units.
The Bedouin community were also victims in the Oct. 7 attacks, with 21 Bedouins killed and six taken hostage.
Avi Benlolo, chair of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative, and Oz Davidian, a member of the Bedouin Authority who himself saved 120 people at the Nova music festival, where more than 350 people were killed, presented the award to 13 Bedouin heroes:
Suleiman Shalibi, a resident of Bir Hadaj, left his home and rescued residents from Gaza border communities on Oct. 7. “We stood up and mobilized to save lives,” Shalibi said at the ceremony.
Muhammad Abu Najah (54) was working at the Nova music festival as a cleaner at the time of the attack. He called the security forces and informed them of the locations of the terrorists and prevented cars from unknowingly driving toward the attackers.
Masad Armilat (23) was working at the Alonit gas station near Sderot during the attacks. When people began to flee, he noticed some people left behind and brought them to the safe room in the gas station. He then blocked the doors, saving their lives.
Amer Abu Sabila lived in Abu Talal and was visiting his brothers who were working in Sderot when terrorists attacked the city. He heard Odaya Suissa’s screams that her husband Dolev had been killed, and, despite being wounded, got into her car, rescued her two daughters, aged 6 and 3, and brought them to a nearby police station. He was killed near the police station along with. Suissa and Officer Shmuel Golima, who was also trying to rescue them.
Youssef Alziadna saved the lives of 30 attendees of the Nova music festival while under enemy fire.
Salman Ramu Al-Huzail served as a police officer for the Nova music festival. Al-Huzail arrived for his shift in the morning, and took charge of organizing and overseeing the efforts to evacuate the surviving festival attendees.
Anis Abu Dabbas, senior paramedic at the Magen David Adom station in Rahat, was on duty on Oct. 7 in the area of Rahat and Ofakim. Abu Dabbas treated the wounded and saved patients’ lives while under gunfire and missile fire.
Sharif Al-Huzail was working as a cleaner at the Nova music festival. When he received information about the ongoing attack, he passed it along to the local police command, saving many lives.
Sami Al-Karnawi was on duty as a police officer at the Nova Festival. When the attack began, he rescued groups of people on foot.
Ismail, Dahesh, Hamed, and Rafi Al-Karnawi went to Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th to rescue members of their family. They rescued many others from the attack on their way.
Former President Reuven Rivlin and Minister of Agriculture Avi Dichter both spoke at the event.
The Abraham Global Peace Initiative is an international non-governmental organization based in Canada. The AGPI is dedicated to educating, countering antisemitism, and promoting the Abraham Accords, the bilateral normalization agreements signed between Israel and four Arab countries starting in 2020.
The Friends of Zion Museum, located in Jerusalem, was founded by Mike Evans and is focused on commemorating the contributions of non-Jews to the Zionist movement and to the state of Israel. The museum has financially assisted Holocaust survivors for many years, and since Oct. 7 has been assisting people evacuated from Gaza border communities due to the war.
