Israeli Arab man endangers himself to rescue Jewish girl drowning in stormy sea

'I don’t want to say I’m a hero, says Adham Nabulsi

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A 15-year-old female was rescued by two young men, an Israeli Arab and another young man, as she was about to drown in the stormy seas off the northern Israeli town of Nahariya last Friday, Ynet News reported.

After she was pulled out of the water while unconscious, Magen David Adom, the national emergency medical service, rushed her to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, where she was admitted in moderate condition.

Video footage from the incident on Friday showed the men pulling the unconscious and unresponsive teenager to the beach while being battered by strong waves. She was later placed in the pediatric intensive care unit, where her condition has since improved and is now considered good.

אתמול בחוף הים בנהריה. אמא צועקת שהבת שלה נערה בת 14 טובעת. שני צעירים , אדהם נאבולסי מכפר יאסיף ועוד צעיר שלא זוהה , שניהם היו בטיילת, סיכנו את חייהם ונכנסו למים הסוערים והצילו אותה. היא מתאוששת בבית החולים.
כל הכבוד
(וידיאו: עמאר אסדי) pic.twitter.com/yeMP4j4L4w
— Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi) May 4, 2024

Israeli Arab Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi, known for inflammatory statements attacking Israel, praised the men for their actions.

”To young men, Adham Nabulsi from Kafr Yasif and another unidentified young man, who were both on the promenade, endangered their lives and entered the stormy water. She is now recovering in the hospital. Well done,” Tibi wrote on 𝕏.

“I don’t want to say I’m a hero. I heard screams and, without hesitation, I approached,” the 32-year-old Nabulsi told Ynet.

“I saw the girl, her head underwater, completely powerless. I didn’t even think twice about whether to jump over the fence and onto the rocks. With another guy who I didn’t know, we got her onto the rocks.”

“It was certainly risky, deciding whether to jump into the water. We did our best, cared for the girl, looked after her family, and I even visited her in the hospital. She was healthy, whole, and talking by then. When we pulled her from the water, a paramedic performed resuscitation, her condition was very dire,” said.

Responding to public reaction to the incident, especially Tibi’s post, Nabulsi said: “I don’t think the issue is that an Arab guy saved a Jewish girl. When there is a soul that needs help, you need to help without considering that person’s opinion or community. This sentiment is echoed in the Quran: ‘Whoever saves one life, it is as if he has saved all of mankind’.”

This popular Islamic reference to the fifth Sura of the Quran, believed to have been written in the 7th century A.D., echoes an earlier verse in the Jewish Mishnah completed hundreds of years earlier.

Nabulsi drew attention to gun violence plaguing Israel’s Arab community for the past several years.

“On this occasion, I want to say that it pains me to think about our community. Every two and a half days, there’s a young person who is tragically lost, which is even more painful. As Adham Nabulsi, I didn’t just think about how to save this particular soul, but generally, in our community, a soul is lost every two and a half days,” he said.

“The state, the police, and everyone capable must work to stop this. I come to Nahariya for peace and rest. As a citizen, I’m troubled by the ongoing violence and senseless loss of life.”

Last Sunday alone, three Arab Israelis were killed in three separate incidents as a result of suspected gang shootings. According to the Abraham Initiative, a watchdog organization monitoring violent crime in Israel's Arab community, 68 Arabs have been murdered in 2024 so far.

Last year recorded the highest number of Arab murders in Israel's history, with 244 people killed—more than double the number from the previous year.