Honored Israeli Bedouin Heroes Share Their Stories

Israeli officials present Bedouins with awards for saving numerous lives while risking their own during the Hamas rampage, with Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter saying, "No one in Israel even knows how many are alive today thanks to you"

Countless people fled the hands of Hamas, young and old, but a less-told story of that day is of the heroism of the Bedouin Israelis who changed the plight of the lives of these people on October 7.

Their stories were shared at an award ceremony in their honor. The event, hosted by the Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI) at the Friends of Zion (FOZ) heritage center in Jerusalem, sought to acknowledge this fact in the eyes of the world—as well as in the eyes of local Israelis—by recognizing just some of the civilian and civil-servant Bedouins who risked everything to save as many complete strangers as they could.

Of thirteen prizes made, ten were given out. Three recipients couldn’t make it to the event. And one prize—for Amer Sabila, who was killed on October 7 while saving the lives of a mother and her two young children—was accepted by Amer’s brother Salame.

The honorees and presenters on stage at the event, Feb. 12, 2024. (Aaron Poris/The Media Line)

“As a human, we’re all people, we’re one nation,” says Yosef El Ziadna, a Bedouin resident of Rahat, Israel, speaking to The Media Line. “I never saw the difference between a Jew or an Arab or a Christian. We’re all human no matter what.”

A father of seven and a minibus driver by trade, Ziadna was hired to ferry people to the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Reim. And he saved dozens of people who were fleeing for their lives on the morning that Hamas daringly infiltrated southern Israeli communities.

Among them several wounded individuals and all the young party-goers he had brought to the Nova festival in the first place.

“All the people I took to the party on Friday, I returned them safe and sound to their parents;” Says Ziadna. “For a few of them, I was even their bus driver when they were first graders going to school.”

Some in Yosef’s own family weren’t as lucky, however.

Overall, 21 Bedouin Israelis were killed by Hamas, including Yosef’s friend Abd al-Nasasra, who was shot dead on the way to save people at the Nova festival; and Yosef’s 29-year-old cousin Abdul, who was camping near Zikim Beach; some 2 miles north of Gaza.

Additionally, at least 5 Bedouin Israelis were taken hostage—including four in Yosef’s extended family—18-yo Bilal and 17-yo Aisha Ziyadne, who were released in the November hostage deal after 50 days in Gaza … and Bilal and Aisha’s older brother Hamza, and father Youssef who remain in captivity today after over 4 months.

But none of this stopped Yosef, nor many other bedouin Israelis, from taking immeasurably heroic actions on that day—often under heavy fire and even direct threats.

“[Hamas] called me and threatened me;” Ziadna continued. “They said, ‘Because you saved those thirty Jews, didn’t you think we’ll come for you?’ I told him, ‘Listen, I’m an Israeli citizen with Israelis. And anyway, at the end of the day, we’re all people.’ Then I went to the police station in Rahat and filed a complaint. And since then, I’ve been seeing a psychologist. I hope that all the hostages will return in peace, and there will be quiet and peace upon Israel and upon the whole world.”

Youssef Ziadna speas with The Media Line, Feb. 12, 2024. (Screenshot)

With similar stories—two more Bedouin heroes spoke with The Media Line about their experiences.

“At 6:30 am, it all started, and it was like hell,” says Israel Police Sergeant 1st-Class Remo Salman El Hazayel. Hazayel, who had been hired to work security at the Nova music festival, tells The Media Line that “we started to evacuate people from the Nova party. Then we heard shooting coming closer and closer until they [Hamas] were right in front of us. We had a short fight and saw we couldn’t fight anymore. So we started to evacuate everyone to the East. We told them [party-goers] to run because there was no other place.”

From there, after hiding briefly, Hazayel found a black Nissan Juke that was running with a full tank. “I told everyone to jump in, and 8-10 people entered,” he says. “Those who didn’t have space, I told them to continue on foot or hide, and I’ll come back. And this way, I made rescues back and forth like this for three hours.”

“What I saw on the road,” He continues, “you cannot explain it. It was a dead zone. Many people were killed along the road, and every time I went back and went further, there were more bodies.”

Ending on a lighter note, however, Hazayel says several of those he saved reached out to him and warmed his heart. He also later found the owner of the Nissan Juke he borrowed.

“I called him [the car’s owner], and when he answered the phone, I was speechless from excitement that he’s alive.” When he finally regained his speech, Hazayel says he thanked the owner for leaving the car he used to save people. The owner, upon picking up the car the next day, jokingly thanked Hazayel for returning the car with a full tank of gas.

Remo Hazayel speaks with The Media Line, Feb. 12, 2024. (Screenshot: The Media Line)

Asmael Alkrenawi, a private citizen from Rahat, was also honored at the event. Alkrenawi and three of his family members—who also received awards—left home on the morning of October 7 to find their community and extended family members who were working at Kibbutz Be’eri. “And on the way,” says Alkrenawi to The Media Line, “we met with young people who ran from the Nova festival. And the first thing we did was give them help, all the help we could give.”

“We saved them and brought them to a secure place, after which we continued to search for our family as well as a woman from kibbutz Be’eri named Aya Meydan.”

Asmael Alkrenawi with his award, Feb. 12, 2024. (Aaron Poris/The Media Line)

Among those who came to pay their respects to the award recipients, Former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was compelled to address the room at the Friends of Zion museum, filled mostly with Bedouin awardees and their families.

Rivlin explained that while the Bedouin people are more nomadic than they are nationalistic, there is still work to be done to unify the peoples of Israel. Israel has worked hard to make the Bedouin feel at home; and that the Bedouin are equal and inseparable pieces of the greater Israeli landscape.

Felice Friedson with Reuven Rivlin. (Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

“They’re not Egyptian, not Jordanians, not even Palestinians,” He said, speaking to The Media Line. “They are part of the Israeli community. They’re not living in nations but in tribes. And everyone belongs to his own tribe. But they know that the State of Israel is part of them, and they are part of the State of Israel, and it should be like that.”

Aside from the fact that Israeli law protects their status as equal to any other citizen, Riviln says the Bedouin have earned their place in the nation as some of the most loyal and fierce defenders of its borders—having served alongside them.

Reuven Rivlin speaks at the event, Feb. 12, 2024. (Screenshot: The Media Line)

Similarly, former shin-bet intelligence head, and current minister of Agriculture and Rural development, Avi Dichter, also showed up to honor the community he knows well, saying that as one looks at all the different family names being honored, it’s understood we’re not just talking about singular individuals, but of a collective group ethos.

“No one in Israel even knows how many Israelis are alive today thanks to you,” said Dichter to the crowded room. “I bet you don’t even know, Because you rescued [people] without keeping score. You didn’t count. You didn’t ask for ID. You didn’t ask if they were Bedouin or Jewish, foreign or Israeli, man or woman, soldier or civilian … you just went into that hell to pull people out. And after you got out the first time and knew exactly what you were returning to … but you returned anyway.”

Dichter even compared the Bedouin’s heroism to that of the IDF following a historic rescue operation in Rafah, Gaza, in which two Israeli hostages were saved alive. Speaking right to the Bedouins in the audience, Dichter acknowledged that some of them may have seen battle and some not … but regardless, they ran into a battle without bulletproof vests or any sort of support from above.

“And in spite of it all,” he continued, “to go in and save people—people who are scared, people who are injured, people who don’t know what’s going on around them—and you saved them and took them somewhere you knew would be safe. In Hebrew, there’s only one word for this. Heroism.”

Avi Dichter speaks at the event, Feb. 12, 2024. (Screenshot: The Media Line)

Meanwhile, on hand to bestow the glass sculptured awards to the courageous bedouins was Oz Davidian, a resident of the community of Moshav Maslul in southern Israel, and another Israeli hero who himself saved 120 people on October 7. And when asked whether he had seen the Bedouins in action on that devastating day, Davidian told The Media Line that, of course, he had.

“I also met with them during the rescue. They saw me rescuing, and I saw them from where they were, taking people back and forth. And this day also hurt the Bedouins—not only those who rescued [people]. There were also Bedouins who sat with their sheep near the border and were fired upon [by Hamas]. They were murdered, and their herd was stolen. There were Bedouins who worked at the kibbutzim and were kidnapped and murdered too. The terrorists didn’t differentiate along the way if their victim was Bedouin or Jew, or rich or poor. They Just fired on anyone who was there—and yes. The Bedouins were hurt the same as everyone. … They’re just heroes. Heroes of Israel who fought with us shoulder to shoulder that Saturday, from early in the morning until late in the night.”

Oz Davidian speaks with The Media Line at the event, Feb. 12, 2024. (Screenshot: The Media Line)

Highlighting the heroic actions of the Bedouin community was the topic of the day, but unity was on everybody’s lips—recognition of the Bedouin community amongst other Israelis.

Ruth Wasserman Lande, former Israeli parliamentarian, CEO of Ruth Strategic Consulting, and emcee at the event, expressed this ideal in her opening remarks saying, “We’re not here just to celebrate or express joy, but to recognize the acts of the Bedouin community, a shining light in the darkness…” and that we must not forget the strength of unity between everyone, be they Arab, Jew, religious, secular, or anything else. Her words were echoed by everyone throughout the afternoon.

Founder and chair of the AGPI, Avi Benlolo, says it’s important for everyone to know these stories both because they’re incredible and heartwarming and because it helps paint a more accurate picture of Israel in the face of anti-Israel activism and the BDS [boycott, divestment, and sanctions] movement.

“The Bedouin community that I’ve met, that I’ve understood what they did on October 7 … such selfless acts of heroism. Of valor…” said Benlolo to the audience. “They went into the Nova party, they rescued people. they warned the IDF. Many of them have suffered post-trauma, losses to their own family and community, and it’s so important for Israeli society, I think, and for Diaspora Jewry to recognize this incredible effort. And so this is today, the start of that effort. And I’m glad that we can tell the story, now, publicly.”

Avi Benlolo (Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

“We are not doomed to live together. We are destined to live together,” Rivlin said to The Media Line. “And I hope that this event will bring the idea that we have to care for the Bedouins. And that the Bedouins have to understand that once we have a nation— a nation of all of us—it is a Jewish state, but every citizen is equal. There is no difference.”

“The Bedouin people love to help,” added Ziadna. “We are a part of this country. And whatever happens to citizens of the country—whether they’re Jews, Bedouins, Arabs—we are one nation. So we have to help.”

In response, the Bedouin community has one request for their fellow Israelis: They get to know them.

Alkrenawi expressed that “what we went through on October 7, where we went out to save people, we didn’t expect to get any checks in hand. We went out to save people. Not for a prize or anything. We expect that people will get to know the Bedouin people and the Bedouin citizens of Israel.”