Religious settler comes to aid of gay Palestinian

[shira]

Religious settler comes to aid of gay Palestinian
Young Palestinian man who lives with his partner in Israel visits his parents in West Bank, not allowed back into Israel. Residents of his villages threaten to kill him. Rescue comes from unexpected source: Religious Jewish settler who agreed to hide him in settlement
Roni Shaked
Published: 10.28.09, 11:40 / Israel News

Such a remarkable story could only happen in the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A young gay Palestinian man, who is in grave, life-threatening danger and cannot return to his home with his Israeli partner, was saved by a stranger who came to his aid – a religious West Bank settler.

The Palestinian, T., and the Israeli, Doron, became a couple 10 years ago. Eight years ago, they drafted a marriage agreement between them, but this did not help on the bureaucratic side. T. is tormented: The State has yet to authorize family unification with Doron. As a result, he has yet to receive permanent authorization to live in Israel. He does not have health insurance, a bank account, or a drivers' license. Nor can he take out a mortgage.

<snip>

T. found himself in an impossible situation: he was not allowed to return to his home in Israel, but returning to his parents' home in the village would put his life in danger. Left with no other choice, he turned to the only person he knew in the area who could help him – a religious settler who has known him for some years. The man decided to give asylum to T. even though he knew it would not be looked upon favorably in the settlement.

So, this is how it came to be that T., a gay Palestinian, has been hiding out in the home of a religious Jewish family in a settlement.

<snip>

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3796682,00.html

[Angry Dragon]

1. I would wish

that people that use their religion as an excuse to be intolerant of others could read this and really look inside of themselves and see that this is the way that one is suppose to be if they believe in their god.

[applegrove]

2. Yup.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Very much agree