Bahraini peace activist's experiences shatter Israel apartheid narratives

A rabbi and a sheikh embrace at a co-existence meeting

Bahraini peace activist Fatema Al Harbi refuted claims that Israel has apartheid or segregation in a video posted to the popular social media platform TikTok on Saturday.

“When I went to Israel, I didn’t want to meet Jews only. I wanted to meet Muslims and also Palestinians,” she said about her three visits to the country.

“They said they feel safe, have full rights, and it’s the country they call home,” she continued in the TikTok clip with PragerU content creator Cameron Higby.

“I have rights that I’ve never dreamed of”

He then asked about the overall sentiment of Arabs within Israel, which she answered was overwhelmingly positive. “I have a Lebanese Christian colleague living in Israel who tells me, ‘I have rights that I’ve never dreamed of.'”

Fatema Al Harbi, Lorena Kahteeb, Dan Feferman and Omar Al Busaidy during their West Coast Sharaka tour. (credit: Sharaka)

Fatema Al Harbi, Lorena Kahteeb, Dan Feferman and Omar Al Busaidy during their West Coast Sharaka tour. (credit: Sharaka)

Fatema Al Harbi is also an author and Director of Gulf affairs at Sharaka. Sharaka – meaning partnership in Arabic, is an Israeli Non-Governmental Organization established in 2020 by leaders from Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE after the signing of The Abraham Accords.

The clip ends with her saying she has also heard from many Muslims, Druze, and Bedouins, that Israel is “the place they call home, and some even say ‘I am a proud Israeli’.”

The full clip can be found here