‘Flesh of our flesh’: Arab-Israeli policeman killed in terror attack has a Hasidic Jewish cousin

The Bedouin Border Police officer killed during terror attack in Jerusalem has an Orthodox Jewish cousin from the Chabad movement in Australia.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli-Arab Border Police officer from the Bedouin community who was recently killed in a terrorist stabbing attack has an Orthodox Jewish cousin, Charedim10 reported Tuesday.

On Monday evening, 22-year-old Staff Sgt. Asil Sawaed succumbed to wounds sustained earlier in the day in a terrorist attack at a checkpoint to Shuafat in northeastern Jerusalem.

During the attack, a 13-year-old Arab terrorist stabbed Sawaed after he and a civilian guard had boarded a bus during a routine inspection. The guard then opened fire at the suspect, accidentally hitting Sawaed.

The morning after Sawaed’s passing, Israeli entrepreneur Maor Farid eulogized Sawaed and shared his family connection to the slain officer.

“The late Sergeant Asil Sawaed, who was murdered yesterday in the attack, is a relative of mine. No, it’s not an expression – for real.”

Farid explained that his father-in-law, Rami Ben-David, is a Bedouin convert to Judaism.

Born Hasan Sawaed in the village of Wadi Selma in northern Israel, Ben-David joined the IDF, serving as a paratrooper.

After converting to Judaism, Ben-David joined the Chabad-Lubavtich movement and eventually moved to Australia, while maintaining ties with his Bedouin family in Israel.

“My wife Michal’s father was born as Hasan Sawaed in the village of Wadi Selma in the Galilee,” wrote Farid. “He served in the paratroopers, converted, and over the years became Rami Ben-David – a Chabad Hasid. From then until today, the Sawaed family is flesh of our flesh, family members – in moments of joy and of hardship.”

‘Family of heroes…serve in top combat units’

“The Sawaed family is a family of heroes,” he continued. “Bedouins from the Galilee who serve in the top combat units in the IDF, who sacrifice their lives for this land and the people living in Zion with sacrifice. You can see it from the second you enter every house in the village – shelves full of certificates of appreciation and pictures of them in uniform next to books of the Quran.

“The late Asil was only a 22-year-old boy at the time of his death. A boy who made the decision to enlist in the Border Police out of pride, mission, love for our homeland and our people.

“May your soul be bundled in the bundle of life, my dear brother.”

Bedouin-Israeli activist Mohammad Kabiya noted in a tweet Monday night that Sawaed is the 17^th member of his clan to die in the line of duty as a soldier or police officer for the State of Israel.

“Officer Asil Sawaed, who died tonight following the terror attack in Shuafat, is the 17^th member of the Sawaed clan to fall in the line of duty!”

“His death is the another price that we pay as part of our covenant we made with our brothers, the Jews, in the Land of Israel, and is a reminder that terrorism does not differentiate between anyone, we are all Israelis.”

BedouinChabadIDFIsraeli society