Comments on: Mark Halawa, Aish’s Manchurian Muslim

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:37:57 +0000

As everything you say here is anecdotal & not supported by any evidence or links I’m loathe to take yr word for it.

There are plenty of Arabs & Muslims who profess a diversity of views of the IP conflict. There are very few who are abject apologists for far right settler groups like Aish HaTorah. I don’t object to Halawa thinking differently than most Muslims. I object to him lying about his past in the hopes of fame and fortune.

By: Aharon

Aharon — Sun, 30 May 2010 09:46:09 +0000

I don`t know this guy and just came across him on youtube, so I can`t say whether his story is plausible or not. As someone who came from abroad and , as a gay, have lived on the fuzzy edges of Israeli\Palestinian society, I can tell you that I`ve met people here with highly unlikely or unplausible life stories, including a high ranking P.A legal big wig who discovered almost by accident during a visit by his mother from the states while he was on a study program, that she was, in fact, Jewish, had met his christian father in Jaffa and -as a result, he could stay as a returning Jew! Or the daughter of a beitar leader ( jewish nationist) who met a muslim in british ruled Jerusalem, fell in love with him, was abandoned by her family, went to live with her then husband in Hebron ( I think) gave birth to his children, one of whome became a high ranking official in fatah and spent 15 year in Israeli prison, while he was halakhically Jewish!
Don`t be so sure unlikely stories are untrue…..this region is full of these stories , like the son of the mufti of Hebron who became an ultra othodox Jew, to the best of my knowledge he`s not politically active.
As I say , I don`t know this guys story or whether it`s true or not. From what I`ve seen he does`nt preach hatred of Islam or anything, just food for thought…..lot`s of Jews see the conflict from a non Israeli viewpoint, is it so terrible if some Muslims question the traditional Arab take on the dispute?

By: mary

mary — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:08:36 +0000

There are many internet phonies, and for the sake of keeping innocent people from being duped and sometimes harmed, we need to expose these poseurs whenever we find them. This guy obviously has an agenda to make money on a fake “conversion” much the same as the other criminal fakers before him (Walid Shoebat, Hirsi Ali, Nonie Darweesh, et al).

By: Shirin

Shirin — Sun, 16 May 2010 07:34:38 +0000

There are a few details of his story that seem plausible but unlikely. There is much more in the story that is completely implausible, starting with the young Jewish girl climbing over the wall of the school in Jerusalem to go flirt and fall in love with a Jordanian soldier who was (where, exactly?) fighting against the Zionists. That just didn’t happen. And then there was the notion that somehow or other the fact that she was Jewish escaped the notice of her in-laws-to-be, not to mention the neighbors, the grocer, the family tailor, and everyone else in what is a very tight-knit, society where everyone knows everyone else’s business. And of course, Mr. Halawa would have us believe that in a society in which women carry their family names throughout their lives and do not change it when they marry that no one knew his allegedly Jewish alleged grandmother’s last name, Mizrachi, which is an obviously Jewish name. Oh, and we are supposed to believe also that somehow his allegedly Jewish alleged grandmother’s Jewish identity was successfully hidden despite her last name, and that apparently no one was at all curious as to why she would carry and read from a Hebrew-language prayer book (not to mention her alleged habit of simultaneously praying and crying.

The guy’s story is like a swiss chees that is all holes and no cheese.

By: alex schindler

alex schindler — Sun, 16 May 2010 02:04:26 +0000

lol alright, remember when i said the story seemed plausible if unlikely? i take it back based on later commenters.

By: Mohammad

Mohammad — Mon, 10 May 2010 05:24:11 +0000

I read Mark’s story a few months back and was shocked by it. I believed it, like an idiot. After reading the entire article, the only thought that came to mind was, ‘this guys is brave,’ however, I just reconed he was Jewish. I thought he was being honest. A good friend of mine, who’s a Rabbi, posted that first Aisha article on Facebook. I befriended Mark Halawa on face book a day later, so I could learn more about him and his perceptions. Again that was months ago. Pretty much, every single post, nearly everything he wrote or referred to, was either entirely offensive or racist against Arab. He build a huge following on Facebook. So many times, I wanted to ask him how he could turn on ‘his people’ so easily and so severely!?’ I personally think that Muntizir has ruined his life. He’s suspect amongst us, and suspect among Jews at this point. I feel really sad for him. I think he may have personality disorders or something. Gosh, I don’t know. Nonetheless, Richard, Mary, and Shirin, thanks for your article and posts.

By: mary

mary — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:02:46 +0000

Wow, five months later and this guy is still doing damage. God bless you for bringing the information. He is a sick, sick man.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:01:39 +0000

This guy is a manipulative and a lier. I met him twice, the first time he said that he is a Christian from Gaza and Hamas killed his cousin infront of him. The second time I saw him was after I read his article, he started the same lies about being a Christian from Gaza and I called him out on it. Later on in the conversation, he made a shocking comment that because I am a Palestinian activist that I would blow up myself or become a terrorist. It is too disgraceful to call him a Palestinian.