The
amazing story of an American Jew who "converted" from
Shas to Hamas
By Ellis Shuman
Israel Insider
July 28, 2002
A Satmar Hasid moved to Israel from Brooklyn,
but became disenchanted with teachings of Ovadiah Yosef;
he converted to Islam and now supports Hamas.
Yosuf Hatab says that suicide bombings are unavoidable and that
a Palestinian state should be established from the Mediterranean
until the Jordan River. Hatab sends his children to a kindergarten
run by Hamas and believes that allegations about Osama bin Laden's
terrorist activities are part of a Jewish plot. The opinions are
common among Palestinians, but Hatab is a former Satmar Hasid from
Brooklyn.
Yosef (Leonard) Cohen, 36, made Aliyah and settled with his family
in Israel four years ago. Cohen fell under the spell of Shas and
its charismatic leader, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef. The new immigrant soon
became disenchanted with Shas politics, began learning about the
Koran and eventually converted to Islam. Today he lives in east
Jerusalem.
The story of Cohen's conversion from Shas to Hamas was reported
last week on Israeli Channel Ten television, and in Yediot Aharonot.
"Ovadiah Yossef brought us to Israel," Hatab says, "and
because of Ovadiah Yosef, today we are Muslims."
Cohen, his wife and four children settled in the Gush Katif settlement
of Gadid in the Gaza Strip. The ultra-Orthodox family eventually
moved to Netivot; their newborn son was given the name Ovadiah in
honor of the Shas leader. The children studied in religious schools
that were part of the Shas network, and even excelled in their studies,
Yediot Aharonot reported.
Cohen helped the community by distributing food to needy families;
some of the food was also given to Arabs living in the area. In
his spare time, Cohen surfed the Internet, and that was where he
was first exposed to Islam and the Koran.
Cohen began participating in an Internet "chat" with
a person who identified himself only as "Zada." The more
the two chatted, the more Cohen became curious about Islamic traditions
and philosophy. Eventually Cohen discovered that "Zada"
was actually a Muslim religious cleric from the United Arab Emirates.
Cohen was strongly influenced by his Internet friend, who helped
him connect with Muslim religious leaders in east Jerusalem.
Yediot Aharonot reported that Cohen's wife, Lana, also began to
study and find interest in Islam. She told the paper that the religion
provided her with the "meaning of life." Finally, Cohen
and his wife, and their four young children, appeared at a Muslim
religious court in east Jerusalem and were converted to Islam.
The family moved to the Arab a-Tur neighborhood in east Jerusalem.
Yosef Cohen changed his name to Yosuf Hatab, and the four children
received new names as well. Ezra, 12, became Abed el-Aziz; Hasida,
8, became Hasiba; Rachamim, 6, became Abed el-Hamir; and Ovadiah
Cohen, 4, received the name Abdallah Hatab.
Today Yosuf wears a jalabia and his wife, Lana, wears a traditional
Muslim head covering. The children spend their days in the "Al
Aqsa" day camp run by Hamas near the Temple Mount in the Old
City. The family members pray feverishly according to Muslim tradition,
and the children speak Arabic as fluently as their Palestinian neighbors.
The Yediot Aharonot report did not fully explain Hatab's decision
to convert to Islam, or why he became so radical in his beliefs.
Today, what bothers Hatab is the Interior Ministry's refusal to
change the listing of his religion on his identity card to Muslim.
"What would happen if I would die tomorrow? They could end
up burying me as a Jew."
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