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Include diverse voices in hasbara, says Israeli Druze nurse
Stand With Us October 7 memorial events in the UK covered stories of survival, heroism and diversity
October 15, 2024 14:56
Stand With Us October 7 memorial events in the UK covered stories of survival, heroism and diversity
October 15, 2024 14:56Lorin Khizran, 27, has a bold ambition: to challenge the global anti-Israel narrative by asserting that accusations of apartheid against Israel are unfounded.
As part of the Druze community from north-west Israel, Khizran’s first language was Arabic, and she is also fluent in English and Hebrew.
Khizran was in London last week as part of a programme organised by education charity Stand With Us to mark one year since the October 7 massacre. She addressed several different Jewish schools, university groups and community gatherings.
At an event in Hampstead Garden Suburb, north-west London, she said she wanted to speak to “those that said October 7 never happened. I want them to hear my voice – a non-Jewish Israeli female voice – the Druze voice.
“I heard a lot of fake news. When they [activists] said ‘apartheid state’, I got angry because they excluded the 20 per cent of Israelis who are non-Jews... They are excluding a huge part of Israel which is the Druze people.”
A newly qualified nurse, Khizran was working at a hospital in northern Israel on October 7. Since the war started, Khizran has treated thousands of injured soldiers.
Her father, who is a commander in the elite Golani Brigade, went to the south to fight on the day of the massacre. He is now serving in Lebanon.
While some Druze close to the Syrian border do not identify as Israeli, where Khizran grew up, there is a strong connection among the Druze to Israel. The community never left the land, and Khizran’s family has had an olive grove for generations, from where they still make their own olive oil.
After that attack on Majdal Shams in July, when an Iranian-made Hezbollah rocket killed 12 children, the Druze became more united with other parts of Israeli society, Khizran said, explaining that younger Druze generations are more likely to identify as Israeli.
She hopes that people with anti-Israel views will visit her country and community: “Learn about Israel from us, visit the Druze community, and have our good food.”